GERTRUDE NKRUMAH - UGSpace

A HISTORY OF LANGUAGE POLICY II"

GHANA

1920-1971

By

GERTRUDE NKRUMAH

(10169489)

THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO TilE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF M.PHIL HISTORY IlEGREE

JU~F: 2011

University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh

DECLARA TfON

I, Gertrude Nkrumah do hereby declare thai except for references thai have

been duly cited, this thesis is the product army own research under the

supervision orDr. Kofi Korankye Saah and Dr. Victoria E. Smith. It has

neitherinwholenorinpartbecnpresentedforanotherdegreeeiscwhere.

GertrudCNkrumah.~ ... Student

Date . .'),.9/..1.t.I.~.IJ.-

D'.KOfiK",ankyeSaah ... ~ PrincipalSupetVisor

Dale n(t(/l~ 4) D, V,etona E SmIth ~illi-SUp."'ISO' .. '~ ..•.•. '.'.

Date5 l2.. ,1,


DEDICATION

I dedicate this work to my family and fricnds.


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am particularly indebted to my supervisors Dr. Kofi Korankye Saah and Dr.

Victoria E. Smith for their insightful comments and suggestions. lowe special

gratitude to Dr. Laura McGough who provided insightful comments and

suggestions and showed me how to match ideas with evidence. I am also

thankful to Professor Addo - Fening and Dr. Kofi Baku, for their advice and

guidance in shaping this thesis into a cohcrcnthistorical piece. My gratitude

also goes to the staff of the History Department for assisting me with my

research. Finally. I am especially grateful to fellow colleagues who contributed

in diverse ways to the successful completion of this work.


The impact of colonial language policy on the li~guistic history of Ghana

cannot be underestimated. The general continuity that has characterised

Ghana's language policy after independence owes much to colonial language

policy espccially after the late 1920s.AII the same, colonialism did not entirely

dictate the language policy of post-colonial Ghana. Forpost-coloniai Ghana,

the history of {anguage policy was not only shaped by colonial vestiges but

a1so by the political and socio-economicdevc1opments at the time.

This thesis seeks to trace the historical developments of language policy in

Ghana. How and why has the country's language policy changed over time?

By utilizing colonial records, the study examines colonial government

responses to language concerns during the colonial period. What were these

responses and bow have these responses become manifest in subsequent

policies on language after independence? In considering post-colonial

language policy, the thesis also discusses the role of language in national

integration and identity. Of what significance was language to a fledgling

nation, in the creation of a national identity while at the same time creating and

maintaining national unity'? To what extent was an indigenous language crucial

iobothcases?


TABLE Of CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO TIl E STUDY

CHAPTER TWO BRJTISH ADMINISTRATION AND TElE LANGUAGE FACTOR IN COLON IAL GHANA.

2.0lntroduction ... . .. .. .. 33 2.1 Colonial Responses to Ghana' s Linguistic Situat ion ..... ... ... ..... . .......... 35 2.2 Guggisberg' s Po\icy on Language.... .. ............... 38 2.3ColoruaILanguagePolicyafterGuggisberg ... . . ............ 52 2.4 Conclusion .... . ... ......... 58

CllAPTER THREE INDEPENDENCE IS IIERE. WHAT NEXT FOR LANGUAGE? (1954-1966)

3.0 lntroduction ....... 59 3.1 Linguistic Atmosphere on the Eve of IndL-pendence ........... ................... 62 3.2 A Nation Born, Change or Continuity for Language . " .. ..... . " . ............ 6S 3.3 Emerging Language Debates After Independence .. ...... ............... ..... ... 72 3.4ContradictionsofPan.Africanism?... . . . ....... 80 3.5Conc1usion .... ... ............................................... .. .. .................................... 83


CHAPTER FOUR A COMMON GHANAIAN LANGUAGE OR NATIONAL UNITY? THE LANGUAGE DEBATE CONTINUES (1967-1971)

4.0lntroduction.... . .... 85 4.1 The NLC and Language Concerns ............................................... . .... 87 4.2 The PP and thee Second Republic; A Rebirth of Freedom? ... . ..... 94 4.3 The Motion on a Common Ghanaian Language. . . ....... 103 4.4 Some Key Issues of the Debate on the Motion. .. . ... 111 4.5 Conclusion.. . ...... 120

CHAPTER FrvE BY ANY OTHER LANGUAGE

Conclusion ... . .............................. 122

BIBLIOGRAPHY ....


Acronyms and Abbreviations

ALEB African Language Examination Board

All People's RepubUcan Party

CASAS Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society

CSO Colonial Secretary' s Office

CPP Convention People's Party

Bureau of Ghana Languages

Fifteen Principles on Education

Justice Party

Member of Parliament

NAL National Alliance of Liberals

NLC National Liberation Council

NLM National Liberation Movement

NP Newspaper

National Redemption Council

PAP People' s Action Party

PRAAD Public Records and Archives Administration Department

Progress Party

SMC Supreme Military Council

Secretary for Native Affairs

SPG Society for the Propagation of the Gospel

UnitedPany

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization

VLB Vernacular Literature Bureau


MAJOR ETHNIC AND LII~GUI :; TI (, -'<REAS IN GHANA University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh

Chapter One

A GENERAL INTRODUCTIP N TOTII E STUDY

1.0 Int.-oductioo

Thisthcsiscoosiders the historical dcvc:lopmenl of language policy in

Ghana and how language multipJicilY has been addressed since the

Colonial Period. What was colonial policy on language and what has

informcdthis policy? How has thiscbangcd or continued after

independence? Which of these policies were implemented? These and

many roorequestions shape the thesis. The thesis argues lhatcolonial

language policy afler 1920 was an underlying factor for subsequent

language policy after independence

Languagc policyisaninevitableandunivcrsalphenomcnon.lndecd

aftertbc'TowerofBabel' episode when ..... all the earth continued tobc

of one language and of one SCI ofwords"',the world has had tooontend

with language issues. MOSI scholars attribute linguistic muhiplicityin the

world 10 the 'Babelian' episode and Mary Esther Kropp Dakubu explains

that the implication of this Biblical account has led many to believe lhat

linguistic heterogencity is a punishment and nOI a natural process of

bwnanity.l David Laitin for instance refers to multilingualism as " the

I Ck1Iesis 11:1


BabeJian curse" and "God's punishmenl forlhe audacity of building the

TowerofBabel."l

Africa has nol been immune to the effect of the Babelian experience.

ThesituationisevencompoWlded.OnereasonisthntAfricaisavast

continent inhabited by millions of people who speak VarlOUS indigenous

Janguages as well as coJorually inheritcd languages. AbduJaziz Lodhi

observes that there are about 2,582 languages and J,382 diaJects found in

In the case of Ghana, linguists have not reached a consensus regarding

the number of indigenous languages in thecounlry. Edward Hall suggests

that there are 44 indigenous languages in Ghana. ~ Akosua Adomako

Ampofoand Kropp Dakubu relate that there arc "approximately 50

discrctc, non-mutually intelligibJe Janguages.',6 In his analysis of the

linguistic situation in Ghana, Samucl Gyasi Obeng wriles thai there is no

conscnsusofopiniononthetotaJnumberofJanguagesspokenin·Ghana.1

) David D. Laitin, '"The Tower of Babel as a COOfdinatioo Game: Political ~~~guistics in Ghana," The ttmerico'l Political Science Review 88:3 (September. 1994)·

I Edward Hall , Ghanaian Languages (Accra: Asempa Publishers, 1983),6.

~~=~~;2f~~~::;!O~:rJ;!,::~E(Lc~~:~ r!:,~u~f~iri::~~~~1!:

Afri~" ~~;::;! '::1c~:J;~J~;;;'~_:.' ::, ~";7:;:::~~;~~;:;;;o~~:;,~:


Conunenting on the inconsistencies in accounting for the languages

spoken in Gbana, Reginald Amonooopioestbat it is very difficult to

detennine the e"act numberoflanguages spoken by indigenous Ghanaians

because of the complicatioos sometimes associated with ..... deciding

whether a speech variety is a language in its own right or simply a dialect

ofaoother language with which to some exlenl is mutually intelligible.'"

A classic example is the Akan language. mostly referred to as Twi.

Akuapem, Asanle. Denkyira, and Fante are some dialects of Akan and are

not separate languages. Yet, these are sometimes described as different

languages. Further, what even qualifies as an indigenous language isao

issue to conlend with and this further complicates languageconcems.

Ghanaasa nation is a 20tb Century creation while the languages in the

area had already been developed and were in existence centuries befo reo

Some languages have become so entrencbed in Ghana and is used asa

flrsl language by a number of Ghanaians that it has assumed the status of

an indigenous language. Consider the Hausa language; according to

.Iinguists, Hausa is not indigenous to Ghana and traces its roots to Northc m

Nigeria. Gyasi Obeng elucidates that "Hausa is a Chadic language spoken

~i~~~~~~ ~:~:::o;a~~ I~t~:~i::.a:~~.E. Kropp Dakubu. The Languages of GhOffQ

~~'::~~: I~~)~~~~;;=~~~ r=h~:~~e~:~~;=y o~/Z,~~


mainJymNlgcrilland Nigcr.,,9Kropp Dakubu and Anyjdoho remark that.

"For Ghanaaan ~pcaken; tlaulkl IS CC11aLnly not a tanguageofethnic:

idcntityany JOOre than t:nghsb is. Howc:vcr f; many it OOess,gnl.fy a kind

"fGhanaian idc:ntity ... "'O Despite·these claims, Hausa has gained

recognition as one of the principal languages in Ghana since colonial

tlmc,."Thus,tbercarc:ofienpolilicaJimplicationswhentbetenn

·indi~ouslanJUlgc'isuscd . Clcarly,thcissueswithregard~olangu.ge

policy are complex. Tenninology also plays a role in the complexities of

this m.ner. This unfolds In tht: course of the study.

By "languagepolicy'lmcanasetofideasorplansonlanguage

officially recognized by government as a means ofregulatUlg a multi·

Imgual envirorunenl. This may Dot necessarily be exdusive and could be a

direct or passing reference on the language situation m acounlTy. Sull on

tcnninology, it is important to clarify that the thesis borrows 8cmd

Hc:ioc"sdcfinitionofalingwtfraoca. lkstates:"Ahnl,;uafrancais

undcnlood to be.a common language which is habituaUy used.as I

medium of communication between groups of people wh()$.t! mother

tonguc: arc difTerent ... 1n a way,. lingua francacould.lsopass asa

·O)'IIiObeng,"AnAnalyu\oflheL.ngu,~u('S'luaIlon'nGhana."66 .

fJIsIid!. ':?:,",&I"c;~lI:n~'id!~~ ~n·~~;c:?~~i~u:.=~ /WttJoIwJ,dfttUy",A/"rlul(Ncw¥ork OltfOfdlJnncTMlyPreu,2(08): 145,146

'Inwgen~~'~~:: ~ ~~oma1 ::c:~ ~~I«It i:-: ~:=oo:~~=:!=~:::;:Ofthcprinc,p«llanIUlllCSln


rcgionallanguage.ttl2 This conforms to UNESCO's definition ofa lingua

franca as ·' ... 3 medium of commwticlt~n for people who speak different

firstlnnguag,.:s:,11 In addition, this thesis also'employs UNESCO's

deftnitton ofa national languageas ..... a languagc used by an C1Ujty to

expres5it5political,socWandculturalidentity ... 14

1.1 Historical Background

A5 the Bibltl,;3l accoUn! orthe Tower of Babel confinns. linguisttc

hc1erogencity in Ghana today is neither a uniquephenomemlO nor anew

one. Muhihnguahsm an Ghana gu(. ... as far back as pre,colonial times.

BeforeEurope.mp~senceanGhana.lhereexistedvariousstatesand

klllgdoms with different languages and dialects. I S Mostly by mcan~ of

war.; and trading activities, these states and kmgdoms came into conl~1

with one another. This resulted in the exchange and adoption ofculturc

andthusthespreadoflanb'Uagcs.lndeed,hi5toriansandlinguists8nribute

thedoffimanceoftheAkanlanguageinGhanatotradingactivitiesandthe

.; Bernd Iknw, St4lld tMd Ux of A/ncu .. LII.pa FrmtCIIl. (MuocltcD.: Wellfol1lm -Verla, GmbH, 1970), IS.

"Tbed


wars of conquest by the ditTerent Akan groups during the pre-colonial

.... " The late 15'" Century witnessed the arrival of European ~ders Bnd

missionaries into pre-colonial Ghana, and the subsequent introductio nof

lheirculture and languages. 1l This compoWlded the ianguage situ3tion at

the time. The various Europeans - mostly. Portuguese, Danes, Duteh and

English-introduced a fonnofeducilliontomcct their respective needs.'1

A. G. Fraser. the first Principal of Achimota College (Prince of Wales)

cxplainsthatfonnaleducationinlheearlydaysofthecolonies .... .Iay

chiefly with the European. whether administrator, merchant or missionary,

rarnerthan with the African. And the rlJ'St l1eed before the cycs of the

administratorswastofindelerk,intcrpretersandsubordinateofficialsfor

Government and commercial undertakings. The schools in almost all

colonies were directed to meet this need.,,'9 Subsequently, the language of

instruction was determined by which European power was in charge of the

education. These schools were referred to as the Castle Schools and were

I. Foran early history on pre-colonial Ghana, see fore:O;ilIfIple; A.A. Boahen, Ghalla: EVf)lulion Qnd change ill the Nineteenth and Twellfielh Cellturin (london' Longman Group LId •• 1975) and I.K. Fynn, ,,(sallIe Qnd IfJ NcighbDun /700-1807 (L..0060n: longmanCirOllpLId., t97t)

Thiswa!:;n~;i.ortuguesc\llertlhtfirstEuropeanstoSC1rOOlonlht5horesorGhana.

f;;;) Chl;p~~::;,~eS=:~:bt;~and~::~d:;e~;:,of~:y=~ "lbid. t03.


mostly m;)(fc up ofcbildren of Ewupeans and African women ~l\\n 3"

mulanoes.:!O

Pioneer.;ofGhana,anhisto[)',particularlyonlhcbistoryo·f

Christianity in Ghana are of the view thatlm~slonary activity pn::ccded

colonial rule and ' formal ' ooucatlonwas pnmarily mtroduccd into the

country by Christian missionaries?1 This harmonizes with the Report of

the Educalionists' Commincc appointed by Governor Guggisberg on 5

March, 1920. According to the R~port. it was general ly considered that

educational wOfk in Ghana was started by mis!\.ionan~ senI out under the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG).u This was at the rcquc~t

of the Royal African Company stationed at Cape Coasl. The Report

explaincdthatthefantrmS5ionaryundertheSPGtoproceedtothia

country was the Reverend Thomas Thompson. Trus was in 175 I, fifty

ye:ar.; after thc eRablisrum:nt of the Society. Philip Quarcoe was one of the

three ,.tudcnts Reverend Thompsun ~nI abroad. QUarcoe later established

:-0 Gua.nbcrf[andfrascr.TheFttfrtr, ojllle/ktro

:'fotinliptinIOlbeVariousminionaryllC1ivmftMldlbcirlmJ)KIIAlhcGold Cout, see; S.K.. ~ n.e ~wkMary FtlCIOr in Ghano·.! Dfl,elopmf:flf (1'10-IMO). (Accra; 'fIaiCIVIlk Publmung llou~, 1978) and R.M. Wiltsca, Golli emu, Mw ... HUIory. 147/·'''8. (JUiIlOlS UNlit!: Word PublICatIOns. 1956).

=~:~P.i~g§.~~~":.E~7;~~;S~2!'..~


asc:hool in Cape Coast wh.ich. evenrually was taken overby lhe

GovemmenlH

FolLowmg this. there was ~ influx of miSSIons into Ghana.

According 10 lhc Reporl. the Basd Missionaries began work In the country

in 1827 and by 1881 ,thc:y had aboul 50 schools. The Wesleyan

MiulOnanes started educatioo work in 1834, and before me passing of the

Education Ordinance in 1882, hOOover 80 schools in the country. The

Bremen Missionary Society also began work In 1847 and by 1881 had

established four schools in the c:ol(lny. The Roman Cathohc Mission did

n01SiartcducationalworkinGhanauntilMayl881.whenitestablisheda

nlISSlon in ElmlOa. These: \'Ilrious missions received grants from the

Colonial Government for their educational work.Z<4

Nonetheless. the missions mostly controlled educational work.

Wllh respcct to proselytising work, the misslonarieswt.-re strongly

convinced that it W3-\ prudent and more effective tu transmit me "Good

News" to the local people in their own language. ~kncc, they embarked on

tcachmgandtranshliionprojClCIS in the indigenou. languages.

Consequently, the usc of the vernacular Was encouraged in the mission

school. In contrast to the use of European languages In the Castle Schools.

·'Rcpo"orthc~sts·ConuaIIl",.578


The medium ofinstruclion in these schools was mainJy in the \'cmacular.

and very little proftc:icocy wasobtaincd by the children in Eoglish,2s

ThispracticeofusmglhevcmacularbytbeChristianmissionsm

the early stages was nOllimited to Gbana, Ayo 8amgbose argues lhat

eottly Chnsllans preferred the use of the vemacular in educatloo as well as

in disseminating the 'Good News' because the number of available

missionaries wbo were nallve speakers of the colonial languages was few,

and only a negligible number of native speakcn.cou ld bctraincd to teach

in the indigenous languages. The missionaries, therefore. had no

alternative but to adopt a policy of initial literacy through the medium of

the indigenous language:s.16 Besides. the Christian nllSSluns aimed at

T't"a::htng the masses., and this meant gettmg the "mnsage" directly 10 the

people In their own languages, Bamgbosc arguL"S. Yates also suggests that

ml"~lonafles' usc of the vemacular was because they wanted the local

popuJace tohave"dircctaecess to thescriptures . ..21 Cluistianmissions

tbus playedakcyroleincducatlOnaJand lmgU1~llcworkespcciallyinthe

early stages of colomatism In Ghana, and indeed in Africa. The missions'

use of the vernacular. led to the development of languages like Ahn

:'Rqlon(tflhl-l-d..calJoal"'c-..acc.S79

:.. Ayo s.mcbose. ~ucation ill W1cmous Lanpaca: The West Arncan Modelof l.&ng~l-.duo:.I~"Th'JDfInf4IoINeg"o£Juc.dorrS2:I(wi .. er.19'3)S1

1J<Hk",~~~:'-e3V~'(;:'~:;~~~.Policyi.1.ai~" 1J.eJounlalo/

9


(Fante. Akuapem and Asante) and Ewe which later became the principal

mdigt:DOUS languages in Gbana.l8

The linguisticconditioDduringthcearlystagt:sofcoloni~1 rule

however witnessed some changes, especially aner 1874 when the growth

of British political power was seen in Ghana. By 1872. Britain was the

only European power after the Outch had eeded all their possessions 10

them and withdrawn. Consequently. a " .. , new Charter was issued dated

the 24th July. 1874. separating her majl."sly's scltlcment on the Gold Coast

and Lagos from the GovtmlDlent ofSicrra Leone and constituting them

into one colony under the style of the Gold Coast Colony under a

Govl;mor . in • ('hief with an Administrator at Lagos."Z<t This stfl."Ilgthened

the growth of British innucoce in the adminislralion ofthecoiony which

was before then limited only 10 the coastal areas.

lnrcl:nion 10 Ihe changcs that occurred after 1874,oneBritisb

admmlstrator Mcintyre. was quoied a~ saying

\Vlulc British sovereignty was not extended in the Gold Coast the Legislative Council of the new colony (which inc:ludedbotbLagosandthcGoidCoa.<;tforts)was tmpowcrcd to legislate for the proteclorate, and thcqueen was proclaimed the solc authority on the Gold Coast, The colo~al<.'ovemmcnt,instcadofconfiningitselftopolice and Judicial func1ions, as before. would also comprehend

