Local languages should be compulsory at tertiary levels - Zanetor

Dr. Zanetor Rawlings, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Korle Klottey has said it is a high time public universities in Ghana consider the inclusion of local languages as part of their core courses.

According to her, making local languages part of the major courses in the universities will encourage and get more people interested in learning more about their local languages.

"We are a multilingual country, which means naturally we are good at languages and it is an advantage to us as a people but somehow, there is a block when it comes to English (in comparison with our local language).

"Maybe the method used in teaching the local languages to children is what is creating the block. Perhaps, it is the time we go back to the policy which places emphasis on speaking the mother tongue to children as they go through school ", she added.

Speaking at the launch of the 11th edition of the Spelling Bee competition at the Osu Presby Hall on September 19, 2017, Dr. Rawlings expressed worry that with lots of the so-called eye openers, society is losing its language and cultural identity.

Dr. Rawlings, who was speaking on the theme of 'Why we lose it?' as part of a broad theme for the launch 'The relevance of the mother tongue in literacy’ noted lots of dilution when it comes to mentioning local names and places which in turn effects the language negatively.

"If you don't appreciate the value of language, you can't express yourself properly and as we move along, what we end up with is someone who speaks only English, which is not even the proper English language.

"In essence, the person ends up with nothing in the end. We need to hold on to our languages and the key is to speak them whenever we are", she stressed.

The first time MP is also advocating the need for local language dictionaries to enable the upcoming generation to appreciate and know their mother tongues well.

Dr. Rawlings reminisced her time at Wesley Girls High School speaking fondly of her Fante teacher, Mr. Otabil, and Biology teacher, Mr. Xexemeku.

Dr. Rawlings recalled that, "I recently contacted Mr. Xexemeku and realized he has charged the spelling of his name of Hehemeku". And added it made her sad because she believes, "language is important because they convey the spirit of a thing".

"My name, for instance, Zànetor which means the 'darkness must seize', is a command. When my name is mispronounced, it changes the meaning of the name because the Ewe language like many other Ghanaian languages is tonal as well", Dr Rawlings explained.

According to her, she used her secondary school days to interact with many other girls from different ethnic groups as an opportunity to learn bits of other different Ghanaian languages.

She charged young ladies to take their roles as educators seriously, especially when they become mothers because the onus lies on them to teach children their first language.