In , World Bank estimated the population of Ghana as Ghana is a multilingual nation. It is believed that there are about 80 native languages spoken by the Ghanaians. However, the official language used in Ghana is English. English is the official language used in Ghana.
It was passed on to the Ghanaians by their British colonialists. English is predominantly used for government and business affairs. It is used in legal and administrative documents and procedures. Besides, English is also used in Ghanaian politics and media coverage. English is also one of the subjects taken by students in the Ghanaian schools. It is therefore common to hear the English being referred to as Pidgin English. Akans is the largest ethnic group as it comprises of The languages in Ghana are categorized into two groups: government-sponsored and non-government sponsored languages.
The languages which are sponsored by government are supported by the Bureau of Ghana languages. In addition, materials such as books used to teach students in first grade, can only be published in these languages. There are nine languages which are sponsored by the government. An interesting fact - languages spoken in one ethnic group tribe are mutually intelligible with languages from across the country.
This means that someone born in the Northern Region of Ghana who speaks Dagbani, for example, can understand even if not fully someone who speaks Frafra because of this mutual intelligibility. Languages in Ghana originate from various ethnic groups that left their original homes in the past to settle in Ghana. With little ado, let us jump into the sea of languages spoken in Ghana and throw light on some local languages of Ghana. These languages are mutually intelligible.
The Akan language is part of the Kwa-branch of languages that we believe to have originated from Niger-Congo. Akan speakers are found in Ashanti Region mainly native speakers and almost all across the country. The Ewe language is part of the Gbe dialect, which is believed to have originated from the Volta-Niger area. Mainly spoken in Volta Region, mutually intelligible branches are the Tongu language in Sogakope, Adidome, and areas near Ada.
Anlo, for example, is the most widely spoken form of Ewe and spoken by people in southern Volta. Interestingly, apart from being the second most common language in Ghana, it is spoken also in Togo and Benin. Dagombas in the Northern Region of Ghana speak Dagabani. It is part of the Gur dialect in African language history. Although it is mainly spoken in Ghana by the Dagombas and Mole-Dagbani ethnic group, it is spoken in Burkina-Faso as well.
In Ghana, most of the languages spread because of trading activities. Dangme is part of the Ga-Dangme languages in the Greater Accra region. Its sister language is the Ga language. This is the language you are likely to hear as soon as you land at the airport in Accra. This is the local language spoken by the people of Accra. It is part of the Ga-Adangme dialect which is spoken in South-eastern Ghana. Nzema is part of the Bia dialect. It is spoken by the Nzema ethnic group.
Although it seems similar to Akan, it has more differences than similarities, so; it does not make it part of the Akan languages, and it is unique. This part of the languages spoken in the Northern Region of Ghana. It is part of the Guang and Tano dialect of languages in Africa.
It is part of the Gur branch of languages in Africa.
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