:'1 RcponoitheEducariOlU5l$'Comm1l1cle

:-'GoJdCoutAllnuaJRepoft,I9:J3.1934.1,

10


~~~~~~~~on. roads, economic and soci.1

The proclamation of the British Crown as t~ only authority in the Cok>ny.

resuhcdindirectinterferenccwiththeecoll(lmicandsocio-politi~allifcof

the people.

Sub~cqu~t1y.theBritjshcolonialadminjstralI0ndecldcdtotakea

more active interest in running the affairs of the colony unlikehefore. It

embarked on developmental projects and fannulated various policies to

helpinthisregard.Asthe lan~uageoftheonlyEuropeanpowerlef\iDthe

colony, English became the dnmmant foreign language and the language

of governance. All this while, the missions mostly controlled educational

work and were using the vernacular as the medium of instruction.

However after 1874, the Britl~ Government made some chang~ in this

regard as wdl.

In the area ofL-ducatlon, whicb wa'i mostly dommalcd by the

misslOnancs., the British administratIOn now exened much power unlike

before. In 1882 for example, an Education Ordinance was passed to assist

and promote education.1' The colonial government hegan establistung

public schools and mtroduced Eoglish as the medium of InslJUl;tion in

con1r.lstloilieChriSiianmissionarieswhoslronglyadvocaledtheUlleof

thelocallanguagesasthemediumofinstructioninthcirscbools.lndeed

.lCl MLchael Havinden aPd David Mc.-Iedtlh. CoI_,,,}i.,. _d ~~ ~<JItfiJlJT,optCII/CobrLiG. 18jOl960(Lnndon:Rou'kdle,I993),S7.S •.•

lLPRAAD.ADM. I4J1116. l.cP~lveCounciIMmlJtcsllld~p.-s.


missionaries were discouraged from using the v(.-rnacu lar a.,<; the medium of

instruction and were sometimes obliged to use the Engltsh language in

order to receive grants from the colonial go~emmenl. Fraser explains that

some parts o( the educlltion departmcot "activelydiscouragcd the use of

the vemaculars inscbools ... 12

To forestall inspectors developing an interest tn the vemaculaJ,

!hey were moved frocn one area to another and mi ssions also found their

schools al a disadvantage if they taught tbe vernacular, for to do so WQuld

• lead to a loss of grant from thc colonial government. The aim of the

system, according 10 Fraser, was to leach English and to tum o ut men who

would be usefullLS government and commercial employees. ll 8amgbose

afftrmsthis wben he writes that in administering a territory, the cokmial

govemrncnt had to intervene in " language education" by making a choic e

of what lan t-;uage to use; and whatever choice was made ..... hadtobe

enforced through Ihe cducalionalsystcm.~}4 English lhus assumed a

prominentposilion in education inspitc of missionaries' preference for the

indigenouslanguagcii.

As a result of this, colonialism and the subsequent amalgamation

ofpeoplc of different linguistic baekgroundnccessitated the need for

. lan)?Uagc policy in Ghana And the pnonty of colonial language policy

" Ibtd


was in the area of formal education. Laterwitbeolonial subjects

participating m governance aDd administrative work in the colony, it

became necessary to outline !he langu3.gc of~ovemance as well.·in the

area of governance, English was the principal language used. As far back

as 1895 when the Legisl:uive C01U1ci l was in place, Governor Sir William

BrandfordGriffith forwarded to the Right HODourable the Secmary of

State for the Colonies a dispatch concerning EleCli ve R«:pre!>entatlOn. The

dispatchstatcd:"NativestobeeJigible to suchrepresentationshollld speak

English. pos..'C~ some culture with a subsumtial anti respected posilion in

the Colony ... .'·n This W:1S in accordance with the stipulation that a person

musl be ..... able 10 rwd and speak the English languane sufficiently ..... -el/ to

take an acllve and intelligent pan m the proceedings of the Lcgislativc:

Council."W,

Colonial language policy agaIn underwent change~after 1925

pamcularly in the areas of education and "native affairs". J1 Especially

dunng the administration of Guggisberg, the British government

advocated Primary education in Ghana, to be solidly based on the

vernacular. This was a significant change from tbeir initial policy of using

English as the sole language for formal educalion right from the early

stagesofcolorualism.lnaddilion lothe languagepolicyofeducation,

"Legislaliw:CouociIDcblles.1926-1927.319

16 1bM1 .•

G~dCo~::'~=is~~ri:;S~=:!:~~hr;'l:IS~ (0 Inc


anotherarcawhicb witnessed changcs in colonial language policy was that

of local governance. GeoenUy, English remained the language of

governance. Yet, with regards to local admi~istration, the colonial

government aI the time ofGugglo;,berg introduced the use of the

ThcseineonSlstenciesand ch;ulge~ ill c<lllimallanguagc policies

however continue to beg 8 nwnber of quotIOr\5. T .. hcgin with. why did

Britishcoloni;tladmini5trationrelaxits~tm::tpolicyofusingthcEngli5h

.languagcmtheareaofeducationespeciallyaftc:rt925?Whywas

understanding and the U5C ofindigctlOus languagcs suddenly so important

to Brilishcolonialistseven for "nativc" administrative purposes that it

would insist on alhorough mastery of the vernacular by aU Europeans?

n.c:..c questions art'diKus.sed inchaptc:rrwoofthc thcSIS

LinguiscicdivcrSity in Ghana and ils accompanyingchallcnges did

not \.-00 With colonialism. The history of language policy in ACnca has

largely been i.nOucnced by whal most socia-lingulsll> refer to as the 'elite

closure mentality' > thai i. the" .monopoly of thc language of power by

tbcelitcsaadrollttanceon their part to cxtend this jealously guarded

power to other groupS.M1S This became especially pronoWlCed aftcr

independence when the policy of using Europcan languagcs as the


language of gOVcn1anct: and cdlK:ation was raithfully adhered to and in

some instances enb!lllCed by policy makers. Bamgbose observes thai the

elite or the colonial educational sy.:;tem wielded a lot of power based on

the monopoly of the control of the European languages and thetefore

rcsisted any proposal to empower the majority of the populalion by raisin g

theslalus or African languages. This. he believes, is a major factor rorthe

low status ortbe African languages even after independence.)9

Besidcsthcc:ducationalsctting, language has been a major source

ofpublicdcbatcst.:speciaUyafterindcpendencc.4oSubsequently,the

question of what language 10 use as Ghana's official language has had to

be grappled with by succe ... -ding governments after independence. 10e

qucslions 10 ask bcre include: What policies on language wereefTected

afterindependeoce? How were these policie!O differeot from or similar to

those of the colonial era? Did Iheshift from colonialism to independence

have any eO"ect on language policy and language debates'? These and more

questions are further addressed in chapters three and four of this thesis.

19 UNESCO. Mlnler~O\c:mment.l1 Conference on unguaae Policies in Africa."

wieldy dt:'~ ~est~I::~:hi:~~O!~i:il~:: =I~:f: :;=::;:~h::.a=~~~~;~ ~:::I~.i;: ::::::::::u= latCTOUiDlbelhesH..


1.2 lIistoriographical Context

Language policy an Afnea has 111!'Jured immense SCbol~IY work . .

Ideally, sfudies 00 language policy in Am!;:! may be grouped .into two

txo.dan:a.". The first is languagepolicyoCeducation, and these(ond is

studiesin...piml byproCound interest in the connection bet'loYeen language

and national identlly

In conncction with the first group of scholarly work, divergent

vie\\shavebecne'(prcssed.41 One of such views is the one by writers like

• Bamgbose, Bodomo, Owu-Ewie, NgugJ wa ThionS'o, Prah, OhmS Gyasi

and Yales. The main argumeotthat Nnsthrough thcsewntings is Ihc

signifteanl role iodlgcnoos languages play in the educalion ofstudcnlS.

There is the general agreement among these schollrs that students learn

eITecti"cly when they are mSlrUcted in a familiar Illflb'Uage, alanl."Uage that

they have been exposed to since cbildhood-inthiscasea mother-tongue

"SOI1Ieel[_plC!.mclude;8amabose,"E.ducalloninlncllCenouslanpaces .... K"'OI K, ..... Pmt and Yvonne KUla. edJ. Iff ronRWJ1. Afrlcllll LanJ:IIIIlft3 t'IafJ lite choJllen1:eJ of Deve(opmenl(C"ape Town ' CASAS. 19'18). Makonl B Smfree and Nkonko K~mw ... ptQalu., cds. L~ fJIfd /,.,tI,,.,,CHU In Afnru (C. ToWll CASAS. 2000). <icotJ(: P. Hagan. A/nc.n Cut'lITes in CrnQ fmptie4tiolU for El/uCflrional Poliq "ru/ ~(U1aCO - u.icd". 1990), NPIi Wa nioIIg'o.~. dw AI.IId. 71Je Polj/,C.$ 0/ Lol1guDge 111 A/neon Lill!1"OIure (L:mdoQ: James Currey, 19116). Adain5 B. Bodomo. "00 Lanpqe Md Devdopmm In Afne&: The Cue of li~na. ~ Nordlc JoumQ{O! A/ricon S/lImn 5'2 (1996): ll·51. Sam~1 Gyasl Obcrla. "An ADaI)'IAS oflbc

• Llltlllittle SIIW111IOf1IR Gb.aAa,~ II./,,"n LaII,.,og~ IIndCuhlua 1(]:I(I997); 6)·81 and . Charlc:so--E'IVie."Tbt-~PolK)'ofEduc.al;ioaiaGbana: ACncicalLoot.at

me EacllSh-Olliy ' .... Poky on EducatKm.," in $eiwed procudinSS of 'he n,h MtnlUll.Conf"","·m A/rl • ." L;"guUda. ed . .... Mupnc a II ., (Somerville. MA CascadiltaPloceedlRgsP'o,cc12006):16 .KS


For this reason, these IChol~ argue for the maximum use of the

indigt."lloUS languages as malla of iDSbUCUon in schools, especia1ly in the

earlyycan;.llisimportanlloc\aflfythat~reistbcgenc:ralconcurrcnee

among these scholar.; thai because English is a universallangoage, its use

as a mediwn of instruction is inevitable for social. pohtical aodespccially

OtherwnlersarguethatbecauscEngiishisauniversallanguaae. il

mustserveastbelltlguageofln~trucllOnlnscbools. These scholars argue

.thatilisimpracticaltousetheindigcnnuslangu;Jgt"~;J<;amcdiumof

mstructlOninscbools.GibsonFergusonfOflnSlancccxpre~!'odtheopinjon

that II is nol vlablelochanb'C ilie educational policy of English aslhe

medium of mSlnlctlOn In most African states because those: in the positiun

co enforce the policies believe that their interest are bcing servcd by the

EngJish as the medium of inslruCllUn POliCY, since most of them operate In

a 'global spacc'wbereEnghsh IS undoubtedly eascntial. Ferguson here

undcrscor~theuniverSlililyofthcEnglishltulguage.Hchowevcrdoesnot

think thai hc is arguing forthc Englisb language.41

rhcrcllrcalsothosewbohavclakenthcsedebatesbcyondthe

!l4"huol arena and raised ilona nahonaJ level. Promment among thc:sc

rccumngdebatesoo lanl!uagc is the argumcnt thlt English, being a

. foreign and neulnllanpage i. bes1 suited to play the role of unifying the

.~ Gatt-. F~. "Thr: Mcd_ of In<:lrucll. In Arnca.. EducaDon" in Makoru B_ 5lnfra: and Nkonlo K;un~", • z...-~r tIIfIIl/.,."".".. III AI""· (Cap: Toowa: CASAS, 2000); 9.5·109.

17


counuy.lndeedasimilarargumenthasbeenmadethrougbouttheAfrican

contim.'1It. One of Africa's acclaimed literary writers Ngugi Wa Thiong'o

explains that -In SOOlC instances these Eur~can languages were seen as

having the capacity to unite African peoples against divisive tendencies

inherent in tbe muhlphcity of African languages within the same

geographicst8tes . .,..l

The second group is made up of studies inspired by profound

inttttSt in the connection between languagennd national jdentity.'" The

.contentionofthis sehool of thought is that language is an importantaspec I

ofidcntity;it defmes wbo 3 pcr::;on is and for this reason the mothe:r-

tongue must be encourag,cd so that people would not lose their identity.

One major Sfudy in this regard is Eric Oroe Aprooti ' s anicle on "Language

andN3110nai lntegrltioo in Ghana," where he argues for the vernacular

because it plays the "urgent ta~k of cultural re-nppraisaland national

lOtcgratlOn:,H However, Apronti does Dot ignore the faci that in using the

41 Npgl WaThlonc·o, DlXvlonizillltheAlond. "1

Nigerla: ~/U~~ :~~~~A::r!t:"'~~~!:;:'at~~~~;~77:e, March 15·20, t976 . R~nald F. Amonoo, Lall[tIJoge Illld NatIOnhood; Reftecti01ld 0/ LAnguage S.'UOlIOM with PGI'f/Nl"r Rtfer~~ to GhlUtil (Attn: Ghana AcMemy or Ans and St,~ 1989), Akosua Anyidoho and M. E Kropp Dakubu, "Ghana IIIdigCllous Langllllet. Eng.hd!, and an Emerging Nahonaj Idrntil)l," in Andrew Simpson. ~g~ ond NtltiollOl idenn'ty in A/nco cd. (New YOI'k: Oxford University PreiS,. 2008). Akoiua Adamako Ampofo and M£ Kropp Dakubu, Knowleti&e

, r~luioll in Ghol/a: Alternatil'e PerJp«:tives td~. (l..caon: InAilUlC of AfriQD . Sludies, Uruwnity or Ghana. 20(9). Benjamin Nithol3!> Lawrance, "Most ObedieN

• Servmtt The hlitics or ~ ill German CobuaJ Top," Caltjen ti't,uM.$ A/riOtliIfG .40:t59 (.2000): 419·S24. and E.O. Apromi, "Laniuaae end Nilional IaICPtoD m Ghana," ProertU Ajrictlme (1972): 162.169

·'Ibld.163


indigenous lanpgestbcn:ate5OflleproblemstbalcannOI bcoverlookcd,

suc::has, the varying size oftbesc indigcnous languages and the inabililylO

give rccognition to all these languagesbccause they are too many.

Another pattern of writing in the language discourse c losely related

to the afomncntioncd group is scholarship on the role of language in

national development - in this case socio·economlc development. Some of

the .... nters that come ttl mind arc Adam Bodomo and Victor Webb. These

writers underpm the Impurtant role of African languages in the socio~

J:Conomicdevelopmcnlo(acountry.lnaddres.singtherelationship

bctwec:olanguageaoddevelopmcnt in Africa. Bodomo Identifies the

central rule African languages play in a community. According to him,

African languap serve as an impmtant mean. .. (If communicatton in

African soclcuesand are used by maJ0nty of the population. Yetthesc

languages are not widely used in the formal edUC3tion system ncither do

they serve as Ihe languages of national govenunenl nndthe languages of

mass communication.

Herein lies the fundamental cause of underdevelopment of African

natIOns. BodOO'lO argues that the role of indigenous Africans themselves,

in thedevclopmcnl discour.IC. can rtC\"cr be Ilchicvcd withoul ser10us

~nsKlera1ions of the role of Afriarl languages. t6 Webb makes a similar

argummt wbeD. be explains that ..... decisM:Ml makers in the publK and

·8odoIDo'''OD~and~~''f'me:atl.Afnca.''


private sectOfS of society do not see1D lotake note oflhebasic role of

language in educational developmcnt, and thus incconomicperfonnance

andingrowth,and,inr.ct.iDnationaireco~lrUCtionanddeVe~oproeol"';1 Both Bodomo and Webb underpin the significant role of indigenous

languages to the socio·economic growth and indeed the politu;al cohesion

oflcountry.

It is interesting to note that one e1emenl that unites most of the

aforementioned scholars IS the ImponaJK:C al1a..:hcd to indigenous

tanguagcsmeducaILon,natiOn.buildingandnalionalidenrity. While these

admlttheindlspensablenatureofEnglisb,becauseit isa universal

language, they also sironglybelieve that the use oflhc \'cmacular shou ld

he encouraged. These patterns of writings provide me with a general

IDsightintomywork,espcclallytheideastheyespouse.ltowevCf,despltc

ther.JthcrcxlcnsivclitCJl.ltureavailableinexploringthevarious

dimcnsionsoflanguagc policy very Iittlcattcntion has been given to the

hi~oricalaspectoflangu.gepolicyinGhana

While the presence oflanguage policy is well established, how the

cokmialpast bas mfluenced language policy as well as the reasolll for

colcx:aiallanguage policy have not come out clearly in most of tbcsc:

studies. To the best of my knowledge, few researches with the sole

. ., VictorN. Wcbb,LDnguoge in SoIl/A A/naJ The Roleo{umpoae in No~ TnJIIS~~~-'o-no,..ertI(PbiladdlMua:J. 8cnjlmin,2002).1.


objective of studying the historical development of l:utguage policy in

Gbanaex is1.Mostofthesestudiesbardiy rclyonpnmarysourcesand

lberefore do not shed light on actual happe~ings of events which may be

crucial loa srudyoothe hi5lory of language policy m Ghana.

Understandably, lbe pattern of writings in this area of study is largely

dominated by linguists and anthropologists who may not be overly

. concemed with changing events and their impact on language policy in

1.3l.ite..-ature Review

Despitetbegrowingbodyofscbolarlywork m thlsareaofSludy,

there is stll1 a gap in the literature witb regards to a historical srudyofthe

area and my theSIs seeks to fill such a gap. This is not tosuggcst that thc:re

is no hisloricai srudyin this area o f srudy. Neverthcless,most.ofthe

historical hterarure has so far focused o n places outside of Ghana. Three

major works, however speak directly 10 my theSIS

Barbara Yates' article on the language pohcy in Zaire is one

cl3.\.. .. ic example lIf a historical study of language policy in Africa and my

WKicn.tand mgoflhlsareaofstudyhasbcenlargelyshaped byherwork.

She fOC\lSC!i on Zaire, (pr~t1y known as the DemocratiC Republic of

ConlO) during the Leopold era, 1879~1908. Yates traces the origins of

Imguage policy in Zaire by examini~~ decisions taken dwiog the Leopold


era and how thcsc decisions have influenc:ed latcrdccisions. Sbealso

provides an msight into the effects oftbcse decisioos 00 tbecducational

pohclesohhecountryafteriDdepcndence.'Vatesuoder.coresthc

unportantrolc:misslOnariesm the Belgian Congo playcd in the dccisions

reachedconccrn.ing language policy and how the government played little

role in thc sc:leclionofan otTlCial language for the BelgJan Congo m the

. carlysu.ge5ofco&onjalism.

My work follows a similar pattern in tracing the: historical

development of coloruallanguagc policy in the Ghana. Further, Yales

~es exlensl'vc usc ofpnmary sources, including eolonial documents,

educationalrcpoftS,otTlCialgovcmrncntarchivcs,i:0vcrnment

publicaltoRS and reports on colonial affairs. In the 5a1nC way, this thesis

employs the usc of colonial records. t.-"ducntiooal reports, govenunenl

documents and other primary sources relevant in constructing a historical

sNtiyon language policy in Ghana. Based on Yates' argument lnal school

le-gislatioa also reflected officiallan~uage pohcy of government, my thesis

cons.iderscolonialeducalionalpohclcsandtheirefTcctonJanguagepolicy

1 also argue that colonial language policies were mostly manifested in

tbcireduc:aliooai poiicic:s; especially dwing the govmKK'Ship of

Guggisbef&.

In a crilique on the language polJcy ofcducation inGbana, Owu

Ew1~ argues !.hat conlroveny over the lilngu&ge of instruction ineducalion

datcsback 10 theast1e schools and miS<;lonary cra and that blhn!.'Ual


educalton in Ghana commenced wlm me inception of fOrmal education

wlUchbeg,anwilhthecastJeschoolsandwaslatercontinucdbytbe

Christian miSStotWles.'" According to Ch;"les OWU Ewie., by 1925 the usc

ofaGhanaianlanguagc Ineducatton had gaincd root to die e);tcnl that

wben lhe Britisb colonial gOVttTUnenI lOOk over tbc admiruMration of

cducationinthecounuyin 1925. it could not reverse lhe trmd. He funher

explains that it was after 1925 thai a systematic pattern began to emerge

witbregardlobotheducallOnandlanguageuse.whentnefimlegislallon

oa the use of a Ghanaian language In education was promulgated.49 Owu

E~II: however does not proVide any pnmary !>oun;;es to suppon this claim.

My thc:sIS builds on this argument and provldespnmary evidence to

bunressthis poinl.

Another work thai the thesis draws inspiratton from is Bamgbosc's

.nide "Language in Natlonallnlegration: Nigeria as a Case Study," where

he examines the role of language in national integration. Bamgbose

dem.Onstnllesthatcontrarytothenotioalhal"diffc:rencesbctwecn

indigenous languages" and muhilingualismposes problems to national

tnlcgration. "thewaytbcyarehandlc."d and political factorspla)l a role m

accounttng for the language problems" He e"plalns that until 1967.

Nonhem Nigeria was administered U tlnc slale under a Hausa.Fulani

I~dershjp. N a result, fbusa wu used together wlIh English as the:

-i8 Owu Ewie. "1'be l.aIp'lC' PolICY of E.duc:allOn IA G-.. ~


official language In the House of Assembly. despile the Caelilial this was a

multi-lingual (1lvirorunenl According to him. some noo-Hausa groups

raised n:::sistante; yet Northern Nigerians. did nOI see themselves as Hausa

people but rather as Northemers. bccause the "dlfferenccs wen: lugety

submersed as a result of the polilieal idl,.'Ology of 'One North, One

People"'~ On the other hand. Western Nigeria. as II result of the creation

. oflhe Mid-Wesl state in August 1963. was a linguistically homogenous

statewilhYorubaaslheonlyindigcnouslangulgeoftbepeople

~owevcr, the state was largely characterised by extreme divisions and was

"'1heiea.<;tcoheslVcmtheFederation."Oamghcr.e thus arJucs:"1f

umlmgualism were necessarily a condition for integration, one would have

expected Western Nlgena to he the most cohesive Slate in the

oounlry .... multllingualiim is not necessarily a bamer to national

integratioonordoesunilingualism by itself ensure such integration . ..s l

Having provided a strongconncction bc:twec:n language and the

corulrUction of national idcRlity in the ClIse of Nigeria. his work informs

my undCl"Slandang of the formattoo and negotiation of national identity

throughlangu:l&C.Towh.texlentislangu.gc-anindigcnouslangu:l~e

crucial fur nallonal idcntily and inlcglilllUn'? How do e .. ternal force", like

politicalfon;csshlpeacounuy'slanguagepolicy7

My study secks to analyse various policies ofgO\ cmment that

"Blmpa.eM~JnN.tonIIlnt~lon.~

.11ibid.4.S


make direct or passing refereoce to language concerns in Ghana, precisely.

from 1920 to 1971. For inslance, howctid colooia1 policies of assimilation

and indirect rule influence language pohC)~? The period after the t'irsl

World War is mostly believed to be the peak ofn.ltlonalism In Ghana. At

the same lime it is said to be a period of consohdallon of British colonial

rule in West Africa. especially in Ghana. That period also wllnl."'!>Sed the

IntroductionoftheBrillshs)'StemofindirectruJe. These events arc crucial

10 a study on colonial langu.lge policy in Gban.l. How did Ihc peak of

CQlonial rule and thc introduction of the system of indirect rule influeDce

eolonialadministratocs'respoRSeStolangullgeconcems? Inconsidering

lan~'Uagep(lhcy.ftcrmdcrclldence.thelh~.,.isalsodlscusscstheroleof

language in nalionilllnle~r.ltlOn ;md Idcnilly. Of what sigmflcance was

ianguagetoanedgiingnalion.ineonstructing.ln.llioR.llidenlilywhileal

the samc: tirne cn:ating and maint.unmg national unity? To what extent

was an lDdigenous language crucial in both cases?

1.4 Research Question

How and wby has language policy changed over lime in Ghani?

1.5 Objectives o(tbe Study

Thestudyseeutoaoswcrtbcfollowingquestlons


How did the British Colonial Administrntion respond to the linguistic

siru.tionintheGoldCoast?

How has colonial language policy influenced language potie~ .after

mdependence?

WMt dcbalcs 00 language ensued after IOdependence?

Wbicb groups of people have _gucd for the: Indigenous languages and

what were their arguments?

Which groups of people have argued for the English lan~a&e and what

havebccntbeargumenboflhesegroups?

Finally, what have beeu governments' rt,.~roll~' over Ihe years?

1.6 Significance of Ibe Study

Thc liolgrulicancc of tbis lhesis is two-fold. Firsl,byurilizing

colooiaLrcc:ords and documents that make reference 10 language concerns,

the thols provides an insighl mtotbchisloricaldcvelopmcntsoflanguage

poheyinGlwla.Thisprovtdesanotherdimenston-ahistoricalstudy-of

th~ e:(J~lmg scholarly works which are mostly of linguistic and

anthropological studies. Sccondly, byuslOg newspapers and parliamc:ntary

dcbatesinreconstruclingthevariousdebateslhathavctakcnplKCsi.nce


colonialism, lhelhcsis providcs a basIs flM'.lOcvengrcaterawlllUtCSSof

CODtemporary language concerns in Ghana

1.7 RC''icarcb MCfhodology 52

1lIethcsis looks at primarydocumenls that Illake l.illt."Ct or passing

reference to the linguistic atmosphere in the country. Th~ pnmary

sources U1c1ude New <; paflCB. Legislative Council Debates, Parliamentary

~ales. Gold Coast Annu.l1 Rt'pOrt. Ghana Year Book. and archival

materials. The main archi val materials consulted arc those held at the

Public Records Administration and Archival Department. Accra. The

SOw«S gathered here include C.S.O 2111 III I. C.S.D. 1811134,

C.S O.21 ' 1 11t2, ADM 14/ 1116, ADM 11I In 6and NP 43/ 1.

Ncwspapers provide a grealer underslanding of what was pubhc

orumonand reactioll to lhe language question in the past The main

ncwspapen consuhed arc the Daily GraphIC and Ihe <ihanllian 1im~s.

f\"I\:u stn~on articles. editorials, regular columns and fealUreS lhiltaddras

language qUCSliom and concerns. The choice of lhe Dajly Graphic. aside

from bcmgagovcmment-ownedproper1y,wasbccause l observedthal il

C9~t.a1J15 numerUlls articles. IdlerS and commentaries by the public

I1ThellClUtCtm .. crialdocsftOtnnpIO)'lbeltlCoflnlnvtCWlrorthe~ ... the use of ICilslatlVt and palhamenl tkbatC$. as well. oI\er lovemmm l documents like C*odMlOIMSprOVI*a_ofaJlldiClo(~oea..·I """

pol"" 27


Mldces5ing language questions; unlike the Gltanaian Times. which WIS

m05llya series of reports of parliamentary debates and government'

decisions on language.

Language debates thai appeared in the papcr.; wcremostly writtcn

byinteUectuals.Newsp&petSthusprovidcd·'opcnsj>aCcs"thatattractcda

't"idcrangc:o(contributlonsfromdiffcrcntsectorsmostlyofthchterate

eommumty.thou~not.lI we:RnccessQrilyhigh1y recognisedoncsinthe

country. ThereCore.. oewspapers also provided recognition and

rcPrl;~n .. tion(or"ordinaryGh.anaians."))Korsaharguesthat"indigcn()us

ncwlipapen" played a Vlllguard role in the procn. .. oftbemental bonding

by fostering a M~se oCoatiooality" - the feeling thai Ghanaians were onc

peoplc,distingulshedfromallothernations . and tlle concept of

NltioohooduntilaUthed.ifTercntelements.oftheGhanalanjig~whad

been forged mtoa nation. i04

FoUowmg tins. my thesis utilizes ncwspapen. e.pc.~i,jlly on the eve

of independence and after, to undcrlinc Ghanaian's reaction to language

concerns and the JeW;e of national unity expressed at such a momenlous

time. 1'henewspapers anmdedto issucs of wider public interest and also

served as tools in the consUUction of nationhood and a common identity.

~~~t!ew:I'C::~~W~=h~:WA;:'7 Z::r!~r:'oW:~ ~ a- s .. .bIp.ah K.orsah. '"The Preu aDd Ihc Soctcty 1ft Coloru&l Ghma. 1 QOO.

19SO,~ (M Phd tIdiI, Unl\1endy olOUna.,2~97),1 1


Secondary sourcc:s accessed al relevant libraries also complement the

thesis. The Balme Library and the Institute of African Studies Library at

the University of Ghana, Legan, arl! cx~ples of such places. -The thesis

makes use of articles mostly accessed from the internet.

L8 Period of Study: (1920-1971)

Thethl!sasaimsatoutliningl!itherchange or continuity in the

vilnous languagl! policies from colonial rule tolhc posi-coionial period .

