By Mahmud Mohammed-Nurudeen
A growing trend among Ghanaian families to prioritize English over their native languages in the home is raising alarm among language experts, who warn that this shift threatens the preservation of Ghana’s rich linguistic heritage. The issue took center stage at the 2025 AfroCuration Ghana event, held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), where academics, digital activists, and language enthusiasts gathered to promote African identities through the creation of local language content on Wikipedia.
Professor Opanin Kofi Agyekum, Head of the Department of Linguistics at the University of Ghana, emphasized that favoring English does not elevate social status and urged Ghanaians to value their native tongues. “In many homes in Ghana, people do not speak their native languages—they prefer to use English. Our cultural heritage is our language,” he said, highlighting the need to foster pride in local languages to ensure their transmission to future generations. “We will let our children cherish that this is another language,” he added.
The AfroCuration Ghana 2025 event, organized by the Wikimedians of Twi Language with support from the Global Open Initiative Foundation and the Wikimedia Foundation, brought together over 80 participants to create and translate Wikipedia content in seven Ghanaian languages: Twi, Dagbani, Gurene, Moore, Ewe, Kusaal, and Dagaare. The initiative, held in partnership with KNUST’s Language and Communication Sciences Department and the Akan/Nzema Education Department at the University of Education, Winneba, aimed to bridge Africa’s digital divide by making knowledge accessible in indigenous languages.
Dr. Emmanuel Antwi Fordjour, a senior lecturer at KNUST, described language as a cornerstone of cultural identity and expressed concern over Ghanaians’ reluctance to speak their mother tongues. “Some people even feel shy about speaking their own language, which is a negative attitude,” he said. He urged educated Ghanaians to lead efforts in preserving local languages, warning, “If linguists do not put up their best, it will come to a time that all these languages will become defunct.”
Dr. Faleke Victoria Ogunnike, another senior lecturer at KNUST, echoed these concerns, noting that no language should be dismissed as merely “local.” She cautioned that the loss of a language erases critical knowledge, including agricultural practices, and criticized Ghanaians’ preference for “exoglossic” languages like English and French. “While speakers of these foreign languages encourage us to preserve our own, many Ghanaians are suppressing their identity by neglecting native tongues,” she said. Dr. Ogunnike also advocated for recognizing proficiency in indigenous languages as a qualification for university admission, arguing that it reflects intellectual capability.
The event also highlighted the role of art in language preservation. Professor Akwasi Adomako, a KNUST academic, noted that artworks serve as carriers of cultural and linguistic messages. Citing his piece ‘My Hands Are Not for Begging’, he explained, “Within the artwork, there is language. As soon as I give an artwork to you to look at, it speaks to you—and when it is speaking to you, it is language.” He emphasized that art can serve as a powerful tool to maintain and promote Ghana’s linguistic heritage.
Professor Charles Ofosu Marfo, also from KNUST, praised AfroCuration as a vital initiative deserving of national recognition. “Language is more than a tool for communication; it is a reflection of identity, heritage, and knowledge systems,” he said. He lauded the event for empowering young Ghanaians to create digital content in their mother tongues, ensuring the global visibility of African stories. “It is a noble idea to send information throughout the world,” he added.
Jemima Antwi, Project Lead for AfroCuration Ghana 2025, underscored the urgency of documenting Africa’s over 2,000 languages online. “While Swahili is making remarkable strides, other languages must rise too. Wikipedia is a powerful tool for digital inclusion, and we are here to change the narrative,” she said. Harriet Henry Bayel, Executive Director of the Global Open Initiative Foundation, reinforced this call to action: “Africans cannot allow their rich linguistic heritage to disappear while the world moves forward digitally.”
AfroCuration, initiated by the Moleskine Foundation, is a movement blending art, language, and digital skills to empower young Africans to preserve their cultural heritage online. By equipping participants with tools to edit and translate Wikipedia articles, the program helps ensure that Ghana’s languages—and the identities they represent—remain vibrant in the digital age. As experts warn, the shift toward English in Ghanaian homes risks silencing these voices, making such initiatives more critical than ever.
