Ghanaians urged to prioritize their mother languages

The Department of Ghanaian Language and Linguistics at the University of Cape Coast on Tuesday joined the rest of the world to observe this year’s International Mother Language Day with a call on Ghanaians to prioritize their languages.

International Mother Language Day is a worldwide annual observance held on February 21 to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism.

The theme for the 2023 International Mother Language Day is “Multilingual education – a necessity to transform education” which seeks to highlight how multilingual education can be enhanced to transform education in general.

In an exclusive interview with ATFM NEWS at the sideline of a public lecture organized by the department of Ghanaian Language and Linguistics, the Dean of the School of Human Development at the Heritage Christian College, Prof. Benjamin Abotchie Ntreh stated that the imposition of other languages over the local languages will result in losing our identity and culture as a nation.

He, therefore, Ghanaians to make conscious efforts to promote Ghanaian languages.

“My recommendation is, and I’ve said it, that the Ghanaian language department and linguistics should be up and doing” he continued.

Delivering a lecture on the theme: Mother Tongue in Bible Translation, Interpretation, and Related Matters, Prof. Abotchie Ntreh advised that Bible translators be conversant with the source and recipient language before engaging in Bible translations for public consumption.

He laid emphasis on the need for Bible translators to consider the equivalency of the local language translation according to the source of the Bible.

“I came from a point of view of privileged languages, the Ga and Twi which have been there, translated for us and a large number of us go to church and read from this same Bible. So, how well have the work been done?

"How well has the translations that have been given to us been serving their purpose? Do they serve the purpose? All these questions must be addressed and that’s the relevance.”

“Because we don’t take the expression as it was in Hebrew which has come into English and translated the same thing in Akan. Secondly, translators need to know the two languages, both the source and the recipient languages, so when you translate the word or expression into another, it would be meaningful to the source and the recipient” he continued.

On his part, the Head of the Department for Ghanaian Language and Linguistics of the University of Cape Coast, Dr. Kofi Abrefa encouraged Parents and Teachers to speak the local language with children at home and in school.

He said this will allow children to be exposed to their mother tongue in other for them not to struggle to speak it when they grow.