1920 is chosen because the Governor at thc time was Sir'Fredl!rick Gordon

Guggisberg. His admini:o.lratlon is said to have witnl!s~d unprl!(,:edcntcd

:soclo-e~nomu.: developments. In addition 10 the above facto~, the period

of study is an cra of significant dC\'elopment nndchanges in Ghana; the

establishment of a new political sy~tem (mdIrect rule) and lhe

consolidatIOn of colonial rule. it also marked Ihepeak of Ghanaian

nationalism. All these had a sb'ong impact on the development and hislory

of language policy in Gbana.

From 1957 to 1911 .thcfcarethrcediffcrcntgovemmentsand

thc:sc I bclicvc provide varying phases oflhe post independent eta. lbe

pt."1iodaftcr independence iScho!i.cn because il serves as a breakaway from

the'colonial l.T.t and as such, whatever decision made can fairly be

3SSt.-ss.ed Oil its own merit and not a<; a product of colonialism. This though

~ nO! to suggest that decisiollli made after indepc:ndc:ncc: are completely 29


devoidofcolooial inf)ucnce5. 1971 servcsastbeeodofthescudyanditis

choscn because in 1971, under the Busla administratioo,. a moUoo

concerning 3 common Ghanaian languag; for the nation was mo\'oo m

pllliYrncnl.

1.9 Cbapter Divisions

rhls Ihesl!> l"mDde up of five chaplers and is organised

c"";nologically.ChapterOne, isagcneral inltOduction to the study. It is

m:kic:upofthcbackgroundlOthestudy.hfcralurereview,rescarch

qucsflon. and tbc:objccll\'CS of the S1udy. As pan of the background 10 thc

study,chap'cronealsopro\'ide!ianovervicwofmj~slOn:tr)'aclivitiesin

thcc:arlystagc:sofEurope.m IhcurSlOn mtopre-colorualuhaoa and an

outline of British colonial administration before 1920. Additionally, Ihe

chaptcrcontalns reasons for the period of study (1920 1971),the

significaoce, as wc:11 as thc: methodology utilised

Chapter Two is entitled "The British Colonial Administration and

Ihe language Faclor·'. It focuses on the colonial period from 1920

onwards. There is a general assumption fhat colonialism downpll:yed the

lffiP:Ortaoce of African languages. How true is this? In responding to this

assuDlplioo,tbechapieroutlinc:spolides in rei.:ltlon to lan!.'1lagewhich the

British Colonial Administr3tion Connulated and implemented in running


the Gold Coast Colony. h discusses the British s)'Item of indu-ect rule and

itsl."fTect on coloniaJ language policy. Additionally, the chapter considers

('uggl~berg'sroleandrcspoR$CStotbel~gui5ticconditionsatthettmc.

The main question wh;ch drives the chapter is: What was thc British

Colonial Adminhlr;sllnn 's attitude to the linguistic situation and how did it

respond to this situltion in administering afTairs in lheGoldCoast

Colony?

Chapter Three Iscntltlcd"lndcpendence is Here. What Next for

Lan~ge? (1954 · 1%6)." It discusses the qu~tions how did Ghana as an

independent natIOn respond to language concerns? How did Nkrumah, an

acclaimed Pan·AfricafU~, rc$pond to language concerns after

independence? As an anempt to answer these questions, the chapter

focuscs on thc langu:tge situation in Ghana on lhc C'\·eofindependence

and beyond. In adl:htion.spccjfic language debates that ensuc:d in

parliament and in the new~papen. arl." fe-enacted

The title ofChapler Four is "A Common Gbanalan Language or

N .. ional UNI)"? (1967-1971 )." It is a continuation of ("hapt~ Three. for it

alsoaddrn5CSlanguagedeb.tesinindcpendentGhana. However, unhke

the previous chapter, Chapter FOUTcenters on the period afterthc first

coupinGhanatothetimeoftheSecondRepublic,ltprovidesananalysis

oflhe language debates which ensued during this pcriod; in parliament as

weu as by the general publtc which found e~prcs."lons in the newspapers


It focuses primanly on tbe Busiaadministration and the anempt by tbe

government to lind a coIlul}oo Ghanaian language.

Chaptcr Five is the concluding chaptcr of the tbcsis ..


Chapter Two

BRITISH ADMI:'IISTRATlO"l ANI) TIll:: LA"IGl 'AGF,

FACTOR IN COLO:'lIAL GII AN,\ .

2,0 Introduction.

There was no conscious effort on Ihc part of the Britishcolomal

admimstratiun 10 crC31C a definile language policy in the early phase of

colonial rule In Ghana. Any policy on the htnguagc 'llUation ilnd how

Bntishcolomaladllunlstrationdealt with it IS best Illustrated in their

cducatwnal policies, During the early stagcs ofcolumal ruleeducatiuna l

policywa.slargclyinnueocedbyl'hmtianmisslonaryacli\'ity.whichlatCT

n:mained centm toooionial educational and language polkies.

ThI'IS 1'101 a unique phcoomcnon. In his articic on educational

lanauagc pohc y In Togoland. Benjamin Lawrance suggests that there was

00 "lanpugc policy" but a Kricsof Lndividuoal laws and rulC$ obliging

missionariQ. administrators and the Indigenous population to accord

obsef've.dutll ,svery diffJCUlttoftndICOrnp.-ehensivedocumenlun

language polkies since they are taken for granted and areof\eo ..... dcfined


in decrees or directioos from lhcministcrs of education stating the

language, or languagcs, of instruction at different levels oftbe educatll1R31

systeID .... Nonna11y. the languagc: in wbic:h a country's constrtutioo IS

wrinen gc:nerally is accepted as the offici,,1 language of the' country."S6

Writing 00 language policy in Nigeria, Oluwole Oyatede makes a similar

lndeed, language planning as an organizcd and syslcmatic putSUit ofsolurionsto language problems has remaIned largely peripheral to the mainstream of national plaMing. What can be rqarded as our language policy came about in the c:ontextofothcr more centrally defined national conc:ems. such aslhc: dcvelopment of aNa tiona 1 Policy on Educ:atton and the draftingofa Constitution for the country. II is in connection with these two documents, i.e. the National Policy on Education and the Constitution of

=g~~=~~Cp~~~i~ ~~~:a~S~ talk about

Thcreforc. Iccordingto Oyatedelangulge policy in Africa. as the casc of

Nlgcria shows-is not clearly defmed.

11us chapter focuses on British Colonial Admmistration and how it

dealt wllh language diversity in colonial Ghana.SII It will outline pol!cies in

relatIOn to language which the British Colomal AdministratIOn fonnulated

and Implemented in runnmg the Colony. The chapter seeks to answer the

.. [.Ddlu, "Tbe Lanpaacc S.lu;M1oe in Africa ToUr," 12

M¥riIY~i~;*DI~h~ ~~~ ~iDJ(>II~~ ~u~f!mbMc ~ ~ (2001):IOS·117.


question: What was th..: British Cownial Administration's anitude and

n.:spooses to the linguisticsituatioo in Ghana? I.n responding to this

qucsllon, lhis cbaplerconsidcr.> colonial policiesofassimila~ion and

indirect rule and theircfft.-cl on colonial language policics.·Furth~r, it

focuses on the governorsbip of Guggisberg and hi,;respoDrod to the

linguislic atmosphere at the time and what infonned suchrcsponses.

2.1 Colonial Responses to Ghana's Linguistic Situation .

. Scholi1tSofcolonialruleinAfricaexpresstheopinionthatUritish

colonial admintstration from the late nineteenth century onwards,

ex.hlbltedkceninlerest in hcrovc.rseascoionics contrary 10 thcir initial

portrayal of a "la l<;~z-f8ire" attitude. S9 This change was mostly refla:led

in their economic policics. Neverthclcss, this new found interest in

Britain's ovcrscas colonies rcflectedalso. in hersocmJ policics. The ar ca

of education primarily prcl't.'fltoo the p latfonn for most of Unl3in's social

policics. As undcrlined inchapteronc,thcprovl)IOn ofedUl.:alion in me

early stages of the colony was primarily in the hands Ofmls.<;lonary

l.rgamL3Iions. From 1920 onwards, when the colonial admInistration

!;"vc:1uuaJly assumed maximum control of education in the colony, it wu

ge~towardachievingtheirpolicyatthctime

~for~aa1edKcountofBrilalll·sEronomicpoliciesiDhtlOYcrsust:Olonies -. ~HaYlDdcn8DdDavid Mercdith,Co/Dlfi#Ju.._~twl.Bntal"QNl Ib Tro/Hc.1QJIOIIJa.J850-1960(London:lloutledj:e. 1991)andPetnMathias(cd.) G--Brl,.,..ItdI.eCo(Ollit'J.1IJfj. l86j~:MetbucnaCoLtd..191O)


British Colonial Government' s attitude and response to the

linguistic situation in Gbana was an extended reOection of the policies

which they adopted in running the Colony. In most of its c~lonies,

(including Ghana), Britain initially employed the policy of as~imiiation . 1t

was not until after 1919 that Sir Frederick <iordon Guggisberg introduced

the sysll.:mofindirect ruLe into colonial Ghana.60

How did this affect cducational and language pol!cy m the Colony?

Webster and Boahen remark that the Nineteenth-Century British policy of

assim~lationsoughtto'ang1icize'thcBlacksandthisin3dvertenlly

resu1ted in the adaptation and adoption of everything English. Thcpoltey

ofauimilationgavc Africans me " .. . stalusofBritish subjc:cls, introd uced

a British judiciary, a British educahonai syslem, the British religion and

Britisbpolitical inst]rulionsuchasmunlclpa1andlegislativecouncils."6]

Indeed,inaspee<:htothe Legislative Council on 2l s' January 1921.

(;ug,glsbergbemoaned this pohcy when he explained that ..... nogreater

catastrophe in the history of the Gold Coast could be imagined than the

overwhelmingofnativehyEuropeaninstitutions."t.2

The policy of assimilation was especially manifested in the

educatIOnal system at the tIme. The effect of this policy on educational

and linguistic work W3.o;; the con.'~istent use and extolment of the English

~hi~:!~:~~'~:W=~JI::~~~~~~f~!=et~: BrituhTrPpico/A/ncw.

JJJOO(Lo:~~.i!;=:;!~·L~m~:~:;e2~~rUIiOl/ary YeG,.,. Wrst Africa ,ilu !or l.t&isbtivc ('.oQacd Droaus.·19: 1921,4


language,evcnthoughChrisrianmissionarieswerecoovel'$elyadvocating

wongiy for the vernacular. Thus by the end of the nineteenth century, as a

result of this policy the British West African colonies including the Fanlc

Ga areas of the Gh3.n3 had produced a number of what came to be known

OL,,'BlackEnglislunen,.63 ThispolicyofassimilalioniswbaIGuggisberg

ref~ to as the "Evils ofEuropearusmg Natives'''' and warned against

the promiscuous adoption of western mstitutions which did nol servetbe

purpose of the AfricllD but would rather lead to thc:destructiOn of African

in§ti~lions.lnthewordsofGugg]sbcrg·

For several decades very serious criticism has been directed at the systems of education adopted in ASI3 and Africa. It has been consistently alleged. and the results have proved. that the systems adopted bave resulted in the Europeanisation of the races concemcd in those two continenls. Both inlndia and in Egypt. the rcsults have been especially apparenl. Indcedin the fust-namcd country. the pendulum has swung to Ihc opposite extremc. Inthc Gold Coast tbe evil resulls of our system of edu~at ion arc not sowell marked,buton thc other hand,tbeyare suffieientlydcfmile to arouse Ihe anxiety of Africans themselves. 6~

ToGuggi5berg.thccducational policy of assimilating colonised people in

tbe ways and institutions of Britain wasnol to their (theco!onizcd)

advantage. lienee, especially during his administration, the Bntish

goverrunent employed a new policy on language which was a complelc

U WetM.lcr.wld Boahc:n, n,e Revo/wtiOflffry YeII'nI, Wat A/rial sUlCe 1800

64'-4:iI1.I'~CouncilDC'bac,1926.J31

"lbid


dc:parture from whal was practiced in the early stages ofcolonlahsm m the

Ghana.66

Itis IIllcresting bow British colonial policy on languegeshifted.

with coloniai offici:als evt.'Drual ly adopting the mis!>ioos' tactics towards

language. What could account for this suddcn change of policy? Why did

colonial IIdministratoBanachconsiden.ble Importance to "ga ining real

proficiency m Afric.a.n Languages"?

2.2 Guggishcrg's Pulicy nu Language

Colonial policics afassimilalion and indirect rule snaped colonial

allitude and responses to linguistk Slluallon particularly in British colonies

in Africa. Bamgbosc writes thai there were Iwo divergent goals of the

colonial po"'·""': assimilltion and "separate development.,,6111te po licyof

lWimiblion according 10 Bamgbose. aimed at "bringing the colonial

subjcctstoareasonable cduc3tlonal level SO lhal they may be Ilbsorbed

into the culture oflhe colonlzmg powcr.,,68 ·Ibis inevitably meant

education in the coionililanguage. The other policy, which Bamgbose

n:fcrs to a. .. '"scp.ll:atedevelopmen(' gave the indigcncs a "frcescopc" 10

"'ThispointWlIlh«omedarc-rlarnOOllllhechapler .

• ' BamgboilC:, ~Ed&iallon In Indi&enow Langu",es.-rhe poh~y of ~\ot'PU¥e de\ldopmmt"maywellbethcsystmlofIRdareuruk

"lbid.S7.


develop within tbeirOWD cuiturC'and not thai ofthecoloniz\ng power.

This abo meant educ:atioo in the indigenous laoguages. Saah and Baku

write tbat during me earJystlgcs of European intrusion into· Africa., there

was an "unbridled adoptioo"ofEuropean lifestyle manifestcd in their

language, dressing and other socml a'pccl!'. />II This was the lime when d.e

pohc), of aSMmllalJOO was at it~ peak and [uropean cuirure was idea1ised

to the detnmcnt of Ghanaian culture; while colonial Ghanaians

"uncritically mimicked" European lifestyle. However. they explain th at

naliolltllists'quest rora reNrn to the use of Ghanaian languages after the

consohdatlon of colonialism in Ghana was one way or expres£i.ng their

desiretorepinindependcnce.10

At the time {iu~glsherg became gO\'cmor of Ghana the system of

Induccirulehadu:pl.1cc:Olhcpolicyofa.. .. similatiooandwasheginrungto

take root in Ghana. Like the earlier policyofassimilatioD. the British

system or indirect rule diclilted colonial language pohcy from 1920

onwards. Unlike the policy of assimilation however, mdirect rule aimed at

..... deveioping thc African races aJong the hnesoftheirown Institu1ion"71

aDd lberefore sough110 appJy traditional institutiOns and customs in

running tb~ affairs of the colony. Dunng thiS time abo, the Brilish colomal

.....


administration d«idedthat lherewastbcnecd for a single controlling

bodyofeducatlOnlflthecouooy.

The last of Guggisberg's Fifteen Principia 0" E~;OfI stated

lMt Government must have ultimate control of education throughout

Ghana and whcnever it deemed necessary, the colonial goverruncnt would

cnlruSl kt the misswm schools and private schools actual work of

cducation.ll Guggiabcrg cxplalncd that the missions had done a yeoman's

job m cducatiooal work and for which reason they had reccived grants and

Govcmmcnl':Ii cO-Opcral.ion. ThiS co-operation had increased so much

during the post-war period th.ltboth bodics\\clc working in perfcct

Iwmony. He however admitted that the really bad "educational Cault"

common among nearly all missions in the put was that they established

schools Car in excess orthe number of properly qualified teKhers

educational capaclly.··l l He thus explained that government was willin gto

ofTer additional gr.mt If missionaries were to secure better teachers.

With education now mostly in the hands of govemmcot,

GuggUberg now spell out colonial policy on language. In stark contrast

with the colonial governments' initial disapproval of the use of the

vcrnicularc:spa:lallyinthcschools.Guggisberg,nowencouragcditsusc.

LepWliveC-IDeblla.I92.590

"IbId.A9.


This WiL" a complete departure from the past. In fact., be ad.nowledpd

tbat the polky ofassimililllOO aDd thesubsequcnt use of English 115 the

medium of imtruction had DOt been the besl. One of the pitfalls of colonial

education, Guggisberg explams. is ..... thc bcliefthat bccausean African

may ha,'c no IUeBturc in the vernacular, we must give education in an

ahen language. But thcn IllS only comparallvely recently that we have

realised the tmport:lllce of developing lhe African races along the lines of

their own tn:.ttlUlion. with which the vernacular has an intimate and .n·

Importantconncctlon."J4

By 'comparallveiy reeently'. Gugg.isbcrg was perhaps referring to

the lime when indirect rule was introduced into Ghana. Through the

indircct rule system. British colonial admintlilr3tlOn. sought to educate

cokmial subjccts along their own mlilltutions. GUl!l!lsbcrg was of tile

conviction that tbc: es.scnceofformal cducation for the African W8S 10

mablchlmjudgcwhu:hinstitutlorui shouldbediscarded. n:taincd,or

blended.wilh that of the West.H

Onc: arcil which called for African instirutioftS to be"blcndcd with

thc In, litutlonsofthe Wcst" was language; precisely, the use of the

vcrnaculilrineducation.lndeedGuggisbcrghadhmeandagainaddrcucd

this issue when he Wa! Governor in Ghana and laler in British GuianL In a

speech'to lhe legislative Assembly on 3'" Fcbcu.HY 1925, Guggi.s.berJ

·'lzp.laullcCouDcII Debal.a,19U.74.

" [tlld


explaincdthat y . whiisl an English cdocation must be given, it must be

baed solKily on the vemacwar.,,16 This was the twclfih point in his FPE

and probably n:modellcd after the 1920 Education I;:ommittce which

recommclxkd thlt English should be a subject, and the vernacular a

medium of in~lruclJon. To GuruW'hcrg. this was the most impOr1ant

recommendation of that comm.iUee lie was of the convictIOn that sul;:h a

step was neccs~ because the teaching of "English is the very thmg in

which our present systcmofcducalion has failed most.,,17

.lnterel'>tingly,Guggisbergsugr.e<;.!slhatthereasonforsuchafaihue

wastha, Engilsh-... bas usually been taught in English and 001 inthc

VUIIacular:,71 Hebelievedtbat

A language cannot be taught toa child by making him repeat by memory certain sounds the meaning of which he does not understand,yct this is the system which has generally prevailed and has laid the foundation of the parrot· like knowledge tbal IS such a strongcharacten!'itlcs (sic) of the boys and girls tumcd oul by our pnmary schools. Children cannot be mterested and cannot learn Wllcsstbeyunderstandwhal Ihey are doing and what is being said 10 Ibem.?'I

Therefore, Guggisberg proposed that the vemacular be t8Ught to lay a

thorough and strong foundation for English in al1 infants schoola. and that

ilSUSCshould bc contlQued to lbe uunosl cxttnt possible and practicable

"Lq:lllallveC:oundIDcNlC""o, 192S.8.5

-Ibo'

.....


during the whole of primary education. Consequently. all Europeans

employed in edUCOltlOD wt:rt: rt:qulr~ 10 lcam and spc:.ak the vernacular.

wnhoutlhtskn('l\\lcdgeofchelu..:<tlllluguagcal:.uropl..·ao

E~~~:i,;:'~~~::~:~~~~~~;~~~2~~'~r~::1.~: ofthoughtsandmethodso[cxpreSSLO~(hemselvcs bpcm:nce has shown that a knO\~led~e of lhe ycrn~ular unconsc iouslyproducesachallge lOthe~.uropeallhlmself wruch gives him a far better understanding o[thc A frican with wbom he is dealing and obtains from them grealer confidenceandafTcction.lIO

This IlSsertiOD o f the Govemor provides a clearer perspective of the idea

behind British inlroduClion of the syslem ofindin:ct rule in place o f the

policyofasslmllal ion. ll isalsoreminisccnloftherea.o;ons forlheuseof

IhcvemaculatbyCtuistianmissionarics

Guggisberg mteratcd th is stand on colonial language policy of

educ3tioninhisoutlineon"'A Policy of Education" m Itis book with

Fraser. He explained Ihal the vernacular should be Ihe sale medium of

inSlruclllmduringlhewhoieofpnm3ryeducalion; adding thai the absence

of tcxlbooks tnthevc:macu larmay rcnderadv isablc the partial usc of

English; however the vernacular should be used in the fullest sense.

Accordingly, ..... by lhi, system a bi-lingual race will be evolved. This is an

Idvl1ll3ge ramer thao a disadvanlage, provided that the vtrnxular is

-t.ep.s.I .. veCounClIDebatet. 1925. 86 43


consistently u.'IOO so that the student remains familiar with the language of

his TaCC.,.81

Ckarly, Guggisberg realised thai the we of English toaether with

the vemacu.larwas the best solution tocdUC'ltiooal languageconecrns In

Ghana. Indeed he knew 111 too well the defects of using English solely as

the me4ium ofinstruetion in edueation for apcopk-whospcakadifTerent

language as the mother· tongue. For C'xample, in hiS opening ~arks k> the

legtslatlveeouncilonJanuary 1925. Guggisberg explained that one of the

defects of the educational system then was that" ... the African boy is

taught IR whal is to him s foreign language by teachers who are

imperfectly acquainted with that language, whi le the English boy is laught

in his own language by one to whom that language belongs.""

Tbusby 1926 British colonial udmmlslralion had.ctualty

embarked on their plans of encouraging the use of the VC'mKular among

the coloOl.lcd and some European ofrlcials. On IOffl December 1925, an

Education ordinance: based on Guggisberg's FPE wa.'I passed by the

Legislalive Council and became law on ,01 January, 1927.111 Guggisberg

furtber explained tbat steps hid bec:n taken to carry out some of the issues

outlincd in the FPE. Inconncction with thc: progress made on the 12111 point

. "Gt.t~~Fr~,17IeFtdtlreof'h~Negro.8()-1I1

1· 1.cpu.iveCouncil()ebat~,192S.t926.6S

·'lzp\b.neCouncllDebata.t92S.90


of his FPE, _ whilst an English education musl be given, II must be based

solidJy OIl the vemKUlar - he explained that a considerable advance has

bccnm3dcunderthisbcadingin 1926 and would be iotensified in thc

yean; to comc. In additioo,.lhe teaching ofTwi, Fantc and Ewe was

included In the Curriculum of the Traming Collegc and a special

examinahoR iD the vernacular was tntroduced for all Europc~ Masters

.KId lrispectorsofSchools.uTb.J~cxan'1R3IioniDcluded atcsto(thcfitncss

oftheex.aminec 10 teach in the VCnl;(cu lar, thus making It possibJe for an

English Inspector to know if this was being nghtly conducted in the

schools be visited. The colonial Government also aSKed Ihat Profcs§Ol'

WestennannbetnvitedtovlsitGhanamthatyeartoadviceonthe

question of a uOifonn script fo r TWllUld Fante.8) Such measures by the

colonial government - encouraging the vernacular - underlined their

determination to see to the success oflbelr new policy, the system of

~idC5lhe change in culHmallanguage of education, there were

also changes in colonial administration and ~ use of the vernacular at the

local Icvel. Forinstancc, wilh regards to "Nltive Affairs" Guggisberg

explaincd that to bc qualified for the appointment to the post, an officer

was required to bave had cORSlderableexI..-..:utlve and pohtlcalexperience,

as well as an expert knowledgeofoneoftheprincipallanguaaes~ Fami.

"'Lcp"''lC:l"OUIIcdDebala.l~lS

"lbILI23.T24


Akan.orTwi.86 Furthermore, as a resuh oftbe growing ImportaDCe

attIIchcd 10 the study of indigenous languages by Europeans. a Board of

billlliners was est3blished.87 The main objective of the Board was to sec

tuth..:t:~ammingofEuropc:anworkersinanindigcoous · languagei.nordcr

for them to qualify for gove:nunent work. However, In spite of this sudden

recogmllOnofthe imponanceofthevemacular, thc:re is the necd to clarify

thai the English language was oot ailogethetdiscarded. Indecdilrcmained

thesolelanguagcof ' formal' govemance and thus a source of prestige.

