Mavis Kuukua Bissue speaking at the event
Ahanta, one of Ghana’s most at-risk indigenous languages, is now to be studied in school following an initiative introduced by the Member of Parliament for the Ahanta West Constituency, Mavis Kuukua Bissue.
The Ahanta Language Renaissance Project (ALRP), a grassroot driven initiative started by Madam Bissue, has now launched the pilot phase starting in the Ahanta West Municipality.
Her motivation, in her welcome address at the launch of the initiative, was her personal story of not having the opportunity to learn the Ahanta language as a child despite being born to an Ahanta mother and father.
“I am an example of the dangers that lie ahead if we fail as a country to document and teach our indigenous languages. Despite being born to an Ahanta father and mother, I did not have the benefit of being taught the language at home or in school,” she said.
The Ahanta language, also known as Ayinda, is a Central Tano language within the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo language family, spoken by the Ahanta people in the Western Region. It is similar to languages like Nzema, Brosa, Evalue and other languages that are spoken in south Eastern Ivory Coast.
For generations, this language has served as a medium of identity, oral history, governance, and spirituality for the Ahanta people.
As a result of long-standing marginalisation and the absence of state-led preservation efforts, the Ayinda language is now endangered, with fewer children speaking or understanding their ancestral tongue.
It has now been identified as one of nearly 40 indigenous Ghanaian languages at risk of extinction.
The ALRP, according to madam Bissue, builds on the foundational work done by the Ahanta Bible Project which has already worked with the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation to produce alphabets and an orthography based on which the bible has been translated into Ahanta.
Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, speaking as a guest of honour, said this project was a revolutionary project that would help protect one of the largest indigenous languages spoken in the region.
“Language is more than a means of communication; it embodies the worldview, values, history, and soul of a people. As a region proud of its cultural diversity, we must support projects like the Ahanta Language Renaissance Project, ensuring no part of our heritage is left behind,” he said.
Member of Parliament for Ellembelle and Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah spoke highly of the initiative and its potential to address historical injustices.
According to him, the Ahanta people, a sister to the Nzemas, where he is MP, are a formidable group whose contribution to Ghana’s pre-colonial history should not be allowed to die with their language.
He said, “Ahantas are a very brave and dynamic group of people, their history is rich. If you are an Ahanta, you have every reason to be proud. Your people stood their grounds against European imperialists like the Dutch. Ahantas fought to maintain much of the lands of what is now the Western Region and it is not right that the legacy of such a group is allowed to die. This initiative led by your courageous MP is in the right direction and would help revive this beautiful language and help you restore your history and culture”.
The ALRP has already started in the 20 schools under the pilot in the Ahanta West Municipal Assembly. The project would continue to train more teachers in the coming months to expand the number of schools under the pilot.
The project, led by the MP, would engage the University of Education in Winneba to draw up the long-term curriculum that would ensure the formalisation of the language in basic and Senior High Schools (SHS).
“Let us teach our children not only to read and write, but to remember. To remember who they are. To remember the voices of their ancestors. To remember that their language is not a barrier, but a bridge ó a bridge to identity, to opportunity, and to the future,” Madam Bissue concluded.
A Daily Guide Report