Preservation and development of indigenous languages in the Republic of Ghana

Abstract

The multicultural space of the Republic of Ghana is a reflection of the linguistic situation, which prevails in most African countries, and the question of multilingualism in the African context is of great interest, not only to linguists but to the representatives of other humanitarian and social sciences as well. 

Recently, the interest of  people from other cultural backgrounds in the African continent has increased, and as a result, a significant number of English-language descriptions of the exotic African linguistic cultures has appeared. Historical narratives have proven the uniqueness of the African continent as the region with the highest number of languages in the world. This study is aimed at describing the current language situation in the Republic of Ghana, by analyzing the state, functioning and language and culture interconnection of the indigenous languages in the context of  anglicizing the African continent, identifying the degree at which the language situation in the country has influenced the formation of the English language as the language of intercultural communication describing the Ghanaian culture. 

The historical analysis helps accentuate the measures which have been taken for the development and preservation of the indigenous languages in order to prevent their extinction (the compulsory study of the indigenous languages in schools; opportunities for dialogue between cultures in a multilingual communication environment; activation of the extracurricular activities aimed at the sustainable development of the local languages; the start of a number of language projects to enhance the provision of literacy in the indigenous language, etc).