The language used in the Lqislalive Council continut.-d to be the English

Janguageand not evcn with the appointment of paramount chiefs into the

Assembly was this ahered

Onesigruficanlfeatureofthe 1925Constituttonwasthe

appomtment of unofficial members to the Council. These were six African

Provincial Members woo were all pararnown chiefs. II 1bere were

however some cnticiSffii ofdus Constitution espc.:cially by the elite, One

of such criticism was that it violated and was likely 10 weaken indigenous

institulions. Most oflbe dne expressed scriou.~ concerns that chiefs'

I16LeiisWivcCouncllDe~192S. 163 .

· ' lbId. 222.

.. lqJMaIIlvcCOUftCIIDeba&c.1926-t927.29. ThePto\1ncwCounc:i1of MHead Clurf.M .... as mainly rormed Iodecl paramounlchic&ofthev.now.prcwi_oIlhe eoIooy; .E~n:n. Cenl~ _ Watcm. II w" Ihe lirsl or Its kind made pOSSIble by Ihe 19~5 oonst'tullon under the pernontUp of Sar Frederick Guailber&- TIus.".1O CMbk c:llicfstoCClOlU.lttotetlacr.,d m..JkelbcupoAlionsoncoioniaJ pohcics known IOlhc &Ovemment. The EastCI"Q PrOOtUKC was dirickd ...., .. ---Ik-s '-Pale tlllet.; Gl-Adaacme.E __ .-\Un.ThcOlhCTtwoproVlACCSwCRlllidlObc~'"

dle.M.anli111guage!CrVCd ... acomrnc:.~


appomtment into the Council would undcnnllle traditional institutions.

They argued thai the sok usc of English by memben of the Council would

proh.ibilach.icffromspeakin&throu~.linguiSlaswcllasspeakin&his

mother-tongue. two imporunl C$SerItials deemed .... necessary to the

efficiency of his rule over his people."n

Some of the paramounl chiefs in question however disagreed with

dus cnllcism.fIO One of them. Nana SIr Of on Ana. Ihe Omanhene of

Akycm Abualcwa, ralher argued that such a decision would not undermine

tradlllo"nal m .. titutt<ms and that it was vital for chlds who were

represenlatlvcsofthepeople to have a voice in thc LegislallveCouncil

O(on Alia mtlmated thai tboie who opposed dus did so just because they

were against the empowerment of chiefs by colonial adminislraton. W,th

regardstolhcas.sm~thatachicfsinabililYl0ncitherspcakthrough.

linguist nor speak in the 'vcmacular of his stool' would undermine

tndilionalirutitutions,OfonAn.arl!ucdtlu.ttif!lCSh.adchanged.thcrc:fo~

proplemust beprcpared to march with thc lime.

"1..qJ""'¥cC_dDeblk..J92l-t921

.. OO<*'''-i.OOWeo..latdh ...... wen:oIdacopiaiontUttheywerelhc: 11M rcpr&nlallVCS or lhe pcopk: ~ DOl lhe ct.ril wbi~ cdoaiaI ~ bcbn-ed·CllIilcrlr!IC· Gua:ltlbcrzfOl' lDaltiCC WAS COltV'II'ICcd Lhalctuds""crclbcnsblfvJ Nlersoll~pDOpleaodsboald~knbel'qlraalledLII*I...cpbI,wA.Pcmbl., . ....

• • dculkd~oItbcrdaioll:SbipbetweenChiefsandLhcwcUi'"'tuasiAtJ.OoW Coilst., 5«. [hVld iC.mble, A PoJillnlll1lS1ory t:I/ G"- (I8SO-1918) (Odont: OllJmdon Pras., J963). and 10'1'0- FUoIa. l"---Iu.. ".". Afrtc- '-dk.-rua/s (RlXhl:$(Cl': lhuwntlyofRodlalc:r Prew, 20(1)

47


Guggisberg abo addressed lhi:o issue in a spccch to thc COWlCil on

2~Fcbruaryl926andevcnadminedth3tthecritJcismw3.smdeedanold

conlcnlion.lnhisderenteGuggi~providedaJustlflclI.tlol1fortbesole

use of English in the Leg.,I.llive Council. Hcexp1ained:

No one who is convmant with thc situation m tru:o country coukl possibly deny that this is not oruy an excellent but necessary custom. and it is hoped thlt it will always contmue to be observed in all man.en affecting the rule: of a chiefandhiscouncil over his division. There are grave doubts., however. as to whether this custom really applies in thctaSeofcbiefs meeting together in assemblies of which the members speak several entirelydirrercnt languages as is thec:aseintheLegislativeCouncil.NativeCustoms onginalesan the nccessitiesofthe times in which they are devised,and it i!quitecertain Ihat when this particular custom was originated no one ever COnlcmplatcd the existence of a legislative Council. As Mr. Newlands when Acting S.N.A P0lnted out 'There is no COWltry an the world today which Iw exac:dy the same constitution with which it swted; every country has modified it! original constitution s~ly as time passed to pennit of chanKed conditions bclngmet without harm to the people: nor to bring the question closet home - have tribal constitutions in the Gold CoastaJwaysc:supedsuchchangesinthcpasl. his difficultto~howwccanexpcctthiscountrytobethe onlyexccptionlotheruleofcvo!utionwhichhlstorysbows mus' inevitably prevail' .... The native custom ofachid o;rcaklng in public truough his linguisl and in the vemacu.1ar is, as I have already said, very necessary 10 the cffic:iency of his rule over his particular p~le. It will no ~blbeobservedintheProvinciaICouncils.butloapply II to such a gathering as Ihe legislative Counc:il would efTectuailyprevcotacbicfbcwminKamembcroflhis Assembly.,,91

To both Ofori Ana and Guggisberg, language poltcics, &hould meet

the changmgneeds of the nation and tbe silU81ion on lhc ground. And with

"Le~veCount.ll.>ebales,1926.1927. 11,12 . ..


regard 10 what language to we in the Legislative Comcil. the situatIOn at

the time was differalt from the time when people with diffen:ntlinguistic

backgrounds hardly came together t~ deliberate on issues. The situalion

then called fordifTerent measures which would be convenient and efncient

for aU involved. Hence, one should be able to draw a balance as to when it

was appropmte to us.e a parttcularlanguage; English or a Ghanaian

langu8~e. And GU&IIsberg belaevtd that it was only practical to use the

English language in such a situation.

Significantly, Guggisberg affirms the Impol1ancc: oftbe mother

tongue particularly In a "local" or "'t3dltlOnal" scning but not for fonnal

gatherings. Thus, in as much 8S the colomal administration recognised the

importance of the Ghanaian languages in the area of educatIOn and even

fur local governance, it did not think it nseRiial and convenient to U&e

th~ In formal seui .. !;'> like the Executive and Lcglsi:ltin:: Councils. For

the reason thai these councils wen: initially made up of Europeans

(coloniscn.).nd when laler Africans were allowed miD these councils, one

mOlJorrcquiremcntforelcctionorappomtmenttoanyoftbeseCOUDcils

""'.1." proficiency in the EngJish language in oroCf tu I;u'c anacllve and

intelligent part in Ihe proceedings oflhe Councils. Fortbesc reasons.

coloni.ll~guagcpol K:ywasnotfullycoherenlandonenambivalent.ln

ordert~"carryoutthenewpolicyoflDdlrcctrulelothelener,therewasthe

need to encourage and utilize indigenouslanguaga. At the same time,

English wsstbelanguageorgovemance fortbe sake ofpncti~ity. This ..


is what 8amgbose refers 10 IS the "miJ.cd policy" of colonial language

policy.9llnanycase,consistencyisonJyphilosoph.ical,whatmatterson

lhegroundispracticality.

Colonia1 ambivalence toward language in Ghana contnldicts the

popular auumptlOO that colonial power was absolute. It also quc:stions the

neat dichotomous analysis of colonialiml mostly by the' grand narrativl.:s·

or earlierhistonog.rapbyon coionialism.')J It is true thaI colonial

adminislralionwic:ldedc:onsidcrabJcpowcrycttraditionaiinslitutionsno

doube,in[lucnc:cdcolonialauthority.Forinstancc,thc"ProvincwCouncil

of Head Chief'" YO':!S CTt::3Ied by the colonial government to provide chiefs

.... avenue where they could exerCl!>I.! wlthuut any inhibition locaJ customs

like the usc oflhe vcmacular, among other things. This was Guggisberg's

way ofdcaling with thc: criticism that the 1925 Constitution underminc:d

In his article entitled "Neo·Tradillonahsm and,the limits of

Invention in British Colonial Afnc:a," Spear argues that the case for

colomal invenuon has often overslated colonial power and ability to

manipulate African institutIOns to establish hegemony. To him tradition

was a complex discourse in which people continually reinlerpreted tbc

lessonsoflhepast in the context of the present and that colonial powcr

9!s.qboJe. ~1.du~ulfll.1ad!JCIM)UI ~es_"

ILstory.-9~!=~C::i;~~~:~=I~~~~n& ColowaI Arran


was limited by chiefs' obligation 10 ensure community well-being as well

astomaintainthelegitimacyonwh,chcolonlal.ulhoritiesdcpcndcd.

Agam, cihnici&y reflected longstanding local political, culturallnd

NSioricai condilions in thc changing contexlSofcoionlal rule. None of

these institutions wen: easily fabricllcd or marupulated, and colomal

depcndence 00 thc:m often limitcdtolonialpowcrasmuch as it facihlatcd

it."'Clcarly,coIoniallangu.gepolicywasasmuchshapedbyindigeoous

cuhUnlland histonc.11 conditions as Lt was by colonialism.

Thcreorgaru7.1llOnofktcalpoliticsandtraditionallRstitutionsas

underlined by the system of indirect rule meant the recognlllon of .he

clahunl and soc:ial system of the indigenes., where languagc was an

tnlegralfealute. FOTthat maller, when colonial autborityinsisted on

thorougb mastery o(me vernacular by European officials especially m

ooucational and local mstltutlons, It was not only seeing to the success of

the new policy . indirect rule· but It wa .. also acting in response 10 local

""·Thom_ Spear. '"Neo-Trdt.aftlhvn Mld Ibe Lilli_ oIlnvenllon In Bnlllll Coioru<tlAfnca-rneJ--'ufAjn#;'fll'lHlSklry44:I(2003):l-27.


2.3 Colonial Language Policy afler Guggisberg

The language policy adopted by Qovt:mor Guggisbl..-rS·s.

administrationcontinuedevenafterlheendorhisgo~emorshipln(jhana

lndced, his language pohcy of education was adopted in the new

AehimOla College. nus is manifested In a memorandum on language

leaching in Ghana

In a lener 10 the Acting Colonial Secretary the Honourable W.J.A.

Jones, dalcd on 16th July, 1930, the Acting Director of Education, the

Honourable Major H.A.A .F Haaman explains thlt with the exception of

the Govemment schools, the languagesuscd in schools have not bccn

prescribed by anydepartmcnt undcr Govenuncot. They hive bet:n adopted

as a result ofconstderation of; the prevailing language ofthc: dislrici and

the supply of Icachcrs av.ul.llblc.'~ According lobim, thevcrnaculars8sa

subjectofinstruetion in the southcm an:a. .. Included Akan (Twi and Fantc),

Ga (including Adangmc) and Ewe. In the Nortbem Territories, in. .. truction

was mainly in the Hau.sa, Mole (Moshi) Dagomba and Nankani. Me.

Haaman quotes Professor Westermann as saying;

.. . onthewhole the liDguisticeonditioru;a5considcredfrom the point of view of instructions in vernaculars may be described as exceptionally favourable on lhe Gold COlSt. Two languages, Akan (Twi • Fante) in the South and Dagomba in the north are predominant and will become more so intbe future. While this is the outstanding fact in the linguistic condition oflbe country I wish, on the other hand to make it clear that the Ewe and Ga·Adangme must

U P.RA.A.D .• C.S.O 1S/11l4 -lanpage Tcaehm& io the Gold a... M~Wl1bQuestJouSorAlm,andMdhodsof

52


beretamedastbemeatlSofinsuuctiooi.ntbere&peCtive areasinwhichtheyarespoken.-

Thus. the predominant vernacular in a region oRen served as the

luguageofinstruclionand this was referred to as the regional language.

Even when and where Enghsh served as the: medium of instructIOn.

L:.nguage !tammg In a vernacular was eno:ouragcd. Vernacular learning

was pr~ribed as obligatory for the fm!: three years of primary education

and recommended (or the higher students. rt.c memorandum . Iso made

provisionJor language teathing and learning in the !'Ccondary Khools. It

slaled that the medium of insbUction in the secondary school was English

while the vemaculuscrved as a subj«t of instruction. Lan~uages such as

'1'willldFante"wert:acceptedbylondonUnivenmyasasubjectforthc

rn.:Jlm:ulatlon E I(armnallon of representations from the Gokl Coast colony

Consequently IR connection to Twi and Faote, the memorandum

conciudes:·· ... llishkelylhattheywilishonlybeinciudedmthesyllabus

(or Cambridge School Cer1lrtcate.,,'17 Additionally, the 1933 1934 annual

repor1on GhanaeKplicate&:

Educahon m the Gold Coast IS voluntary and is mainly in the hands of Government and of various missionary bodies Non- Government schools are officially recogn.i7.cd. as of two kinds. assisted andnOft.tiSisteci. An assisted school is ooe wbich has attained a ca1Jin standard of efficiency and wbichrcceiVC$aGo\""'fDIDeot~J.nt .... intheprimary

geP.R.A.AD .• C.s.Ol811134

"Ibid.


scboolsthesubjeclsofinsbuctionsi.nctude~". reading and writing in the vemacular and English.

U1timatelyan indigenous language was preferred in the g.ovemment

schools. Just as m.Jsslonar1es were forced 00 use English as Ihe medium of

instruction inthc Initial stage of British colonialism in ordcrto receive

government grants, non-Govemm~l schools were now coerced into using

the vemacular in at Icast the early stages of primary education.

Inloc:al administrationaiso,thclanguagc policy outlined by

Guggisberg did not change with the end ofhi5 term 8!i. a governor. The

colomal government cOnlmued With the poiu;y which required all colonial

offiCials., mostly of European nationality. to learn the local languages of

their various districts.99 Ina letter dated 201h May 1937 to the Secretary for

NaLive Affairs (SNA) Honourablc II.W. Thom&5. thecRalnnanoftbc:

African Language Examination Board writing on behalf of the mcmher's of

the bo.rd e.plaincd thJl lhey ..... have bttn dismayc:d by tbe low standud

of proficiency shown by candidates who have: presented themselves for

rcceat examinations ... 110 He compl.ined about the 1':II .. k Ilf seriousness tMt

some mcmbcn nhihit in t3king the: exammatlon. The chairman goes on to

remjnd H.W .. Thoma..\ th3t the ALEB was a body appointed by the

·GoIdCotilAn~Rcpon,193J..1934 , S4.

eo.d. "PRAAD. CSO 21111112 - Mcetinp of tbc AfriQa l..arIpaps b-UWlon


Governor 10 3dvicc the SNA ...... on matters affecting the learning of and

examinations in African lan~uages:·IOI According to him, successive

governors bad attached cOMldenbic Imponan • .:c 10 pining real

proficiency in African l.anguages, especiaUyby young officers. He

lamented thai the al1ainment of orrtcers of this colony 10 this maner are

considered below those of other officers in other colonie5. The chairman

thus concluded lhat lhc ..... boardtherefnre intends 10 do wh.t it can to

bringofficcrs to a proper realizalion of their duty in this respect by sceing

thatthestanliardofprofieiencyrequircdforiliepassingofallexaminatlOn

in furure,especiallyl.O far as concems the oral Icsis. is rigidly

enforced ... IOl

The: majority of Eurupean ulrlo.:lall'> were reluctant to learn the

\ema(ular. Nonetheless. this policy wa .. ngidly applied.nd there were

-.orne who e"en thought it a bit clIlJeme. Concerning this, the chief

commil'>,ioner ofl amalc wrote to the chainnan of the ALEB th.t .. __ .the

lcsllobc applied in the casc ofan AdministnliveOfficer .... shouldbebis

ability to Interpret in a meeting with a chief and his peoples." 10) Therefore

bcwas ..... noc in favourofa written test being included in Ihe examination

as it is the.bility to spc:ak a native language whIch increases the efficiency

101 PRAAD. L"SO 21111112.

'''Ibid


arnJu-..cfulnessofanAdnunisttativeOfficerassuch. .. ·CMFwtbcrmorc.

gm crnmt:nI workers were also expected to at least take an oral test in a

Ghanaian Language predominant in the area where they were t~ work and

this a!so was ngadlycnforced. lna reply to onc mcdical officer who had

..... nttcntobecxemptedfromtrusexercise,lheeokmillsccretaryreplied: .. '

am directed by the Governor to inform you that His Excellency docs not

consid~ it desirable to waive the necessity for Medical Officers to pass a

lowcrstandardexaminationmanative language prior to eonfinnatlon."IM

This form, of 'reversed assmulatlOn' . allowing Its colonial officials to

learn mdlgenous langu.age~ . was considered necessary In order for the

colonial officials to be mure efTeclive in administering afTair~ In the

colony.

Outside the school and local administration, practical consideration

dctennin,--dthechoieeoflanguage. For instance in the area of

broadc~tlPg, which firss slartcd in 1935. the GholfQ Official Htmdhook

reporu thaI programmes were broadcasted in e ight languages; English,

Akan (Twi and Fanti), NZIma, Ewe, Ga, Dagbmi, ~usa and Frencb. The

Ghanaian langua~c news wa.\ ht:ard at 6.30 am. 12.15 pm, 4.30 pm and

7.15 pm. News in Englisb was also broadcutcd at 6.00am, 1.00 pm.

leo PIlAAD.CS021111112

.", PRAAD.CS021111111 -Afne..n~. S4ud)'otby Medlt.a.loff.cas


6.00pm. 8.0Opm. 9.00pm. and I O.pm. 106 Thus. the vernacular and the

English language were used interchangeably. Eng.Iish.however

undoubtedly received massive airplay.

Circumstances also detemuned what language to use at a particular

time and purpose. According 10 the memorandum on the aims and

methods of leaching language in Ghana, the ..... demand for English is as

largely due to Government's requirements as to conunercial needs .... AlI

who wish 10 cnlct Govcmmcnt employment or to assist in or run shops In

the larger !owns must know English more ('Or IMS ... IOJ Hence, in spite of

the groWing pre(en:nce for the vernacular. English continued 10 exercise

maximum control in the society. It contlDucd 111 be the I:mguage: of

~\Ovcm,lf)ce and power. The earlier n:co~lll1llln given to the English

language was so entreoched that in spill! of colonial government's effons

to 'de- Europeanisc' the indigenes and rule them accordmg 10 their own

eustoms and Iradltion, there were: some discrepancies. Boahen and

Webster thUI draw the conclusion thaI English·speaking West African

elite after Ihe penod wben assimilation was abandoned were" produced

nOI by the British admimstratlOnbut m spite ofit .... lo8

,~, PRAAD. C.S.O 1&11134

.. Webster -t BoaIr.eo., RevoJuliottary reDn. West A/ne. llnu 1800. 218,


2.4 Coodusioo

Tbae is the geneJ'3J as:ownption that colonial rule undenmncd

mdlgenoos languagcs. Tbis cbapter provides an altemate inlerpretalion 10

Ihls argumenl II is flie 10 argue that by making English the langu~ae of

&<lVcmanc:e, the Imponancc of the indigcntlus languages was downplaycd.

However u this chapler shows, colonial officilil!s· like

mlsstanaries before them - did more 10 encourage: the: usc and

development of the indisenous languages; espcciaUy after the introdue:lioo

of the s}">k:m ofindirec:1 rule in colonial Ghnna. Byrisidlyenfon:ing tMt

govcnunent otr.cials - mostly Europeans - INdy alleasl one of the

indigcnouslanpgesoftbc1rassignedarea, these languagcsgained

recognition. Further. by continuing with missionaries· recommendation of

usmg indigenous languagc as the mediumofm"trucllOn In the early stages

of education, colonial authontlcs did more than undermine the irKhgenous

language5. irrespective of the motIVe behind the policy. True. it did not

make local languages the ultimate. but it was cCl1amly an improvement

and a posilive gesrure toward thedeve!opment and rC'COg,nition of the

Ghanaian languages unlike the period bcforc 1920.


Chapter Three

INDEPENDENCF. IS IIF.RE, WHAT NEXT FOR" LANGUAGE? (1954-1966)

be,.venlolho:quCIJlonorlheomdall .. ~wluchlhallbcowd

RIak.nmotb)'."'OurHaKlnlt~." f)Qj1y

GrapItKJanuaryI8.19S4. S.

3.0 Introduction.

The hinh oCtile nation on 61), March 1957 usbcTcd Ghana mto a

different phase of challenges. In as much as the attainment of

independcncc brought JOY it also meant hard WOfk and SM:rifices.

Indcpendc::m:e required discipline ami meanl more than freedom from

foreignrulc.lnfllCl,withtbeanailU'l'lentofindepen.dence,newcbaUcnges

had lObe combated; crucial decisions had lobe reached.

In an address to the lirsl session of lhe firsl parliamenl of Ghana,

Dr. K. A. Busta, the leader of the main opposition political partyal the

hme adrrutted to Mthe heavier responsibilities" and the"high cXpClCtalions"

of the ncw,nalion when he stated"

Ourowncou.ntrymen wilJ expect bettc:rand higher standards of living; 00 us will be focussed the bopes of maay communities in our vast COnlmel'll and elsewhere who justly aspire after political emancipation; and 00 us too

'9


willbccentcrcd tbc: cxpoclations of many well-wishers throughoul the: world for some notable contribution from us tornankindcommooandever-increasiogherirage:buLitup in the effOClto improve: and enrich ow human life or to gain

=~=:~forpc:ace~CQoc:xistcnceinan

Particularly for newly created Afric.an nations was 8 S\lbtle yet

imposing dilemma; erc:ating a nation oul orvanolls ethruc g,roups With

divem e_ultu~s and languages. Simpson "llggests that one: staggcnng

effect of colonialism in Africa was the M ••• emergence of a pc:at number

of slales with extremely mixed populations oftm having little in conunon

save:thestWmgofasinglcofficiallyrccog,nittdlerritoryandthc:hopc",of

a benerpost-coklnial futUlC .,·IIO This SilUlK)n, he explains. has led 10·· •..•

lXloIWivccballcngefortheleadcrsrupsofAfrica'scmergmgindcpendent

uates:bowtobriJlgtogcthertbcwidcarr3yofethno-linguisticgroups

cuhabillng many ofthc= contment's new .tates and create an o\"cr-archmg

l'CTISeofbckmgingandloyaltytoaeoJlcctive'national'wbole ... 111

!;,;pccllllya national language was of greal Imponance 10 these newly

Independent African natK)R5, who aside from being multilingual wen: also

bequeathed foreign l.n~lIages

lOt Parliamentary Dcbales. Match 6, 19S7. ¥OI.S.I1.

1I ~~dre""SlmJ'ow.n . 14"~"N~ldt"'ih 'IJAjn,Q eel (NewYort.

.UdordUnlveralty Prn\. 2008). 1

l"Ib.d


OneofsuchchaUenges fortbenew nalionGbana was lbequcstion

of language Which language(s) shouJd be officially recognized? SbouJd

the new nation discard the English language as an offklallanpge for a

Ghanaian language? Ifso which one(s)? Or should these be used

concurrently? Lastly, what role would language play in nation building?

lbc smtcmcnt by Bankole Timothy, which is quoted in the introduction of

this chapter, coukl not have been morc ape in describing the dilemma of

moslAfiicannalionsonlhc\lcrgcofluaininsindependence.cspeciallyon.

bowtore:solvcthelansuagcquc<;hOO.

Thiscbapterincoosequcncc,sc:ckstoconsidcrthccountry's

language SitU31100 on thcevcofindcpcndenccand bcyond. HowdKl

independent Ghana deal with the laoguagcquestioD? It sccks 10 answer Ihc

question: Whal WIIS Ghana·s language policy aftcr independence and how

was this a mamfestatlon of coloma I language policy? fun her, the chapter

provides an analysIs of the \anous dehates on language after

mdependell(:e. It pays particular aUention to Nkrumah's stand on the

language issue and how he recoll(:iled thiS with IUs Pan-ACricanideology.

