Ghana’s adoption of a local dialect as an official language may not be realized due to the country’s political divide.

The allegiance of the two major political parties, the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress, to a particular ethnic group may impede processes for the nation to officially accept one local language.

According to Dr. Peter Arthur of the Department of English at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the two parties with tribal backing would have their members calling for the acceptance of their language.

“These parties have a certain tribal basis. They will clamour for the fact that they have been marginalized, should any of the two have lingua franca,” he said.

The lecturer alluded that the superiority enjoyed by some ethnic groups could also hinder the adoption.

“Because the British used divided rule, the country finds it difficult to come together. Ever since, certain ethnic groups have claimed superiority,” he added.

In 2009/2010, the National Literacy Acceleration Programme established that only 18% of third grade pupils could read text in the Ghanaian language.

It follows a 2007 assessment where only 26% of pupils had minimum English competency.

Research works have revealed that quality education is best attained when the mode of instruction is familiar to the learners.

Dr. Arthur is therefore calling for the integration of local languages in basic school education

“So we can start with education, we can have so many young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds living together in boarding schools.

“Using a lingua franca in teaching can start from class one. Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia are amongst the countries using their own languages and they are developing so well,” he said.

The Wassa, Ahanta and Efutu languages, are a few of the about 50 indigenous Ghanaian languages on the brink of extinction.

Dr. Arthur attributed the extinction of these languages to ethnocentrism introduced by the English colonial masters.

He emphasized that the country ought to secure measures in ensuring these local dialects are kept.

“Just like the Latin language, if we don’t take good care of them, we will lose them forever.

“We have to make a conscious effort to ensure these languages are kept forever because they are our identity,” he said.