Ghana Life: Do visitors need more than English?
Ghana, like most other countries that were once British colonies, adopted English as its official language upon gaining independence in 1957. This avoided having to decide which of the more than sixty vernacular languages should be so designated. However, the vernacular languages are fit and well and are spoken in most homes, informal workplaces, markets, and everyday social gatherings. Foreigners planning to visit Ghana on medium to long-term business or development aid assignments often ask if learning one of the local languages is useful. The answer always depends on the nature of the task and its location.
There seems to have been a period a decade or two after independence when English was not only widely spoken, at least in the southern half of the country, but also very well spoken, but by the mid-1970s, the British Council officials were saying that the best English speakers were already in their forties. It has continued a steady decline. It is difficult to say whether the number of fluent English speakers has declined or whether rapid population growth has increased the proportion of people who have had little or no opportunity to learn the language. The result, however, is that for those foreigners who wish to communicate with many people at all levels of society, the need to speak a vernacular language is greater than in the past.
All professionals in Ghana: government officials, teachers, etc., as well as those who deal with foreigners on a daily basis: hotel staff, shop assistants, tour guides, etc., are all fluent in English, and for those visitors who want to just interact with those people, no other means of communication is needed. The same could be said for those whose main business will be in the major cities of Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Takoradi, and perhaps in most other regional capitals. For the occasional adventure beyond these boundaries, willing interpreters are easily found, but for those who wish to communicate directly and regularly with wider circles, both socially and geographically, the acquisition of a vernacular is beneficial.
The next question to ask yourself is which vernacular is more useful? With so many to choose from, the answer could be extremely complex, especially in the north, where every town seems to speak a different language than its neighbors. In practice, however, a simple answer can be given. One language, Twi, the vernacular of the Akans, is widely spoken in the southern half of Ghana. The three main dialects, Asante, Fanti and Akuapem, are mutually understandable, as are some minor dialects and regional variations, and because Twi is so widely spoken, many Ghanaians from other tribes have found it useful to acquire some degree of understanding. fluency.
Apart from Twi, as the first language to learn in Ghana, three other languages deserve special mention. Many foreigners take the trouble to learn Ga, the vernacular of the capital city Accra, and others study Ewe, the language of most people in the Volta region, located east of the Volta River and once forming part of German Togoland. The third language, Hausa, is most widely spoken in West Africa outside of Ghana, and foreigners who have some Hausa from service in Nigeria and elsewhere will find it useful in northern Ghana and among northerner colonies in the south. Some Hausa words have been adopted for general use in Ghana, especially in relation to markets, trade, and horses.
The English and Twi speaking foreign visitor to Ghana will find that they can communicate with most people in most parts of the country. For those whose work will take them for an extended period to a place with a different mother tongue, the acquisition of that mother tongue would be helpful. This is roughly the policy adopted by foreign agencies with volunteers posted to all parts of Ghana, such as the US Peace Corps and the British Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).