The main sources employed in thi, chapteT are ncwspapen, Cabioct

Minutes. Legislative Council debates and Parliamentary dcb.tc:s


3.1 Linguistic Atmosphere on Ibe Eve of Independence

TbcearlyI950swascbaracteri7.edbygrowin.g anti-colonial

sentiments in Ghana. The system of mdirect rule had graduaJ ly been

abandoned. ushcnDIan lhe process ofdecoloniSllion. The feelangthat

~eryth,ng ~I"'ingtoroloni&lismshouJdbcdi5Cardedorallcastdc.

emphasikd in onierlo carve OUI a new idenlity as an indcpcndcnl nation

was high. Tbc.se sentimenlS found exprcsslons in language dlscoursc: al Ibc

time; since mo»1 people had the con\ ICllon that a common natIOnal

languagew;as cruc laltonationalunityanddevcLopment.

Consequently. pnor 10 Lhe an':lInmcnt of independence, maJor

concem." were raised by both the govenunent and the general public

regardmg Lhc Ghanaian languages and the English language. Thesc

concerns varied . Arguments were adduced from all eomers to jUSlify or

refutethcusc:ofEngJishasfthnguafraneaforlhclnlmincntnal ion

Concurrently. thc:rc werc urong sentiments clI.pr-esscd towards the

improvCmetllofthelndigc:nouslanguagts. 1n 1950forinstance,the

government at the lime established the Vl;lTUICUlar Li~emture Bureau

which was SCared toward improving and populari.ing the indigenous

I.qu.agcs.ll l

Other ~U-mearung indiViduals of the general publiC were equally

'a1anned at the poor management and rotognJlton assig:oed the vernacular

"~P.lIamcnwyDeblln.Jlllyl0,195S . 168 62


languages. In a Daily Graphic editorial, with the title "Encourage allr

Vcrntlculan",therewasacallrortheadoptionofoneortwoindigcnous

languages as officiallanguagcs i~ addition to the I:nglt:o.h Iangulge. The

articie admiued that it will be folly to discard tbe engiish lanb'U8&e

allogcther. Nonetheless. it still deemed it nccessary and timely to have

anauonallanguageofourown:· '13

In an earlier edition of the lJaily Graphic, Sankole Timothy had

articulated his concem over ..... the vaguencss which now beclouds thc

future of our nataanal languages. .. 114 Thisconccm he deemed quile

appropriate becausc language was a distinguisbingelement ofa nation's

culturc.Consequently,beraisc:dtheissueofthenationallanguage(s)up

for discussion; the rc:sponseswere a s.eries of debates. Thesc debates by

the general public in me ncwspapcls mostly appeared in the Daily Graphic

aodcentcrcdonthclanguagc(.)ofnatloR3ltmpOr1ancc

One columnist Mr. G. Adali-MOr1ty summed up what he believed

to be the crux of the language question as this: then: were those who argue

that because thelanguagc Issue was an"inOamm.able manCT," it must be

let nlone to solve itself. There were also·"" .the type who might have

preferred"polished"Latinto"crude English" had they been Britiih-bom

and lived in themlddleages"-thosewho favoured the "riehand elastic

11JDtlayGrapIuc. Febnaa'ylO. 19S4.5

1954. S. 114 BInkok TIIIMIlby. "Our Nalloeal Uapt.aca.R Dally GropIt~ J...-y IS,


English language" and saw it as a blessing. This pro-Englisb school of

lhouchlrcasoncdlhatEnglishwasbestsuited forlhe role ofa lingua-

francabccausc itwasneutta1 and auniversaJ language. These, do not see

..... how 3 choice can be made from the muititude of tongues one finds in

tbe Gold Coast."IU

Further,in 1956. the question on language came up for discussion

in the Daily Graphic. Notable among these discussions is the one which

appeared in the June 25\11 edition by F.M.K. Dzradosi where he examines

some of the problems of 3 national I:mgusge. He relates. "The idea of a

common nationa1language for the Gold Coast has been expressed through

talks and discussiom: all over the country .... Thc rcuph.'Softhecountry

need to know and express their views clearly as to whether or not. in the

peculiarlanguageMluatlOn in the country, it will be advantageous toadupt

analional languagl·foranindcpcndentGoldCoast.,,116Hethenproposed

theadopllonofa":suilablevemacular'·asanational lang:uage. He

suggestedthatconsidcrationmustbegiventothepopulationofthevarious

vemacular-speaking groups, the relation between the vernacular and the

other and the presenl standard of development oft be literature of each 0 f

the vernaculars. Dzradosi tntlmated that the major vernaculars at the time

were Hausa. Dagbani, Ewe. Twi. Ga and fante and of these the prudent

II) G Adah.Mortty, ~A Nallonallangnge"- Daily G1TIpIUc. Ja'luary 25,1954.

2S. 19!'i6~~. F.M.K. DIndoli. ~Problems of a NatioBli Languaae. n Dally GnJpJIIC June


cboice is 10 adopt Twi; be however believed that Ewe"" .is the most

developed in IileralW'e and more standardized than any other vernacular in

thecountry,bulconsiderinlthecl~con",,'CtionbctweenTw·i.Fantiand

other Akan vernaculars, Twi sboold be constdcrcd ... 111 It is quite obvIous

lhatthequestlonofanationa1forGhanaanractedaiotofattentionand

with independence in the offmg., rne debates nnd contrun:rslcs over the

languagequestioncontmul'dunabaled

3.2 A ~ation is Born, Cbange or Contiuuit} for Language?

The eXlsling Iangu.1ge polu;)' at the time of independence was not

aninhercnt one; It was inhentcd from coloninl timcs and after

independcnce, Englisb assumed the SI3.lusofGbaIUI'sofliclll langu.agc:

e\'enmtheahsenceofanofficial stipu lation to lhat eff'ect. Anyidoho and

Kropp Dakubu (""plam that English is currently the oflkiallanguase of

GhanawhlleabouladozcnGhanaian languagesarerecogniscdforcenain

purposes in educallOn and Infornlatlon dIS'icminalion. ILB

IPFM.Kllltadosi,-ProblelllloraNal lonall.an&¥IfIe,MS.lnt~llIaI)'.some COIIkmptIr.uy hnpaas' elI;JIftM _I. v)cwscOfICnnla:lhc lanpaae outlook In Gtlana. BothKroppUakuba-SAayM!oboapblnlhlzouloflpopulabooof'aliltlc-morcl_ II million., acc:ordmg lod!e lOOO census, Akan hiU Ihelargest number or speakers Inlhe COOlIywitbroon:tIun_milltoa.lndigmou~.-kersaad_yntOl'csecoad.

ltnguagc:speakers.Thesecondlar,estlanluaaeintbeOOWl1tylsEwewllM:b.l~SIaWS .dlcsecond~ror_lIpCIk.morthcllD.Uer~lnlheVo1l.Rqaon

"'Aay.dohoMdKn!ppDlkubll,"Gbaruo Indirenr-Lanaua&n,Enghsh,and an EmCTilnaNabonaildcntity,-J44


II was not uncommon for most African nations to adopt the

languageofthcirEuropeancolonialislsastheirofficiallanguagc. Indeed

lhc<;o;:languagt:S),crvcdasaformofldenlityandclassificati~fortbese

natioos so that most 'tItCI'C referrcd to in connection with the languages of

their lmperiaIists. For example. EngJish-Spe&king West Africans. French-

Spe.J.\..In& West Africans and Portuguesc-Spealung Africans. lodhi

provides an outline ofthe lanpaaesitualion in Africa. According 10 him.

nmctccn African countrics have English as their official language. twenty-

IWOhaveFrmch, five use Porruguese and one has Spanish. Seven

countncsalM> use AllIbic as their offK:ial language while some ha\"c an

African language as thefint or second official language. Some examples

are Ethiopia whIch uses Amhanc. Swahi li serves ru. both the national and

offic1311anguage for Tannnia, Somalia has Somali and MalawI also uses

Chichew8togetherWlIh English. 119Thus, in the area of language, moSIof

Ihcsenalionsmadelinlechangcssfierindepeodence,choosingtoconlinue

withtbecolowaJlanguages.ToqUOIeNevllie.

Sbartofmoolutionarysoc:ialehangelhatmighthave wn:nchcdtheseterritoricsfrceofthevice-gripoflhe colonial past, post-(;()Ionial policics in most domains oflifc neecssarilyrepresenledmoreorlesselegantvarialionsof wbaibadgoncbefore. l20

I"Lodbi,'"The~SiluajooIOAfncaTodaY."8()

Illt UNESCO, ~lnlerB.OVemmental Conference OQ LIDpap Poliacs 10 Africa."


The area of IlUIguage policy in Ghana after independence was largely

influenced by the colooial past.

On the other haod, it became quite fashiooablc for most ofthesc

newly independent nations to demonstrate their new status by milking

overt and symboh~ changes like taklOg on a new name, a new currency or

anewnatlOnal anthem. Bamgbose believes that the adoption of nation a1

symbols like the national nag is one obvious way in which new nallons

asserttheunalionalunity.ll1 FormostGhaoaians,havingBnational

language, a common Ghanaian language, was aliG a form of Identity

marker.andthisfeatw-edconsistentlyinmanersoftopicalinterestinthc:

Wben Cihana anained independence from British rule, she

embarked on !\evera) overt and symbolic chanJCS. The name Gold Coast.

considered a \'es1ige of colonialism, was immediately replaced with the

name Ghana. Then: were other ovCTt changes wbj'ch in fact received

international attention. On Friday 21 $I June 1957, for instance, the Dally

Graphic reported of a publicatIOn by a London Newspaper, Daily Slu!lch.

ofanarticle wrinen hy Dr. Kwame Nk.rumah with the caption '·II·h~·lhe

Queen's Head Is lammg Uff Our Coim . ., In that article, the Prime

MUlisterex.pJamedthat he has bec:n refcrred to u a "pocket dictator" and

"powerdrunk~bccllusctbeysay. "I am taking the Qucen's headofftbe


coinage and replacing it with my own ... J am hnmg ncw postage !<itamps

printed with my own on them."1Z.I In his defense Nkrumah explained thai

Ghanaians had \0 be shown that they were now -really ind~odcnl" and

'"tniIya free pcople:·I~1 Thus like most Ghanaians at the time, Nkrumah

had a strongdcsire kI IS5C11 the fledgling nation's new status as truly

independent But thequcstion is: Would lhis desire for a new idcntitybe

manifested in Ghana's l.lnguage policy, considering the facl lhat language

is central 10 the national life of a people and a major defining element of

culture and identity?

When the nation gained independence, the Queen's langlllge came

to stay in tbe midst ofscveral Ghanaian languages and mnained the

pnnclpal language of goycrnance and mslructlOn in cducattoo. lndeed,thc

ncw government under Kv.ame Nkrumah promulgated and intensified the

use of the EngJishlanguageasthemediumofin.<;lructiontothenegIecto(

theGhanaianlanguages.Jnacabinetmcetlngon20lh AugUSl1957,a

decision was reached d\althe usc of English al the primary level should be

intensified. 124 This dccision, aecordingto thc Minista-ofEducation. was

not oeccsszuily to make F.n~hsh the medium of instiuction from " Primary

I" ~Nkrumah I Am NoDtctasor." DmIyGrllplllcJ\Ulc2I,19S7. I ,l Dr K.ame NkOlmah played a key tole In Ghana', SlOIgie rOt independencc hvm BritiibNlcaadbec~tbePnmcMlnil&erlnt9S4.Aft.crlbc~procc.~ MIrth 66 1951,0... was ornclaUy 4«Wed "cc frolll coloNa! Nle and in the year 1960. Dr. Nbumllla became the fint PrcUdmI when Ghana bcame. repablic. He i. W1c1dy acknowkdcedrorhisPan-Arricanldcotol}'

I ~, Ibid

114 PRMD. ADM l3ilf26 - lntnx1uc:tion ~ EacI- • the Medium of

~lbtoupaI.IItbcpnnuryscboolL~8"'J11"AIIPSI19S7.


Class I" but rather, the placing ofa grcaterempbasis on the tcachingof

English from that stage. This would enable English to be used as the

mediumofinstructionatanearlystageinthePrimaryScho~lcourse."12S

Therefore, this policy did oot absolutely replace the vcmacularwith

English. All the same, this was a change from colonial language policy.

While colonial language policy had insisted on the maximum use of the

vernacular: this policy by the new independentgovemment sought to the

placing of a "greater emphasis" on the use of English as the medium of

instruction right from the rUSI Slage of primary education. Thus it was

later reported that since 1958,the teaching of English and its use asa

mediumofinslructions in primary and middle schools throughout the

couDtry had heeD intensified. 126

Engiish as the principal ianguageofgovemance, no doubt isa

coionial legacy; it is perhaps the most important language in the country .

It bas served as Ghana's official language since ittdependenceand

coDtinues to occupy a promincnt position especially in govemment affairs

and even in the areas of employment and education. Thus, like most

independentAfricannations,Ghanarelainedlhecoioniailanguageinspite

of the strong desire to assert her independence whicb reflected in the

changes made after independence.

I!j PRAAD, ADM 13/1126

I:!6GhallaOfficia/Hatuibook-A~IYGraphiCPublicatiOD' 1971. 60


This however, did nOi put an end to the language concerns. The

n...-w nation md its leadersdKl not 10k sight of this as a burning issue

which needed 10 be addressed and major concerns were raised concerning

the place to be aJlol1cd to the Ghanaian langUlges. In fact , the mission and

tbe ~tand of the new nation on the matter of langua}.:e were clearly mapped

out in the speecb Nkrumab gave in the Legislative A .. :.embly on the eve of

Ghana' slndcpendencc

Addressing the Assembly on Sill March i957,Ihe Prime Minister

rciteraled thenecd for an African s!liution to an Afncan problem and

explained that this did nol mean that Westem techniqlles and methods

were not applicable in Afriea. Nevertheless. he strcssed the need 10

look at every problem from the African slandpoinCI17 He provided a

few eumplcs of these problems which he believed n«dc:d to be lackJed

from an African outlook. one of wh.kb was on language.

One of the obvious diffICulties which faces Africa south of the Sahata is the multiplicity of languages and dialects. Every one of us in lhis Assembly to-day bas to conduel hil parliamentary business in a language which is not his own I sometimes wonder how well the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, or the Senate ihthe United Stales, would rnanage ifthey5Uddenly found that they had to conducllhelrafTairsinFrenchorSpanishoriniOme AfricandiaJect

Nevertheless we welcome English as not oaly providing a common medium for exchange between ourselves, but also opmioa the door to us to all the heritage of the world. At the same time. however, it is essCll1ial that we do consider

,~. Lc\:islauvc CouQCJI Oeba&a.. 1956 - 1957 '001. l-4 25

70


seriously tbe language in Africa. At present, such is the . influence of Europeinouraffairs,that far more studentstn ourUniversilies are studying Latin and Greek than are studying the languages of Africa.

An essential of independence is th3~ emphasis must be laid on studying the Living languages of Africa, for out of such a study wiU come a more simple method by which those in one pan of Africa may learn the language of those in all

ollierparts. 12II

To Nkrumah the Engl ish language was a means to an end, it was simply

indispensable. English was as relevant to Ghana and Africa as Latin was

to Europe during the Middle Ages. English as a language was useful for

national integralion and global recognition. On the other hand. it was

equally important to consider seriously the indigenous languages in

Africa. Hence, the language choice for Ghana was not a matter of this or

that. II was simply a matter of what was essential and the Prime Minister

recognised that this meant considering an intemational language {in thi s

case, English) and a national one, the indigenous languages.

This was a welcome speech and the entire members of the

assembly agreed unanimously on the ind ispensable nature of the Englis h

language as well as the need to also recognise the Ghanaian languages.

The leader of the main opposition party (the United Party) Dr. Kofi Abrefa

Busia also expressed similar sentiments. In his opinion, the new nation

and its people have

... benefited from British administration and law to which we owe our concepts of nationhood. democracy and

--'--'-"L<-.-'I"'-·'-'Cou-"-"I-Do"'~.1956-1957.31.32 71


individual freedom; .nd Europem educalioo iotrodltCcd to us under British rule hu made us he:in of me litCl'8ture and accumulated wisdom of me .ges preserved in books for succecdtnggenenl1ions; and the English lInguagehas noI

only enabled us to communicate with our fel10w cOWll.r)'l'1lCDofdifferenltongues andtribes,bulalso prepared us for effective members.hip in lhewider community of nations 10 which we now come as adults'" DOIon~rwards. 129

TheunivcrsalityoftheE.nglisbl.allgu;1~!;lhuswlSnoclo5llobolh

Nluumah and Busla. They rightly admitted to the importance of a

univcna1languge like English. The English language w::a~ seen as hiving

• dUll ~ndit. Firstly, it WL~ the vehicle or means ofunillng flCOp \e of

·dlfTC1enttonguesandtnhl:s·. Secondlyilw~.\iceruc·rorefTtCIIVe

mnnbershlpUlthewidtrconununityofnallons'

3.3 Emerging I.anguage Deba tes aft er Independe nce

Dcbatcson \lngu;r,ge hive been rcc~t in Ghani cspl'Ci.liy .fter

indcpcndcnce.n°The:sc:dcbatescentredon languageofoffici.\rccognitioa

(.nllionalllllguageorlinguafranca)andaianguageofinstJUClionin

schools. They have bem body contested both by parli.ment and the

general public. Parliaml'tllary debates on lanJUoge were a true renection

ofthegcneral.nitudelothe languaaequestiooUlthecoWllry.

' ''' lepNlU¥ct:-dDcbl&cs.J9S6 - 19S7. 12.

• ,,. Similarly. fbMJboIc tdaIes 'd ... moll OhM ~feraees wheTe tbe status ofAfncanlangu",eshadbcalillldwcrebc:madilCUUOdlDeeoarcracerao!uhOft$WCft 110 mote 1!wI a ~hng eU1cUc, wbdherdle c:()IIfnenu partiCIPants lIIue Iware oflblt OfQC)l'UNl:.SCO.-I~eo;~_t..aa~PollelesLnAfnca.""


One of the earliest and outstanding debates in parliament after

independence is the one that en5ued after the then Ministeroflnformation

and Broadcasting, Kofi Baako, put up a motion for the dis~lutioD of the

Vernacular Literature Board Bill.llL The purpose of the Bill was to

announce government control of the administration of the Vernacular

Literature Bureau (VLB) which was to be known as the Bureau of Ghana

Languages. It sought to disseminate infonnation in the vemacular with a

view to the progressive development of national languages and litera ture.

The Minister e.xplained that it was the aim of the government to continue

with the good works of the VLB in producing literature in the Ghanaian

languages in orderto ..... assist those people who were not literate in

English but who were able to understand simple wrinen material in their

ownGhanaianlanguage."m

This triggered various responses by members of parliament. Most

of the members admitted that the Bill was the best solution to 'our

languageproblcm' bccauscitwill hclp develop a national language forth e

countJy. While these MPs.agreed that it was necessary to develop our

national languages, they were not in agreement as'to which one(s). For

sentimental reasons, some proposed that their mother-tongue he adopted

For example, the CPP MP for Eastern Nzima-Axim, Baido-Ansah,

U!lbid.


suggestedtbltcOllSldc:rarion5bould first be given 10 lhc Nzima language

as the choice of the naliona! language beforc: a11 other languages bccause it

was "'widdy spoken In the country," He abo called for NLUna to n.:place

eitherTwi or Fanti in the list of Ghanaian langllagesused by Radio Gbana

becausehebeljevedthalbothlansuageswt:Tt:~imilarandcOl.lldthercforc

be undcrstood by anyone speaking one of these I:mguagc~, Some mcmbers

howevcr di5agrced with him 00 the basis that the Nzima language did not

have majority speakers and was at the time -a dead languagc", The UP

MP for Wala-~orth, Jatoe Ka.leo. also pushed for the consideration of tile

Dagari language on the basIs that it WIlS beautiful and easy to speak,

Indeed he actually suggested that In the North. oruy Dagbani and Dagan

should bc cOI15idered for the prodoction ofvemacular literature,

Mcanwhilc:he called on the minister to curtail the debate in ordcrlo

pn:n:ntothersfrom5pcakingfortheirlanguages;tohlmltwtinot

m:'Cc~sary fur considtulton 10 be gi\'en to lite "minor languages",

Thisstatemcntdidnotputancndtothedebalcthough,lnfact.

Honourable J,D, Wircko, the UP MP for Amaosie East, strongly

advocated the choice ofAkan as a national language even thuughhe was

m agr~ment with another member's a»ertion that "'anguages belong to

groups and should oot be nationalised," According to him, the Akan

tanguage was quite popular in the COWltry and therefore ifit was truly and

tho'roughlydevdopcd as a rullionallanguage. Parliament would benefit by

having people who can speak the Akan language nuently but who arc not

74


privileged to acquire literacy in the English language. The member

appealed aod argued on thc basis of majority rule.

On the other hand, some members were n~t so much keen on

havinganationallangUagebecauseofthediffi~u1tiesassociatedwithsucb

a decision. For instance the CPP M.P for Kassena Nankanni North, C. K.

Tedam, intimated that it would be risky advocating a national languagc

even though be recognised that there was an urgent nced to " ... work out a

scbeme for solving the question ofa national 13nguage forthlscountry.,,133

He cited the example of Ceylon wbere there had been bloodshed as a

result of the adoption of two Ceylonese languages together with English as

official languages and hoped thai Ihe Bill would avert a similar occurrence

in the country.ll4 Mr Mumuni Bawumia of the CPP cautioned that

members of the house should not be influenced by ethnic sentiments but

rather stick to the purpose of the Bill which was to eradicate tribalism and

to establish a lingua franca forGhallalorcplacet~eEnglishlanguagein

tbeyears to come. It was therefore necessary to " ... take a national view of

the whole thing and rule out tribalistic influences .... Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

has no place for tribalism."13S He called for the m'aintenance and

i)JParliamentaryDcbales,JulyI958.

1M Ceylon, now the: Dcmocrnlit Socialist Republic of Sri lanka was a former Britisb colony which became independenl of Ihe United Kingdom in 1948. As a matter or f'act. in 1954, lbere was an Miele in the D(Ji/y Graphic which made reference to this evem and implie.dthal this should sc:rve as a model ror colonial Ghana as it was also on thevergeofindepcDdence

Il5lbid.


developmeDtorlhcm.ajorGbanailDlangu')~cs50tbatlherewilln()(betoo

many OptionS to cbo~ from when the time came: for the COIliidention of

anindigenousJanguageastheomciallangu.gei"thc:~. 1l6

Altbough the majorilyofthe House favoured the adoplionofan

indigenous language as a nationaJ language. no consensus was reached

with regards to which particuJarooe to consider. Meanwhile the

government's policy on language continued to be as it was before. Enghsh

rernainedthelanguageofoflicialrc:cognitionandthc:mediumof

instructioo in sehools. lndc:cd about mned.ys beforc this event the Prime

MlIl1)l..:r had expl.ined in hl!O opc:mng speech to parliament Ihat ..... pJ.ns

.uc=bemg made: 10 mtensify the tcachmg of English in pnmaryaodmiddlc

schools and of"'rench in sccondaryschottl~. The teaching ofGbaIWan

Janguage;conlmucslorc:celVcdueattcntion.,,1J7

Succeeding debatcs on Janguage in pariJamenl followed a similar

trend. In 1%1. while dehating the motion moved by the Minister of

Education, Dowuona-Hammond on the Bureau ofUhana Languages,

members conceded 10 the fact that the .. ... maner ~r a lingua franca is a

very delicate question ... llI Some members repeated their earlier seluimcnts

n°At~IiIDc,IhcftWCfC_major~~.u.an.E_. o.. ~.N.IIelIlaandHausa Hauubo_¥elisDotuiodtaaw--~ 100..... ~DtbIIe.JulyI9S8_168·)I9.

I17Parli~~.lqSI_19S9. 6

IIIParliamcntaryDeNac.M~I96I. 7.


in 1958, but this time around the debate was much more centered on the

language polic:yofedueatioo, ..... whether we should use vemacularor

Enghsh as the medium of instruction in our schools." In addition, there

was a call for a consideration of whether it wr; -worth going deeper into

our vernacular.;" if English IS used as the medium of tRstru..:llnn. U' A year

later, similar debates took place once again in parliament. ItO lnfaclthe

debate went beyond using the Ghanaian languages as the medium of

inslJuction in just the early stages of primary cdueatlon. It wasaeaU for

the indigenous ~anguages 10 replace l:ogli5h as the principal language of

insh"uclioo m schools.

On 19· Much 1964,theMPforWenchiWcstMr elwin

Ebenezer Donkoh asked Ihe Minister of Educatton " ... when the: main

Ghanaian langtlllgcs will replace English .s the principal medium of

Ieacrung in the prunary. middle and secood.ry schools in thecountry."I'I

lie funher asked if government had plans of dcvdoping one of the main

Ghanaian languagC5 lObccome the national language and whe1her there

was any hope of Akan becoming the national language. The Deputy

Minister of F.duc,ltK>n, Mrs. Susanna Al-lIass~ replied that it was ..... at

presentimpraClicaltoreplaceEnghsha.~lhemedlumofinslructioniD

primary, muJdle and Secondary Schools .... Textbooks are written in

,n Parl'amentaryDebate. May 1961.304.

'010 I'arhamentaryDebate May· Juae1962 woI2&

'01 1'as-IIlUl1mla/)' l)eb-Mo, M;uch 19, 1964. ¥OI.. 3S.110

71


English and the use of English as the medium of instnlclion is therefore

appropriateatatimewhenthere is 00 one Gbanaian languageselectcd as a

national language. It is, however, the policy ofGovemm;nt, u1timately to

bave textbooks tr.tnslated into Gbaoaiao languages as sooo as

practicable ... 14Z Predictably, the use of English was seen as advantagco us

andprnctical while a choiceofan indigenous language was seen as

impraclicaJandfrnugbtwithdifTiculties.Theseseriesoflanguagedebates

in parliament were a manifestation of Ghana's desire to find a concise

policy that wO'lld tackle languageconcems in the country. It also was a

reflection of the desire to portray a national identiry through the use of

indigenous lilnguages.

The important role of the vernacular w,,~ ctnplmsised when

requirements for the registration ornaturalisatilltl as acitizell ofGha na

resurfaccd in a disc:ussion. According to the requirement, a person must

bave ..... sufficienl knowledge ofa language indigenous to and incwrent

use in Ghana." It) Thus, although English was highly esteemed as the

languagc of governance and educalion, it waSlhe indigenous language th at

served as an identity marker for Ghanaians. This explains why knowledge

in a Ghanaian language - not English - was a major requirement for the

acquisition of citizenship in Ghana

14~ Pillhammla!)' Debales, Mardi 19, 1964. 311.

l.oJparliillllelitaryDebil.tes.SePlem~4·-2S"1962.(Firstseries."'OI.28).168.


Language debates after independence howevcr wcrc nOI confined

10 Ghana alone. lndeedsirnilardebates have developed in Nigeria as

Bamgbose rcJalcs in his article presented to the' West African Language

Congress in 1976. I" In the case of Ghana, while some had bct."Jl in favour·

ofanindigcnous language as a means of fostering national unity and

identity, others a!so preferred English for the sake ofconvenienee and

national integration. Tbose in favour of an indigenous language were

made up of two groups. One group advocated aparticu!arlanguage -

Akan - on the basis that it was most widely recognised and most used by

Ghanaians. The other group, though in favourofan indigenous language,

preferredtheselcctionofsomeoflhemajorindigenouslanguagesforthis

purpose instead of advocating a partieu!ar language. This grOUpW8S als 0

against imposition and advocated gradual development of an indigenous

1anguagcasanationallanguage.

1M B;ungbose, MLanguage in National Integration: Nigeria as a Case Srudy"", • divides the language debates as they occurred in the Nigerian parliament into three groups. The first is a group that supports the idea ofa Nigerian languagebccomiq a national language in (uture bul only after it had undergone "gr;aduaJ prousso(planncd multilingualism" This group proposed for the <tdopI:ionofdl1ee indigenous languagcs rOf th.is purpo5t. The.scwod group like the firstadvoclled an indigeoous languaee, prcciscly Ibusa.tobeusc:daslhenationallan~. Bocho(tbeselJoups.aec:ordillglo8amgbosc.,

c:mploytheusuaifl3lionaiiSlatgwnelltlhatMlIldi&enouslanguageisbestAlitableror c:xpressingeultura! identity and pride. The third grouphowever,reJcctedany a nemptto rqll~Engiishwilhanindi,enollSlanguageasalinguafranca..Thisgrouparguelha1itis essential 10 maintain English as tbe lingua franca in order 10 avoid the risk and complications associaled wilh ehoosing an indigcnous language as a lingua franca


3.4 Contradictiuns of Pan-Africanism?

It basbeeo.lrguodthacthe l:&nguagepohcyofcducatioo

particularly by the independent government ~ndcr Nkrumah was no( a ~ .

reOection ofrus Pan-African ideology. This is because m-t poItcy

~Iegated lhe Ghanaian languages to the background by making Engli.sh

Ihc mC(hum orinstrucllon even in lheearl) slagcs Ilfeducatlon. Others

al50 oonsider it rather ironic lhat Nkrumah dtd nOlgive recogmllon to any

oflheGbanaianlanguages uanal ionallanl,'l1ageofequal lmponanceto

the English language. This, it is argued was incon~l~teni wllh Ius Pan-

AfricantdeoJogy

Anyidoho iUld Kropp O.kubu l>uggcst that With all of Nkrumah's

Pan·Africanzeal and thc symbolic: changes made after indcpcndence,

.... .Ianauage ~fonn did 001 go beyood lhis symbolic: gesture." IU Neville

A~tkandtt rtnds it qu.ite"'puzzlms" that mOSl oflhe ..... sons and daughters

ofthc soi l .. .. have so rcsolutely set their sighuoo exteoding and pcrfectmg

the status quo Gnk ... I46 Nevertheless., he a lso acknowledges Ih.;u the

'ttmmgly unshakabLe begm1ony" of Furopc3.n languages In Afnca IS

rrunarily as a result of the po litical economy of post-colonial Africa. ~Tbc:

depende:ncyrelation5 lhathavccharacterized,andcontiouelocharactcrize.,

'-UNESCO, -~COQf~C:OQl...anpacePoltClesIIlAhica.-


these stales have incluctablydclcnnined the conlinuity oflhe colonial era

languages of power ... .. 141 This was the prcdK:ameDl of leaders of newly

independent Africao states and lhesolution, iD-mosccaseswascountcr-

?-;krumah had to 1.XInl>lder whal was practical for bis Pan-African

visions. Pan-Afncamsm as a concept demanded the umty of the African

continent and the ex tolling of African culture, personality and identity.

Therefore. Nkrumah sought to umte Afmans Ilrespective oflhtir

geographicalandlinguls!tCbackg,rounds.lnhlsartideonanAfrocentnc

view of'Pan·Afman Nationalism', Nanlambu argues that the Pan-ACncan

suugglesbouldnotjustbelimitedtoanygcographicaJlydisper~dor

dislocated African people~ or their descendenu. '4i Nknunah's main

concern was achieving African unity and thus he was all the time talking

and acting in tenns of Africa and 001 limiling his ideas lojuSI Ghana. For

insUlDce,hcadvocaloo 'an Afrieansolulion to the problems of Africa' and.

not noccssarily seeking a Ghanaian solutton 10 the problems ofGhan&. M

a maner of fact. not only did Nkrumah IIllcnsify the role of English in the

country, but he also ensured that Freneh waslaught insehools and

encouraged the usc of French in the country. This is evident ina

discusstoninparliamcntafiertbepasslOgoftheeducationbill.

• J~l UNESCO. -bM~vcmmefIIaI Confnmce on Lansuate PohCles In Africa."

' ... K~_ NanlMIlbu, "Pan·Africanl!UII ~ P ... Af'ncm NIliouhun: AA Afrocmln~ AtW)'lI.,- JoUlllQ/o/Bltu:lStJld,t:t 21:S(May 1991) 569.

81


The HouOW'3.ble C.E. Donkoh asked tho! Minister of Education Mr.

Dowuona-Hammond; "In view of our fervent desire for African unity,

what steps are [sic] the Minister taking for French to be taugbt rn

schools?,,149 The Minister elCplained that French was already taught in

schools. Considering his Pan-African ideology and the popular opinion

that "Nkrumah has no place for tribalism," it is perhaps Jess difficuh to

understand his seeming reluctance to push any indigenous language to the

forefront of national life while encouraging other foreign languages .

Moreover, Nkrumah was aware that Ghana was surrounded by French

speaking countries and that having French as onc of the languagest3ught

in schools would be advantageous to Ghana

Amonoo suggests that demands of English and French raise less

controversiaJ problems tban the deve!opment of the vemaculars because

these bave the advantages of not berngthe mother tongue of any 'tribal

group'andhencecanbeacccptedbyalI.UOHe.rnakesanotherimportant .

point about the fact that the " ... development of national conscious ness

may interfere with the demands ofPan-Africanism."ISI Nkrumah had to

grapp lewiththesecontradictionsandaccordi~gtoAmonoo,these

contradiclionsaddlotheconflictingpullsexercisedbythelingue

I09ParliamentaryDebates,8"'May_I3"'June 1962,vol.28.

PQpe~ ~;t~F=::;:~::~:;:~:~:~~~~!~:aQ~~::"};n;;'~~:;:/:::/ Tropl~/AfriCQbeldattheUDiversilyCol1ege,Jbadan.ed.JohnSpeaccr.(Cambridge: Cambndge Univet"SiIY Press, 1963}:78-8S

lSI Ibid. 81.


franche. nlSl Besides, how else would his Pan-African ideology of

achie\linganAfricanpersonalityinintemationaiafTaiTsberea1isedona

conlment as big and mullilingual as Afiica had he ~mgled out an

jndigenous language as the offtcial one. TIrislhough is not to imply or •

suggeat that in order for trus dream 10 be rea1isc:d. theGharWan languages

shouklbetotallyignored.

To be sure, Nkrumah had mentiolled in his speech that

.emplia.";is must be laid on studying the living languages of Afnca

This. he believed, would make il easier for Africans to \eam the diverse

languagcs on thecontinenl. This was notjUSl merc lip ielVice since he

eocouragedtbedevelopmenlofsomclndigenou!Olanguagesfornationai

rcoogniuonbut 001 so far &S to make any an official languagcmlhe

country. Tbus. there was a need fora n.:conciliatiooofnationah .. m on onc

hand and Pan A£ncanism on Ihcothcr hand

3.5 Conclusion

This chapter has considered language policy and languagedcbates

al tbe time of independence. 11 arguL-d that Language policy immediately

afier iodependcocew3sacontinuJ.tlonofcoloruallanguagepolicywiththe

. IS:R.F.Amonoo.-Problemso£Gba.lllllanltnpaFranc3."11

"'LCln"",~CoaciJDelIIIa.,l~6-19S7¥01.l-4 4


exccpeioo ofNbumah's decisiotJ to"lnlensify" the uscofEnali$b as the

medium of instruclJon even in the early S18Scs of pnmary educ.tion. Thi$

wasachangcfromcolonlall.:mguagepohcywhichenc·ouragedtbeuseof'

thcvemacularlnthefirsllhreeyearsofpritnary~dueallon

The ctwl,8i: from wing tbe vernacular 10 ""inleruafymg" the fulghsh

with his Pall-ACne ... ideology. I therefore, argu«I that d~ desire 10 avoid

potenlial violence. as well ... Nkrumah's Pan-A fricanism thai cmphui.sed

theunilyofalIAfricnnpt.·oplc·sgaveEnsiishtheadvanlageover

Ghanaianlanguagc-.unnoffieiailansu-aeandlhcJ'nncipallangua}:eof

and the need to inh!racl and integrale: wilh Ihe OUlside world was a major

faclorforthe numlcnanceofEnglish.sGhana'sofJicial JaDguage.


Chapter Four

A COMMON GHANAIAN LANGUAGE OR NATIONAL . UNITY? THE LANGUAGE DEBATE CONTINUES. (1967-1971)

Jinguisticunilycannol casily be imposed or dlclated; and often Ihc min orityisnot

prepared even loagtu 10 differ

Kimble, A Polilical Hilioryo/GhQno. (1850-J918), S07

4.0 Introduction.

Preceding chapters of the lhesis have underlined the facl that for

nations with colonial history it is exceptional to have an indigenous

language as the official language or even as the primary language o f

instruction in schools; the colonial languages play such roles. Achieving

linguisticunityofanindigenouskindinsufhasiruationhasoflenheen.

cballenging. This is because the different linguistic groups anach specia1

pride and loyalty to their languages no maner how small or conftned they

may be, as is the implication from the above quotation in Kimble. To

Kimble, these nations are"made not bom," and Ihere are elements wilhin

which threalen the amalgamation of these nations. For that maner, the

realisation of national Joyaltywillinadvertentlyresultinthewcakening of

otheriraditional loyalties like culture and language.


While linguistic unity in the fonn ofan indigenous language was

seen as a desirable element fornationaJism, it was not the basis for

national unity. Kimble thus noted that even though th~ absence of a

national language might appear to have bccn the most obvious difficulty in

the way of "developi ng a sense of Gold Coast nationality", " ..

proved a major hindrance to the dcvelopment of national

consciousness."IS4

This chapter continues with the analysis of the languageconcems

in Ghana from 196710 1971. II looks at the language silUation

immediately after the first coup and beyond. The chapter pays special

attention to the government under Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and

President Edward Akufo Addoofthe Progress's Party. Itaddresseslhe

question: What measures did the Busia administration take as a way of

ftnding a concise language policy for Ghana? In responding to this

question, the chapler provides an analysisofan attempt by the Busia

administratioo to develop a common Ghanaian language. In addition, it

providcs an anaJysis of the various responses to)anguageconcems by the

public as portrayed in the newspapers. The main sources employed in this.

chapter include !he Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times from J 966·1971,

parliamentary debates also from 1969-1971 and the Report of the

Education Review Committee under Professor Alex A. Kwapong in 1966.

IS< Kimble:, A PQlil;CDI HistQryof~~/IQ. (1850-1928), S06.


4.1 Tbe NLC and Language Concerns

The years after the February 1966 Coup were chaotic ones for the .

nation. The coup was the first of its kind .in Ghana. The NLC. which h~d

toppled theCPP governmenl,was of the opinion that Nkrumah and his

CPP regime had failed in the rurming of the country and so overtumed

most of what had been done during the regime. One area which was

afTected by this change of event was the educational system; specificlllly a

change in tbe educalional language policy. It hils Illready been establi shed

in the firsttwoch~plersofthisthesisthat language policy, especiall~in

most African states, is not clearlydefmed but is stipulated in the

educationaipoiiciesofgovemmenl andconslitutions. This WIlS the casc

with the NLC; their language policy was reflected in the educational

policy which was based on the recomrnendations of the Kwapong

On 7111 March 1966, barely a month after toppling the CPP

Government, the NlC set up an Education Review Commince under the

chairmanship of Professor Alex A. Kwapong, the then Vice·Chancellor o(

the University of Ghana. The recommcndations of the Committec made

provisions for the use of both English and the Ghanaian ianguagesas the

mediumforinstruclionandassubjectsinthceducational sector.ln

relation to the Englisb language, the Comminee writes: "In Ghana,

English is an essential tool, DOt only for purposes of normal


comrnunication, but also fortnlde, govemmenl al1d study. It is also a

gateway to the international world. Because of the unique role English

playsinourlives,muchemphasishasbeenplacedo~itsteachinginour.

schools. At the same time there has been considerable discussion as to·

whether English should be used as the medium of insb\lction and. jf so, at

what particular stage in the child's education."1SS

According to the Committee the fact that most of the teachers in

the elementary schools in Ghana were untrained and inadequate in the

English language was a problem; and they were fully aware of the

challenges this posed to the directives of using English as a medium for

teaching other subjects. The Committee stated that the general pattern for

the country was the use ofa Ghanaian language as the medium of

instruction whel1 a child enters school and was fully in support of this

practicebecause ..... children learn more easily in their mother tongu cand

are more readily able to express their ideas and reactions in that

Janguage."tS6

Unlike the CPP government which ~hanged colonial language

policy of using the vemacular in the first three years of primary education.

the NLC govemmem continued with this policy. The recommendations of

the K wapong Educational Committee with regards to language of

ISS Ghana Government, "Report of the Education Advisory Commillee on the Proposed New Structure and Content of Education," Accra, 1966

chapters ~:velbc!::tli!!!~ pnlCtiu., however, was not a new development as preceding

88


education, shared a lot of similarities with most educational comminees

since colonialism. Indeed with regards to the medium of instruction, it was

similar to the educational committee set up by Guggisberg in 1920 and .'

subsequently, his FPE,introducedin 1925.

The Kwapong Educational Committee recommended !hal a

GhaI!aianlanguageshouldbcusedasmemediumofinstructionforlhe

flfSt three ycarsofthe primary school course. The change to English as the

medium ofinstruclion should commence in the fourth year whilst the

Ghanaianlanguagecontinuestobestudiedasasubject.lnthe

metropolitan and other urban areas where children are generally more

exposed to spoken English than in rural areas, the change to Englishasa

medium of instruction mayconunenceearlierthan the fowth year of the

course. Additionally, the committee statcd that in the "English language

(experimental) schools" where English was the medium ofinstructiOD

fromtheflfStyear,thepupilsshouldbelau~tiDaGhanaianlanguage.as.a

subject throughout the course.

Consequently, the committee reco~ended that the Ministry of.

EdueatiOD should undertake a scientific evaluation of these school s

projects, including the perfonnance and progress in sccondaryschoolsof

pupils.from thesescbools; in order to ascertain wbethertbe use of English

would be beneficial. 1t thus recommended


.. that beforc lbe six-year primary course is introduced for the whole c:ounuy. the Mmistry of Education s~~ld conductaoexperimentundertbeaveragecooditlO.nhkely

to beencouolered, to determine whcther it is possible to rcacbthestandlrdnecessuyfOfentranceto!hesecondill)' school ifthechikiren are 1MIghl in a Ghanaian language (oc tbreeyearsbeforebeingtaugbc in Englisb fora furtber' threeyears. 'S1

Hence. the English language and the Ghanaiao languages both servcd as

media ofinstrucrionin thescoools; wilh the (ihanaian languagcs laying

the foundation for a child's education in the first three years. The only

exception was the private or -experimental"' schools where English was

the ·medium of instruction right from the ftnt year.

The RqK)rt of the Educ.1hon Rc\·,cw Commil1ec was not da'oid of

criticism. Some exprnsed concerns that although it raised issues on the:

leaming of Ghanaian languages. the RI."'P('rt made no MIJ~c~llonl as to

bowtheGhanaianlanguagesshouldbedeveloped.lndeedtheuniveBilics

were also accused of doing very linle to teach -our common languagcs"

and qucsliooed wbat had been done, as a dellberatc national cfTort to .

developllus(Twi)Ghanaianlanguage. ' \8

The language policy of governance· however remained as before;·

colonial language policy of using English as the language of govemancc

didnotchange.lndccdtbcuseofEngJish3~thc:solc I3nguagcuf

nl RtpOI'fof'heLJw __ ~C_,tret",1966

'''/JaIIpGr~Odoba 1"'1%8.2. TluJeditonIIlAhmlUDkMbedIt'wnl ~·6cm the uruvemty commuwfy rel'u.ting these claiau. See; "i..cpII'~lacuca,"lJ4dyGMpJfjcOctoberI1"'t96S.S.""venaa.lar""".I..epa" n.JyGraphk22-Novembc:r.1961. S


governance was reiterated wilh Ihe establishment of a new constitution

lmmediately after Ihe coup, the NLC set up an 18 member Constitutional

Commission in 1966 headed by the chief Justice M;. Justice Edward

Alrufo-Addo to review a new constitution for Ghana. One of the

requirements for the membership of the National Assembly was that a

candidate" ... should be able to speak and read the English language with a

degreeofproficiencysufficienl for him 10 lakc an active part in the

proceedings of the National Asscmbly."1~9 This stipulation was

undoubtedly fashioned after colonial language policy that required

members oflhc legislative Assembly to be able to speak the English

language sufficienlly well to take an active and intelligent pan in the

proceedings of the Legislative Council

Anothcrarca which called into question language policy was the

media. When the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation was formerly

incorporated on February 9, 1968 with the promulgation of NLC Decree

oumber226,someoflheobjcctivesoftheCorporationincluded: ..... to

broadcast programmes in the main six Ghanaian ianguages (Le., Akan,

Ewe, Ga, Dagbani, Nzema and Hausa) and' in EngliSh and such other

languagesasthcCorporationmaydetermine ... "I60 In lhis area, colonial

language.policyofusingbothEnglishandtheindigenouslaoguageswas

II. G"rl1la YlO" Book, (Acen: A Daily Gnphic Publication 1969), 2S.

liG Ghana OffiCial Hstulbook. (Accra; The Pllblic- RelatiOns Dcpanmrnt, 1911),


cootinued.OtherforeignlanguageslikeSwahili,FrenchandPortuguese

atso received airtime.'" This was as far as the NlC could go with the

language issue in its three and a half years of mililary rule.

In spite of the coup and the changingpo!ilical atrnosphere, public

opinions 00 languagecootinued to feature in lhe newspapers,underllniog

the importance attacbed 10 language concerns in Ghana. All the same, it is

important to cJarifythat language debatcs at this time were ootas intensive

andpenlistenl as precedingones,-particularly the period leading up to

independence. The few instances of public opinions on language issue

were mostly expressed by inlellcctuals, These called for the promotion of

the Ghanaian languages. Indeed,somewere forthright in their

pronouncemcnl on a naliooal language and had advocated a particular

language.

One such person was Professor K.A.B Jones Quartey, who was

then the Acting Direclor of the Institute of Adult Education. University of

Ghana. According 10 a report by Ihe Daily Graphic, Jones Quartey

advocated the adoption ofTwi as a comm~n language in the country

becauselbeTwi language " ... has all the advantages that one could think of

in reJationto the other Gbanaian languages."I62 Therefore, he propose d

that ev~ Ghanaian must learn to speak Twi alongside English, as a major

161 Ghana Official Handooak, (Accra: The Public Relations Department. 1971),

NOVc:m~~ 1~:s~;.G. Annoh. "Use Twi as Common language," Daily Graphic 28"


steplowardsraisingthecounby'steachingandlearningstandards.l6J

ln

addition., John M. Stewart also expressed the conviction that Akan co~d

be used asa lingua franca and therefore cal led for~need forastandar~'

wrinenAkan. 1b4

On his part, Dr. Jawa Apronti of the Institute of African Studies,

UniversilyofGhana was of the opinion thai it was not nccessaryto

"change the status quo" becausc "English has been wilh us for some time

now, and we have used it both for internal and external purpoSCS.,,165 He

explained that English has served as aneulral solution to Ihe problem 0 fa

muhiplicityoflanguagesandthus" ... shouldrcmainanationallanguage

of Ghana-but not nccessarilythe sole national language." Ghana, should

have an indigenous language as the second language and to him, Akan

was the "obvious choice." He believed that sucb a step would not

engcnder fear of discrimination nor domination since most Ghanaians

could relate to theAkan language.

Thclwo basic fears, then, arc the inhercntlydiscriminatory factor, and the fcarofdomination. On the laner, it should be sufficient to point out that non-Akan peoples of Ghana al ready exist happily with large chunks of elements of . Akanculture in their language, rituals and social institulions .... Tbesc factors reinforce the fact that Akan is the most widely-spoken languagc in Ghana in terms of area

:$3 Kwesi G. Annoh, "Use Twi as Common Language"

• 1M John M. Stewan, "Towards a Standard Wrinen Akan," Daily Graphic 2"" December,1968.S

JiIIlua.ry, ~6;6~r7.Jawa Apronri, "Choosing a National Language." Dolly Graphic 2410

93


:;ta~~or;~~.~~~WlqucstjOnablCCbOKe

He explained thlt this \\.ould DOl lead to the dearth ?f the other indlgalOUS

langu.gesbocausellbebovesonspcake~of.particularlangu.gc:to

preventtheirlanguagefrombecomingobsok1:c, l lcnceso long.s thc

5pCIIkmofthelangua&efUldilusdulanddocidetoconlinuelou~lt.\J1C:

language would survive,

4,2 'f he PI' and the Second n.epublic; a Rebirtb of

Freedom?

On , OIl Oetober 1969, the NLC was former ly d issolved and a new

republic was Inaugurated thereby establishing a civilian government aftcr

the 24111 Febnary 1966 coup. Dr Kofi Abrefa BU~liI hccame the Pnmc

MIRlstefofthenewc:ivllianadmlJlIstrationofthes.."CondRepublic ,I'"

Thebirth or thesecond repubhcwasdescribcdasthcregairung and

m.tllullOnofrreedomforGhanaiansanditisoflittlcsurprisethat

peJ'Slstenleoneems rOJofficial reeogniliooofa Ghanaian langu.gc

rcsumed during this period. Like the )'1:0111 immediately before and after

independence, people were now clamounng for n.ltonal unity and identity

andthc'convtetion lhat th.is could be achieved through a eommon

, .. lJiI' ) .. .., .. Aproou, "1."booI;ll1, or. l'baKJOOlJ lAnSWI" ~

"· I)U"yGrGp"'('.~Cktober. 1969. 1 94


Ghaa.ai&n language rc:sulled in demands by some members of the public

andgoverrunc:nl(oralaoguagethatwoulduDllcthecountry.

On Octobcr31 S11, 1969 Ampoc·Kaku called (orlhepromouono(

"our languages". He e:.;pressed his opinion that in order for an indigenous

lanl-'Usge toM uscd"as lhcnauonalmaiiaforliteralW'Cand

communicallon,"meantngfu!stepsmustbcLlkentoeffcctivclyencourage

"our approved languagcs ... I6I He called on the Bureau of Ghana

Languages 10 do more by cncouragma local talcntcd writers to produce

sWlI.hle and adequalc Iitcraturelo fced the growing rcadtng pupulation and

a!sopcomoteacampalgnalmedalencouragtngpcopletousethe

indigenouslanguagcs.

Sincccolonial IUllCS, the question ofa C011lmon Ohanalan language

had been hody drbated m the Lcgjslative ASKmblics, Constituent

Al5emblies, Parliaments, as well as by all sections of the Ghanaian society

IS portnyed to the: ncw!>p"rcrs and al symposia and kctwa. lDdccd the

cpp go~mmcnl was keen.ly aware ohhc langulge tUlle and bad

addtc:ssec;l it In dlvcrsc ways. as hIId the first military g()vcmmmt.

Nonetheless., Ihe PP gO\CmmL"fIt under Prime MinIster Busia rcrh.1ps

sllUlds OUI as bring the l:0vcmmenl which lo..,k " bt,ld and conlro\,cnial

de:isionto al Jeastraise tbe Issue ofa common Ghanaian language to the

(]~ofparliamenl.


SignifiCMItly, on JId May 1971 •• motion in favour of a common

Gbanaian language was moved in the House: of Parliamenl. Tballhe

mahan was a "pnvate member's motion" did not ~u.e this any less .

significant and controversial. IfJII Although the motion was eventually not

approbated,lheiliree.daydebaleonlhismotionisworthanalysing. What

was sigJUficanl about the motion? What were lhe reason(s) behind this

motion? What were the reactions of members of parliament and the public

3Ilhetime?Beforeansweringthcscquestions,lllscruclaltuprovldean

analysis of the government o rthe Second Republic and how il was

perceivedasapoliticalpartyandl.tcrasthcrulinggovcmment.

After the lifting of the ban on political partyacllVlllt:Son 15' May.

1969. several political parties were formed. Notable among these parties

wen: PP with Or. Kofi Abrer. Busi. as the leader and the NAL with K. A

Gbedemah as Its party leader."o The PP was pl:rccived as an Akan party

and was identified With the Akan group. Most of Its key members were of

Ahnong:in.InfacttbePPwasbelicvedtobeanoffshootoffirstthe

NLM and later the upYITo begin With, the leader of the party. Bu . .';a3. wa"

16'1 nus was a proVISion that allowed Ghanalam who wert non.~hamrnl"'_ losubmu.cwellpra5MOpuuOII..dbringl1 lip lobe ckbaltd onlhe Roorofparharnc:nt rorgovemmentconslIleratioa

• '70Gbedem&h lalalosttu'-'(".aI~M'_Ml. G.K Apmasuccttdedhim .. ~~ orlhe main OPPOSIhOfl party. the NAL Parhamentary Debate:, Deccmba ]"'.

"'1beUPwas3ll~ofOflPOSIttonpan:iesInNovemb~r19S6and" ,ncludc:d rcligious. ethnIC and rqtoaal poupinplikelhcl'tlortMmPoopIe's Pany (NPP), WIa5b. AslociXi_ Pwty (MAJ» and the National Liberation Move:me:nr (NUA) for I dlscUSSlOD ontbe NLN IDd A-* nllKINII~:" _kan Mane A1tmaft, '"The: Yovngmen


an Akao and a key member of the NLM, an Asaote political movement in

the 1954. Mr. Reginald Reynolds Amponsah, the Minister of Education

and Sports at the time of the motion was also the ~eneral secretary o~the

up.172

In the political roundup to the 1969clection, the nation was filled

with ethnic tension. Most Ghanaians were genuinelyconeemedand feared

that this migbt lead to yet another coup and nationaJ division in the

oountry.MichaelOtu-Addocalledonthegovenunenttocurbthe"tribal

feelings that ha've been generated in some politicaJ parties.,,173 Most

Ghanaians were worried that in spite of the antj·Nkrumah sentiments

prevaJentaftertheI966coup,somerecalledwithnostalgia,theNkrumah

days when Ghanaians were made to feel as one. "Ghana has become so

full of people who have tribalistic tendencies that one wonders if our

future is bright. Ifanythingat all. Nkrumah did the best by uniting us

all."m The outcome of the 1969 election seemed 10 oonfinn the

ethnoeentric atmospherepenneatingat the time.

and the Porcupine; Class, Nationalism. and Asante's Struggle for Self-Determinatioo. 195o$.I957,~JoumalofAfriClJnHistory]I(199{) ; 263-279.

m "Know Your Ministers,- Daily Graphic 1- Oc1ober. 1969. 7

IS'I"JUly.':J9~!~C:ac:l Dlu-Addo, "Political Leaders and their Promises," Doily Grophic

1740foriTannor."CondemningCorrupuonisnocenough,"DoilyGraphic266 August.. 1969.3

97


In an_alysisoflbegeneral election, Mike Adjei provides the

panem of strength of the two main parties. commonly referred 10 IS "the

tribal lheory of modem Ghanaian polilics."m This theory claimed that the

pp won allihe seats in Brong Ahuo and Asanle bocause the Icadef'Came

from tbat atea. He howcvcr believcd that such theory wu ... .. an

oversUnplificationthat does not take into account the traditional dlsd:lln

both tribes have for each other," Historians, Gock.ing and Adu Boohen,

share the opinion tbat ethnocentric tendencies played a mljocrole intbc

1969 generaJ election, The election that brought the PP into govcmm4:nt

was said to have proceeded smoothly'but .. ... wasvery much aJongcthmc

Iines ... I,. Uodang mtlmale~ Ihat aside from Gbcdemah', close association

to Nkrumah and his CPP, ethniC consideration also played a key role in his

loss of the 1%9 election. Adu Boahcnatsosuggeststhalilic 1969 election

was along ctlmic lines with the PP wmning massively in the "Akan

eoclaves"" while the NAl also won most olits seals m the Voha Region. m

'·'MlkeAdJri,--r~andPohlK:SlnGbana,"DailyGrapltIc2ndSepccmber.

I1'&RocuS,(jOd'''I·.,lh("HlUtlfYofGhanQ(Westportcona,:Gfecnwoocl'Pres.~. 2(05),15$

,.. Alben A. Boahm. 218. Accordi", 10 lYra, oflhe 9 re-po.s.. 5 wac ~mantlyAltaDo Aalltc,Bono-Ahato.CeDttll. e.emand w~, The,.. wac: Greal:er AQC~ Voila region, Upper and Nonhem Repons. In all. there were- 140 &eIJls to bccontaled.. bolhtbePPandNALcontestal118.-s. T"bePPWCIIII04.-wtliaeiM= HAL won 29. The PP won alt the coatested scats an the Asanle. Bono-Ahafo and Central KpODS.. 22. 13_ IS .em respectively. II ahoO won II out ohbe 22 in Eastcm, whiae Ihe NAL won the remamiDl" taU In the Krt'tbo diSlrict, where Ihe IinpuSltC and Pit"""" affi,.ly leaned men tow .. Ewe and Ga lhom MM!. bI tau: W",era ftIion. 10,* 0( 11 sca&swere-_bytbcPP . .. lbtVolUllef..loaho"n-er.tkePP __ lylouaof"lbe 16 SCMS · in an are- sad 10 be MAkan enclaves~~ With the NAL wlnrnlllihe remaJ..Dlna I ..


Evenaner lhe election, and an overwhelmiog victory for the PP.

these ethnocentric feelings were still high. Some admonished that what

was needed most, aside progressive and good go~emment was national

unity. An editorial in lhe Daily Graphic reminded the PP thai" ... a harder

battle remains 10 bc foughl 10 unite the people who are seriously divided

berween Akans 3/\d Ewes with the Northerners striking the balance ... tom

In additioh,Gockingexplains iliat after a "bloodlcss" coup by-lhe Ghana

armyledbyColonellgnatiusKutuAcheampongon 13!hJanuary 1972.

''1ribalism'' was cited as one of the grievances against Busia's

GovemmenL 119 For these reasons, when a motion in favour of a common

Ghanaian language was passed in parliament, some members were oflhe

conviction thai this was an attempt to promote and impose the Akan

language on Ghanaians.

00 the one hand. it could be argued that this was a move by Busia

and thePP administTalion to score a political point, since it had a high

number of Akan faithful; Akan being the being major ethnic group lhat

voted massively for the party during the 1969 election. On the other hand,

it could also be that the motion was inresponselotheeonstantcall fo;

national unity and identity. The Akans were the dominant ethnic group in

17t."TimclOfaurali1ics,"DDilyGr"plticrSepttmber,19M. 5.

I" <iockin" The H~tQT)' Df Gil""", It IS iranl/;: tnJ1 the cwp lhat I_a brougld 1he PP to powa was OfChalra1ed by Kotob an Ewe, while the military govcmmenl

~~i~~r!~~::'S:~'~:':sm.:n~;.~ an AlulII, lgnatilCi Ku1u Acheampona and


Ghana, hence the choice oftbe Akan language as the "common Ghanaian

language."

Indeed Busia had wamed of .. tribal groupings" springing up

lhroughout the country in 1968, when he was thc chainnan ofthc Centre

for Civic Education. Tbus, be considered that tbe ..... taskofthe next

govemment should not be to build a nation based on tribal groupings, bu t

ontheco~solidationoftbcvarioustribesintoanationalentity."I80And

like most of the people at the time, thc govemment might have reasoned

that perhaps, having a common Ghanaian language was the solution.

Conscquently,inthcfirstscssionofthefirstparliamcntofthc

second republic which was on 2ad October 1969. a motion by Dr. Mason

aimed at abolishing the use or the word "tribc" was moved in parliamcnt.

Thc motion stated: " .. .in view ofthc objectionable connotation of the

word "tribe" and in view of the fact that "tribalism .... is incompatible with

thc idea of nation-building, this House deplores thc use of the worl "tribe"

10 dcscribc any groups of Ghanaians and recommend that the official use

of the word tribe" and all itspartsofspeecbbeabolisbed ... " lSI The .

motion also led to a discussion on the use of the vemacular m schools and

subsequentlyanalionallanguageofanindigenouskindforGhana.

IIO"Busia warns of tribal Ihreal," Dail,GraphiC I-November,I968. 3.

'I'NalionaiAssemblyDebates,191Qvo1.lno2.890.

100


A noteworthy contribution was made by the PP MP for Berekum.

Mr. Addae. He suggested that the solution to the problem would be to

... encouragethestudy~fGhanaianlanguagesinour . educational institutions so that evenrually one Ghanaian language is chosen for all school childten to Jeam., it will be ourfusl language, and then there will come a time wbcn all the people in thiscounlry will speak just that Janguage, and thus lribalism will be abolished. 182

Mr. Addat: thus was convinced that unilingualism was a req~isite for the

eradication of tribalism. Others also expressed the belief that the continued

use of Englisb as the languageofgovemance and indeed as the Janguage

of the House was "8 colonial mentality". Mr. T. K. Agadzi, NAL MP for

West Dayi tbereforecalled on the Minister of Education, Culture and

Sportstolaunchacampaigntoeradicatethis"colonialmentality"fromthe

minds of Ghanaians, including Members ofParliament. IRl

Again. 00 the 14di ofSeptember 1970 during the Budget reading

by the Ministry of Education, Cuhur~ and Sport, Mr. Agadzi accus.ed the

government and the Ministry of not "having plans for the development of

a lingua franco for Ghana" and questioned whether the Government

viewed the consideration ofa lingua franca fo r the country unnecessary?

Mr. Agadziexplicates further:

IUNatiODaJAssemblyDebatcs,t910,secondseries4.40. 101


J Ihink thai oneoflhe essences ofoutionhood is the deve!opmmt ofa language which can be used in the courts and m Parliament - a language which ceo be used as a ianguage of diplomacy and a staodud language in trus country. It is unfortunate that inSlead ofc:onsolidatioB and trying to narrow the gap or reducing the numbcrof languages which we use in trus country,we are thinking ratherofreducingdiaJectsorlanguagesinlOwrilmg.At~ momenl, there are nine govemmcnt-spoosored languagcs m Ghana. Abouttenycarsago,therewcreonlyfour.abouIStX ycars ago; there were only six; now we have nine. Every day we keep on adding to them. We are interested in getting our local dialects written. Th..-: more we do IMI, the less we think of the development ofa slandard language in Ghana. I am suggesting that money should be voted for invesligation into this matter so we can get Ihreeor four languages. develop them and narrow the number until some day. we have OIlC or two languages which may be lhe standard language or languages for Ghana . . .. lam being lold that tbemlner is as okl as the nalion. BUlnobodyhas doneanythingaboul il. Instcad of reducing the number of languages. we are rather increasmg the number of language5. This was the policy of the old regime. and in fiKt. this is the policy whicb is beinS pcrpetuated by this ptQCnt Government It is unfonunate that for the two houn thatlhehon.MinisterillSa.:retaryspoke,eventothepOlnt ofboringtheHouse,henevermc:nttonedtbequesttono(a IingrKl/NJncaforGhana. l84

Obviously, the government was bombarded with calls for a comnwn

Ghanaian Janguag<" both by the public and members or government. And it

was perhaps in rc!Sponsc 10 iliese accusations and calls for a common

(ihanalanlanguagethatamotlontothalerrectwasmovedinparJi~enl.

It ii intereiling to also ootethatat the time. 50meAfrican nations

hkcMalawtandTaozaniah.adtakenstepstoensu~thatanindigenous

language rct:ctvcs official recognttion. Kamuzu Banda of Malawi had

'''PariiameruaryDebalc,1970.133. 102


officially declared Chewa as the national language with the claim that this

would enhance nalional unity and identity for Malawians.l&S

4.3 The Motion au a Common Gbanaian Language. (3rd

-

5~May,1971.

On 3rd May 197 1, a Private Members' Motion was moved in

Parliament by thc PP MP for Berekum. Honourable S.H. Addae in favour

of a common Ghanaian language. The motion stated:

{T]hatinviewoftheimportaneeofanationallanguageasa faelor for national unity in Ghana, this House rcqueststhe Governmenl to set up a national committee of experts 10 promole and co--ordinalc all effons being made 10 evolve a commooGhanaian language o r 'lingua franca,.IK6

According 10 Honourable Addaet the mOl ion was an attempt to find a

long·term solulion 10 the problem ofnalioDal inlegralion in Ghana tbro ugh

the medium ora common language. II was not in any way intended to

generate "tribal" feelings to the detrimenl of the nation butralher"il aimed

primarily al uniting the various tribal groups in Ghana for the attainment

ofa common self·identity,selfassertion and a truly homogenous national

II~ For a discussion on language policy in Malawi and Kamuzu Banda, see Hani Englund. "Chinyanja and the Language or Rights," Nordic Journal 0/ A/rican StudiCJ 10:3(2001):299·319.

'S6NatiooaJAssembIYDebates.M;~31971.1513


character."ll1 The irony orthis is that it reinforces the same argument

raised by opponents ofa common Ghanaian language; that choosing one

language in a multi-lingua environment would'engender fear and .'

insecurity thereby unleashing division and chaos.

As noted, the question ofa common Ghanaian language was a

matter of concern for Honourable Addac and when he moved the motion

00 the issue. be went a step further by calling fora language to be

developed out of the several indigcnous languages. That language would

have a neutral name and would selVc as "a blanket tennoverthe

multiplicity of languages and dialects." It would be a common languagc:,

that is, a language that almost all Ghanaians could relate to and it must be

a language indigenous to Ghana and nOI a fore ign language like English,

French or evcn Hausa. He believed that this would be possible since

almost all the indigenous languagcs are related. He suggested that the

common name should be called Ghanaian irrespective of which language

becomes the dominant language. The motion, to him was necessary for the

reason that groups of people are more likely to consider themsc:lves a

nation i ftheyhaveacommoncul tura l heritageandcspeciallyaco~on

language and that ..... nOlhingbindspeople more closely togc:therthan a

commonlanguage.,,188

117 NationaJ Assembly Dcbates, May 1971.

Illlbid.JSI3.


On the other band, the lack ofa common languagc: be argues

brings aboul tmnccessarymisunderst.a.nding, prejudiccs, ethnocentrism and

difficulties of intercommunication within nati~nal boundaries. Therefore.

since language is the vebicleofculture and an important factor in nationaJ

sentiment, ignoring the conlinuous search for a common Gbanaian

Janguagewould belanlamounl 10 comrnining "cultural suicidc" the mover

of the motion argued. Additionally he intimaled thai wbilst it isessenlial

tobeablelospeakmoreGhanaianlanguages,ilwouldbemorc

convenienl to decide on one Ghanaian language and speak thai language

together.

Byimplicatioo,Mr.AddaewascallingforthegraduaJ

obsolescence of other languages so that the language eventually chose n

becomes the ftrst language of the counlry. Nonetheless, an argument couJd

also be made that cboosing a particular language would not necessarily

result in the extinction of other languages; considering the fact tbat h aving

English as the official language has not led to tbe extinction of the

Ghanaian languages. Again, Mr. Addae was suggesting that uni lingualism

wasc:ssentialfornationalunityandidentitywhilemultilingualism"

engendered national disunity. However, linguistichetc:rogeneity isn ot

necessarily a barrier to national integration, just as uniJingualism wi ll not

automatically result in national integration. Bamgboseargucslhat

''National integration can nevc:r mean, turning the nation into a unilingual


stale (just as it cannot mean making all the citizens embrace a common

religion}."Il9

As expected,opinions were.divided on the motion in the House;

responses to the motion could ideally be divided into two main groups;

those who supponed the motion on a common Ghanaian language. and

those who did not suppon it. The first group, made up of those who

supported the motion, heanilyhailed it as a step in lherightdirection and

in the best interest of the whole nation. Tbeseexpressed the opinion th at

the motion would unitethecountry,as well as provide a sense of cultural

awareness. Language is a key component of cultural identity therefor e

using a foreign language would lead to loss of culture and by extension

national identity, they contended. The crux of the argument was that an

indigenous language would best serve as a tool in the construction of

nationhood and a common identity, unlike English. It was more of a call

for cultural and national identity as it was of national unity. Members 0 f

this group thus emphasised the urgent need for a common Ghanaian

language as very essential for the realisation of national and cultural

identity. This is what 8amgbose ref~s to as the 'nationalist' argument and

the 'claims of authenticity'. Thus he explains: "It is nationalism that

119 Bamgbose."Laqguagc in N3Ii01:iDtc:gration: Nigcril IS a case study," S.


makes the nationals of a country want oot just a common language but a

natiooallanguagcindigenoustothecountry.nl90

ontheotherband,theseco~dgroupopposedthemotion~nthe

basisthatchoosingaod imposing a language on a multi-lingua nation was

nllhcr a rccipefornational disunity and nOI necessarily the solution t 0

national unity. These believed that "One thing that divides us is this

language question. So we leave it 10 poslerity.,,191 Membersofthisgrou P

explained that "innicting" one particular language on a people with

languages of their own had often resul!ed in extreme cases ofviolenc efor

Ihe reason thai language is very important and sacred to any ethnic group.

Hence, they wamed that in order 10 forestall bloodshed as had happe nediD

Ceylon and India, it would be unwise to impose a particular language

(even if thai language had a sizeable number of speakers) on theenti rc

lndeed some members of this group were very passionate in their

argument to the point of describing the motion as a "political dynamite"

and cautioned thai any government ~at even attempts "10 press th!s matter

100 hard" and "deceives itself that the time is opponune to introducca

. lingua franca in the country will be sitting upon a kegofgunpowder."I92

190Barngbose, ~languagc in Nalional inlegration." 7.

191 National Assembly Debales, May 1971.1538.

l'!Tbid


The JP MP for Ablekuma. Mr. C.T. Nylander, for instance, explained that

ifthemoverofthemotionW4Sevenca1leduponto!>u~}:est.langu.agcfor

thatpurpose.hewouldbcinadilemm.abeca~ewhah·\crlanguagehe

may recommend wouki DOt be acceptable to all. Ifht" were to make

ttxammendalions for any other l all~uagc but his own. he would incur the

wrath nf his own people. Similarly, other ethnic groups would also not

takt: kmdly to it iihe were to suggest his own b.nguagc

Tbisunda'iinestheprtdicamentandcoouovcrslesofc:hoosinglln

indigmouslanguageasanationall.nguagc.Forthesereasons,mt:mbc:r~

of lb.Js group argued thaI the question of a common Ghanaian langua~c

sbould not be forced. but be left lopostcnty. Accordingly. theycxplamcd

that ..... the struggle of the languages will go on. Some wilt disintegrate,

others will die; and one or so will remain to become a hngua franca." 19\

Furthc:rmorc.they arguooIIwevcnwith regard to cu&ruraland

fl3tiona lidenlity.havingacommonindigenouslanguagcwllSn01lhc

solution to tbc: prohlem sinc:e this could lead 10 thc e:\llncllon of the othcr

l.!nbruagc~ and cuhun::s. They ellpr~ the (onviction thai, ... .. ~ one

Ghanaian language has beeo developed to become the lingua franca, the

other languages will have their death warrant Slgned.,·l"4 Mr. S. Osei-

Akoto,Ministt.-rialSccrelarytothe MlnistryofTransponand

I"(bid,


Communication for instance, opposed the motion 00 the basis that

U •• Janguage is the machinery by which we portray our diversc

cultwes .... "andsoinorder loextolour cu1~e.thereistheoeed-to

encourage our local languages; anythiog done to do otherwise is

unacceptable. If having a common Ghanaian language would mean

obsolescent oflhe rest of the indigenous languages, then the motioo was

totallyunacceptabie.

For this group, the solulion to nalional unilylay in hamessing

Ghana's multilingual and multicultural environment for the good ofa11. To

ensure national unity, some members of the group proposed the following;

Ghanaians should beencow-agedtobemuhi-lingual,everyeducatedman

should be literate in his own language, "Akans must also develop an

interest in learning other vernaculars apart from their own"; government

must encourage the publication of newspapers in the Ghanaian l:mguages

to reach the grassroots level and ~' ... above all, it must be the practice in

the country that the main language groups in our population are

representcd, espccially, in the Executive, the Anny, the Police, the

JudiciaryaswellasLegislativeandthcPublicsectoroftheecon~my."L9s

Members of the sccond group thus believed in Ihe saying "unity in

diversity"and so advocated mulliple ethnic heritages.

19SNalioniilAssembtyDebates,Mayl97t.


As to whether \heR was an urgent need for a common language.

tbis group argucd that tbis need bad already been satisli..:d with English

playing such a role; Ghana already bas a co~on lanb'Uage in the fonn of

the Eoglish Language, they explained. Concerning this, one member

commented. "Some of us who make a false aUowance for another lingua

franca lobe devised have deverlythosen to call the English thai we now

usc as our lingua francaanoffici.nl I.:anguage. No Illnguagecan be a lingua

franca foranynattonun1essilis the offteiallangu.1gc,"'%

The membC'f'S of this group wm= nol so much interested in whether

the common lanpage was foreign or Ghanaian but rother a common

language. NOIably,lenninologyalsoaddedtothewntTOversyoflhe

language debttc. What some called lingua franca, olhers called omci.1 or

IllltiOllallanguage. However. the motion was more than findin. a lingua

franca, wruch is"a medIUm of commUnication for people who speak

dlITerenl fIrst languages. "197 II was about finding a common Ghanaian

languageora national language;"a language used by an cntttyto express

its pohtica), social and cultural identity."I98 Enghsh, lhough a common

language and the official language, was not indigeoous to Ghana and was

therefore no1 an identity marker. to fact Hausa was 00 less • common

u~ NatIonal Assembly DebaI~. M~ 1971.

,. M~kuIlM.~c:Ie."TheZain.nLan .. PolicyandllSEffctt __ LiICnl",,,~ In f-;alioDil Lan&ua&cs."

'il·rd.


language for Ghana as English was. The fact thougb is both languages are

not indigenous to Ghana.l99

Again, Bamgbose describ~ Ibis group as "nalionism", that their

argument was based on "the claims of efficiency" thai is, what is efficient

for the nation. "Considerations of nation ism on tbe other hand involve

emphasis on the mosl eITective way of conducting the business of the

natioo ... .it does not really maner whl1t language a countJy uses as its

lingua franca as long as that language performs tbe functions expected of

it adequately.,,200 «Nationism" points to a foreign language such as

English while nationalism points to an indigenous language and

Bamgbose quotes Fishman as predicting that when faced with these two

apparentlyconllictingclaims, "new nations are likely to emphasize

'nationism'ratherthannationalism?OI

4.4 Some Key Issues of Ibe Debale on tbe Motion

The debate on the motion was very lively. Both sides had strong

reasons to eithersuppon or oppose the motion, and arriving at a decision

was as difficult and challenging as the motion in question. Interestingly,

most of the members who sUPPOI1ed the motion were on the side of the

19t Refer 10 ch<lpter one ofthethcsis (or elarificalioo.

~~Bamgbose'''LanguagejnNationa1Inlegratioo.''S . :!Ollbid.7,8.


government while a considerable number of those that opposed were from

Ihe opposition, There were bowever few cases where some members on

the govemmem's side opposed the motion; 'the same cannot be,said for the

oppositionlhough. In addition, most of those wbo supponed1he motion

were Akan, while those who opposed the motion were mostly not Akan.

Funhennore, even though the motion made no mention of any

particular language, one thing that emerged from the debate was the foct

that most of the members on both sides assumed that the supposed

common language in question was the Akan language. Hence, opposition

10 the motion was primarily based on the suspicion that the Akan language

would be imposed on the entire nation. On the other hand, supporters of

the motion, mostly Akan, hoped that the common Ghanaian language

would be the Akan language. Even when some members tactfully tried to

avoid delving into this, it was obvious the Akan language wason thci r

minds. And the mover of the motion did nothing to allay such.fears.

especially with his comment that a time would come when the entire

nation will speak that one language. As a matter of fact, he proposed the

Akan language for consideration ~ven though the mol ion menli~ned the

gradual development ofa common language out of the existing ones

Interestingl y the Akan language had alwayscapturedattenlion whenever a

common language for Ghana was under discussion. In most cases the


Akan and non-Abo people have advocated Akan as an officia1language

ora second language togelherwilh Englisb.202

IdaC. Ward, ProfessorofWeslAfrican Langoages, School of

Oriental and African Studies. University of London, wrote a report

investigating Gbana's langoage problem. She provided an account on

Norway's language policy and drew parallels from it and "the Gold Coast

experience.,,2<llWard reeoonledthat after Norway achieved independcnce

from Denmark in 1814, the written language was purely Danish while

most Norwegians spoke one of the Norwegian dialects which had no

written fonn, though lhey had grown organically from old Norse, the

wrinen fonn of which had fallen into disuse in the 14lh and IS'" Centuries.

Norwegians were greatly agitated because " ... it was feh to be an anomaly

lhat Norwegians shouJd have to write in Danish wbichwastbenalural

means of expression ofa smaJl minorityoruy, whiJe the great majority

wbo spoke Norwegian should have no adequate instrument of

expression.'0204 Therefore, the Norwegian Government sought to remedy

this anomaly. Ward explained that the aim of the language policy of the

Norwegian government was to d~velop one written form suitabie for all

Norway. She admitted that the methods of achieving this result had been

10!Sc:vc:ralrefcrencestosomeoftheseappc:armchaptc:rthreeandtheearlypart of this chapter

1Cl Ida C. Ward, Repon 0/ .An /lIl1esligalioll of Some Gold CAaJI LallgutJge Problems (London; Government of the Gold Coast, 1945).

204 Ibid


controversial,aodasisusuaUythecasewithmost laoguageproblems,

"elIKltions rather than reason govemedopinions, and the struggle was

sometimesbiner . ..20S

lnberconc!usion,Wardslatoo:"Thisbriefaccountofthesolution

of serious language problem in a modem European language should serve

to emphasise some of the points in my report, viz; that the Gold Coast is

not alone in its dialect problems, that it is not possible or wise to fix a

standard language once and forall,thatunityand ultimate aim must be

worked for dispnssionately.Twi speakers of the present generation, we

hope,willalsohavetheexperieneeofseeinganationalwrittenlanguagc

take shape before their eyes."Z06 Thus, Ward like most ex:pertsonthe

language question, was of the opinion that Twi may serve as a national

language for the country.

The common trend in these cases has always been the call for

individual sacrifices to be made for the benefit ofeveryoneconeemed. But

lhen,national unityinvolvcsmorethanindividual sacrificeforthebenefit

ofthe nation. ldeally,nationa l un.itymeansnaliona l sacrifice,~obviously

daunting task. For most nations, having a common national language.

though desirable for the sake of national integration, was often impractic al

and unattainable

1D! tdaC.Ward,ReponojAIlJIlVf."'ligalioll

:!OIilbid.49


The May 1971 parliarnentaJy debate on the motion for a common

Gbanaianlanguage receivedwidereportageinthenewspapers. lnareport

in the Ghanaian TImes, Mr. R. R. Ampon~ah explained that the

government' s stand on language concerns was nol to impose one language

as the 'lingua franca' because once that is done, people : ... would assume

that you have ulterior motive . .. . ·207 II further reported that the

Govemmentbeliev~inthegradualevolutionofa · linguafranca'rather

than making a conscious effort to achieve it. Therefore. the decision of the

govemment on the debate was to ... .. give cqual opportunity to the

developmeolofthe main Gbanaian languages in tbe scho'ols so tbat one of

tbemmight emerge as a dominant language for the country. To this end,

with effect from the next academic year, each person will be taught his

locaJ language in addition toone of the main Gbanaian languages.,,2011

The DailyGraphic also reported on this debate and government's decision

on il. It was the Government's decision, according to tbe paper, that

"Pupilsinprimaryschoolswill,asfromnextacademicyear,berequiredto

learn one of me S main Ghanaian languages in addition 10 their own

dialecls.,,209

Following this, a series of debates and responses from the public

pertsiningto language concems in Ghana resurfaced. like the debate in

)07 S. Asante-Fosuhc:nc:, "Lingua Franca: Process 10 be gradual," Ghafl4jall Times May6, 1911. 12

lOilbid.

209"PUPiIsIOLeamOnC:Morc:~~agC:'''[)Qjlyc;,qpIliCMaY6'1911 . 1.


Parliament, thcse debales werccharaclerized by huge disagreements.

While some expressed the opinion that an indigenous language should

replaceEnglishasthcofficia1languagef~rGhana,othersargucdthatthls

was nOl a wise dung 10 do and the solution 10 the language problem_

Othcrs also. were of the opinion thatifcven it was impractical to have an

indigenous language as the official language,atleasl il should be duly

recognised and given a chance to compete with the Englishlanguagc.

K. Bentsi-Enehill. Professor of Law at the University of Ghana

expresscd this opinion:

it is very Icmpling 10 lhink that Ihe compulsory imposilion of one of the local languages will provide the solution. lndia and Ceylon are countries faced with our kind of language problem and they have lried in various way,; 10

fostertheirnalionaJ unity by imposing a l;mguagc srokcn by majority as lhe official and national language .. .. Wc have nOl only the experience oflndia and Ceylon but also the history ofminoritypeopJes like the Welsh in Britain,orthe Flemish in Belgium, or the French in Canada to provide us with a stem warning against any attempt to impose anyone of the indigenous language on Ghana. -

There is therefore real wisdom in continuing with English as the official language of Ghana. It frees us fromconOicts and resentments Ihal could be self-defeating. There is the further advantage that English being a world language. our use of it places us in toucb with the rest of the world and with what the devdoped countries can leach us.2IO

Thus. be a1so agreed with the adherents of the English language for the

very reason that English as a common language for Ghana would prevent

violencc 3!ld national division and project Ghana on the inlemational

about it;l°c!;,~:~:,~~c !e:yts:~~~~~~I .. ~·.Ghana·s Linguistic Challenge, what do we do

116


setting through effective communication. However, like so many before

him who bad addressed the language question including GU.8&isberg and

Nkrumah, Bentsi Enchill also expressed the opinion that the indigenous

languages need not be neglected and thus called on Gbanaians to exhibit

keen interest in the indigeoous languages and to display a positivcattitude

loward the indigenous languages.

Writing in support of an indigenous language Seth Gyebi- Dankwa

argues tbal " ... there are more disadvantages than advantages if we adopt

Englisb as our national language."UI He explained that "Unlike any 0 four

indigenous languages, English,analien tongue belongs to an entirely

difTerentlanguagegroup ... " And because of the difficulties in leaming

and understanding a forcign language, " . . . a people who adopt a foreign ,~\i'{O;-()

ton~CaStheirOffiCiallanguagedOSOOn1ytosurrcrasetbaekintheir('/n~\ pohtlcal,social and cultural development.'·212 He also exprcssed the ~~J...\.l

opinion that Akan should be the obvious choice because it JN~ the ,"9/ ~,[ -:;;~_\'")-language of the largest single ethnic groups in Ghana as weU as the only

Ghanaian language spokcn as a second language by the largcst number of

non-Akan ethnic groups. Gyebi-Dankwa explained that even -among non-

Akan, the Akan customary tradition is dominant, especially in their

chieftaincy affairs just as Akan has also been inOuencedbyotherelhnic

m 5eth Gycbi-Dankwa., "Foreign Tongues are Liabilities," DGily Graphic May 31,1971

~I ~ Ibid


groups borrowing extensively from olherlanguages; like'Ayeeko'and

'Asafoatse' from Ga. For these reasons, adopting Akan as ~ national

language, sbould not pose any problem; " ... any possible oP:sition may

ariseoutofshceruncontrolledtribalemotionalrancor,thanou(of

principle."m Again,heexplaincdtbatthesolutionlolhcproblemofthe

inadequacy of indigenous languages to possess words for " ... scientific and

technical terms relevant in modem science and technology," was to

cncouragebofTowing from other languages, something that is common

with most languages

Inaddressingtheargumentthatadoptingonelanguageina

multilingual country as a common language would unleash chaos, Gyebi-

Dankwa explained that the ethnic question in Ghana was different from

the "India Problem" because un1ike India.. Ghana was very small and even

though it had many ethnic groups, these ethnic groups were not based on

religion as was the case in lndia. According to him, singiingoul a

particular language would nOI automatically result in the dearth ofoth er

languages just as making English the official language in Britai n did not

make Welsh obsolete. He further argued that there were very distinguished

. authors of the Akan language who were noo-Akan like Ephraim Amu, and

these bave not fo rgonen their language and culture.

m ScthGycbi-Dankwa."ForcignJ:;guesarc liabililies."


Others argued that it was important 10 look at tbe causes of

multilingualism inGhanaratherthanjuslpayingattention~othenatureof

it. This is because some languages though foreign 10 Ghana;

.. . bavesoirnpercepliblyburiedtheirlap.rootssodeeply~ lofonn part and parcel of the soils they now dweJl on, thCLT

::::;::!: f~:a:f;~::~:~~~ cS:~I:~:'~14 To this point, the solution to an easy cboice and evo~lltionofa national

language is to rid the land of "non-in dig en OilS elemcnlS."

There was nothing new about both the debates on the motion in

parliament and in the newspapers. There have been pe~istent calls for a

common Ghanaian language since independence and even beyond. And in

most cases, these have always taken on a political twist. Nevertheless,

with regard 10 the motion, it was opposed on tbebasis that the nalion w as

nOl ready to take such a huge step; that a common Gbanaian language

would be desirable in the future . lnthemcantimc. English should continue

to play such a role while the Government worked toward developing the

Ghanaian languages. Therefore, the motion was finally amended and was

accordingly resolved to read as follows:

In view of the importance ofa national language as a factor for national unity in Gbana, this Housesbould lake note of the necessity of a common Ghanaian language or lingua jranca.,,2IS

May 31, ~1;7~.~~an Luu, "Towards the Proposed National Language." DDily Gryhlc

11SHermanLutt,'"TOWardsthePr~Nati0na1Language.. ..


The point of interest here is that a common Ghanaian language or lingua

franeawasunanimouslyagreedtobeofeXlremeimportan~etothenation.

Yet it was also acknowledged that achieving such a goal w~uld be a

daunting task which would require major sacrifices. Forllnguisticunityt 0

beachievcd there was thenccd fora slrong political power in the form of

eithcr a colonial powcror a militarypowcr.216 Eithcrofthesc, it was

argued,would be ablt to draft a law which would cnablc the effective

implcmenl3tion ofacommon Ghanaian language irrespective of the

objections which could arise as a result of such adccision.

4.SConciusiou

This chapter has considercd language policy and language debates

after the 1966 coup. The language policies of horn the NLC and the PP

govemmentswereeontinuationsofcoloniallanguagepolicy.Th.iswas

cspeciallyevident in their language policy of education which was based

on the recommendations oflhe Kwapong Educational Committee.

With thebinh ofthc Second Rcpublieand the resurgence of

demands for national identity, an attempt was made to usc language as a

tool for national unity and identity. However, when a motion aimed at

finding a solution to these demands was moved in parliament, it was

m Parliamentary Debates, May 1971

120


rejected. The chaptcr argued that opposition to the motion on a common

Ghanaian language was part of a fear of political domination by the Atan.

Ethnic tensions remained higbduringlhepcriodoflhe motion and the

persislenceofthcse clhnic tensions explains wby it was not possible 10

develop and promote a common Ghanaian language~


CHAPTER FIVE

By Any Olher Language

This thesis, primarily aimed at situating the lingu'istic changes in

Ghana within a historical framework. The major focus of the thesis was on

language policies outJined by the colorual govemment and later by

succeeding govcmments after independence. It examined the similarities

anddifTcrcnces in language policy in Ghano sincccoioniaiism and the

reasonsforthechangeandcontinuityofthcscpoliciesparticularlyfrom

A study that considers the historical development of language

policy in Ghana calls fora clearer and decpcr insight into the processes

and changes of colonialism and its impact on language policy in Ghana.

Significant changes in co!onial policies !ikcthe introouction ofa new

political order and the consolidation or colonialism undoubtedl ybada

profouoo efTce(on colonial language policy and subsequen(ones evcn

afterindcpcndence. Thus,inoutliningcoloniallaoguagepolicyandits

influence on subsequcot language policy after independence, the thcsis

examined colonial policies and events at thc time and how these shaped

aod dictated colonial language policy.


In Chapter One of the thesis. which also served as thc inuoductory

chapter, a brief background to undcrstanding coJoniaJ lan.guagepolicywas

provided. This was an outlook of missionary activities in the early stages

of colonialism and the effect on colonial language policy. The chapter

established that colonialism and the subsequent amalgamation of people of

difTerent linguistic backgrounds ncccssitated the need for language policy

in Ghana. Further, the chapler underlined that educational work by

Christian missionaries had a strong impact on lhe use of the vernacular in

education by colonial authorities anerthe consolidation of Briti sbrulein

colonial Ghana. By the 1 920s, with the consolidation· of British colon ial

rule and the introduclion ofa new political order, colonial language policy

underwent significant changes.

CbapterTwo considers colonial language policy in the face of

thesechangingeventsoftheBritishcolonialadministration. ltfocused

primarily on the responses of the colonial administration with regards to

language diversity in Ghana. The chapter argues that colonial language

policy was diclated by events and the political policies at the lime. For this

reason, British policies of assimilation and indirectrulesh~pedcolonia1

language policy. The early paru of the twentieth century witnessed severaJ

political changes and social developments of British rule in Ghana. One of

such changes was the introduction of the British policy of indirect rule in

1919. The study has shown that the system of indirect rule influenced the

use of the vernacular in the educational system and local governance after

123


the 1920s. Thiswasacompletecbange from their initial policy of solely

using Englisb as tbe languageofcducation and govemancc.

AverySignificantactofcoloniallanguagepolicy.~asreached

during the administration of Guggisberg so that by the end of his

administration, the colonial language policy was the use of Englisb as Ibe

language of governance while the vernacular was used mostly for local

adminislratioQ.Additionally,coloniailanguagep~ticyofeducationmainly

involvcd the use oflhe vernacuiar in the flTSt three years of primary

education. By the late I 920s, the co!onial govemment had embarked on

the implementation ofllUs new language policy whicb soughl to use the

vernacular in the first three yearsofprimaryeducalion, and the continued

use of it as a subject in subsequent stages of education. Further, the

introduclion of the Brilish system of indirect rule resulted in the use of

indigenousianguages for local govemance. Consequenlly, the colonial

administrstionactuallyprescribedandinsisledontheuseoflhevemacular

at the local govemance level. It was incumbent for all European officials

under "native afTairs" to baveexpert knowledge of one of the principal

ianguagcsatthetime. lnaddition,asaresultofthegrowi·ngimportance

attached to the study of indigenous languages by Europeans, a Board of

Examiners was established. Their job was to see to examining European

workers in an indigenous languageinorderforthem, toquaiify for

government work. Consequently, the vernacular witnessed massive

development and standardization, thus promotingtbc useoftbe

124


indigenous languages. Chapter Two thus argues that from the time of

Guggisberg, British colonialism did more than undennine the vernacular

contrary 10 popular assumption that colonialism downplayed the

importance of indigenous languages.

One of the themes on African history that the study conlributes 10

is scholarship on colonialism. Contrary to popular notion that pJaces

emphasis on colonialists' as major players while portraying colonial

subjects as passive in the co!onial encounter, the study showed that

Africans actively participated and negotiated their piace in the coloni al

encounter. When criticism was directed at the inability of chiefs to use the

vemacular in the legislative Assembly because the language of the

Assembly was English, colonial administration responded by seningu p

the Provincial House ofChlefs where the members could deliberate in

their own language without any inhibition, as well as observe other

culturalandlraditionalinstitutions.Bythis,colonial subjects ncgotiated

and reinterpreted their cultural identity and traditional institulion,thereby

carving a nicbe for themselves in the colonial encounter.

One significant development that emerges from this study is that

.indigenouslanguageswereseenasessentialelementsfornationalidentity

and cu lture but nol necessarily national unity and inlegration. This was

evident in the roletbeyplayed at tbe time of colonialism and after. While

an indigenous language was not officially recognised astbe language of


governance and principal language of education., it was scen as besl suitcd

forlocalgovcmance.Europeanoffic ialswere requiredtouse the

vernacular in their interactions with tlte indigenes, and chiefs were

encouraged to use the vernacular in the Provincial Council of Head Chiefs.

Afler independence, the role of the indigenous language as more of

an identityandcul!ural marker was reiterated when almost all the

constitutions of independent govemmcntcmphasised the need for

knowledge in indigenousianguage as a requisile fornaturalisation of a

person who wished to be Ghanaian despite the fact that English was

Ghana's official language. This also underlines the role of the indigenous

language as a major element of culture and s u:nse of identity

111e focus of Chapter Three was on events at the time of

independence and how the high spirit ofnatiormlism,· things which mark

Gbanaiansout asapeople -wasreconcilcd with reality on the ground. By

the 1950s, tbeprocessofdct:olonisationhadsetinand'theviewthat

lang\mgecould serve as a tool ofdecolonisation resulted in tbecoostant

«:-Iamouring for a national language of an ind igenous kin~. However, these

demands were not satisfied. Independcnceplaccd Ghana on the world

. scene and the need to fit into the intemational setting, was one reason why

English remained the official language even aflt:r independence.

Therefore, the Ghanaian languages served as an underling to the English

ianguageespeciallyintheareaof govcmance


Chapter Three aJso addresscd the question of why Nkrumah did

DOlreplaccEngJjshwithanindigenouslanguagcorall~raisean

indigenOuslanguagetothcstatusof'Gbana'somciaJlanguagetog~ther

with English. In responding to thesequesrions, cbapter threc argued that it

wasthedesireloavoidpotentiaJviolenceaswellasNknunah'sPiln

Africanism that emphasized the unity of all African people that gave

English the advantage over the Ghanaian languages as an official

language

Chapler Four, focuses primarily on the attempt by the Busia

Administration to develop a common Ghanaian language in 1971. The

period in question was one of political tension asa resuhofthe 1966 coup

which resulted in the overthrow of Nkrumah's regime. When the military

government which overthrew the CPP government handed over power to

the PP after winning the 1969 election, the new government was perceived

as Akan-oriented. Thus at the time that an amended motion on a common

Ghanaian language was passed in parliament in May 1971, ethnic tension

remained high. Chapter Four thus argues that the fear of being labeled as

etimocentric and people's reluctance to take theriskwas..a major reason

why an attempt 10 develop a common Ghanaian language was not

One thing worth noting is the persistent presence of debates on

language policy after independence. Thesedebatcs centered on the

medium ofinstruclion and a common Ghanaian language as a nationaJ


language. Though this was Dol entirely B new development-the intensity

of the dehate was certainly new. Of particular interest was the debate on a

common Ghanaian language. This c~rtainly was a new development

unlike tbe debate on the medium ofinstruetion io edueation;whieh had

featured prominently in language discussions since colonialism. The y~

leadinguploindependeocewilnessed persistent debates on language.

especially on a Ghanaian language as a nlltional language as expressed in

the newspapers and parliamentary debates. With the attainment of

independence and the need for national identity and recognition, the

qucstionofanindigeoouslanguageasanofficiallangullgeinplaeeof

English or together with English. was inevitable

Unlike the colonial times when Englisb was generally accepted as

the language ofgovemance and highly favoured in place of the Ghanaian

languages,pcople now began to question the wisdom in maintaining a

foreign langu3ge as Ghana's official language irrespective of the

advantages that lhis may bring. Thc strong desire fora language which

would best portray the cultural and national identity of Ghanaians led to

intensive debate on language policy at the time. These recurring debates

on a common language for Ghana evoke serious questions with regard to

lhe exlcnt to which linguistic unity is crucial for national unity. On the onc

hand, an indigenous language was essential fornalional identity and very

muchdesiroo; howcver. it was not a erucial element for national unity.

Neither was it essential fo r global communication.. For that matter, if


having an indigenous languagewouldunderminenationaJ unity, then the

fonner would have 10 give way to the latter. :nus is the dilemma of

language choice formostAfiican nations and-Barbara Yalesexplains that -

"Bilingual and multilingual countries struggle with the 'trade-ofT' between

the economic and social advantages ofleaming and using a dominanl

commercial world language, and the desire to preserve and give pride,

dignity,and recognition 10 multiple ethnic heritages . ..217 David Lailin

affinns that Ghanaians find themselves in a dilemma when it comes to

language choice_ There is the need to oblain knowledge in the language of

global importance, English. Yel, national sentiments and loyalty also make

!he vernacular essentiaL Nationalism, according to Laitin, seems strong

because Ghanaians relaintheirancestral languages witb low economic

pay-offs for doing so; yet il seems weak because Ghanaians put up little

resislance to the ever-wider use of English in public life. 218

This thesis was main1y shaped by the queslion: How and why has

language policy changed overtime in Ghana? The study identified that

language policy since colonialism bas undergone a measure of change and

conlinuity.Forthemoslpart,languagepolicyafterindependencewas

remodeled after colonial language policy. Guggisberg's poticyoflanguag e

continued to be practiced after independence and Ihere has been linle

cbange in the counlry's language policy. TheonJy exception was during

m ''The Origins of Language Policy in Zaire," 279.

211 Laitin, "The Tower of Babel as a Coordination Game," 4 .

129


the Cpp Administration where the use of Englisb was inlensified even in

the early stages of educalion. This was n cb~gc from the colonial policy

ofusi[lgtbevernacularintheearlyslagesofeducation~ Witbthis

exceplion, Ghana has witnessed continuilyin her language policy from •

1920101971.


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