黑料社

University Community and the general public

International Mother Language Day Observed on Campus with a Lecture

The Acting Dean of the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Professor Kofi Agyekum, has called for the inclusion of grassroots participation in governance through the use of the mother tongue.

He said 鈥渨henever the language is switched from that of the masses, plans for economic, agricultural and industrial developments are more difficult to make鈥. He advised that Ghana鈥檚 local languages must be developed to become a means of regular communication.

Professor Agyekum made this call at a Public Lecture organised by the Department of Ghanaian Language and Linguistics, to commemorate 2019 International Mother Language celebration under the theme, 鈥淚ndigenous languages matter for development, peace building and reconciliation鈥.

Speak听 Mother Language to Promote Culture and Heritage of Ghana听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听

Speaking at the programme the Pro Vice Chancellor of 黑料社, Prof. Dora F. Edu-Buondoh expressed worry that some Ghanaians did not love to speak their own mother tongue.听 She said that some Ghanaians had become foreigners in their own land and thrown their culture away. She advised that 鈥渨hiles learning foreign languages to advance ourselves, we should as well learn our local languages too, this is the only way we can keep our culture and heritage鈥.听

Brief History of International Mother Language Day 听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听

International Mother Language Day is a worldwide celebration observed on 21st of February with the aim of promoting awareness of linguistic, cultural, diversity and promoting multilingual. The celebration was first announced by the UNESCO on November 17, 1999 and was formerly recognised by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in a resolution established in 2008 as International Mother Language Day. This day is celebrated every year with the overall objective to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education.

Celebration of International Mother Language Day in UCC

The Department of Ghanaian Language and Linguistics of the 黑料社 started observing the day three years ago. The first celebration was marked with a Public Lecture on the theme,听"Towards Sustainable Futures through Multilingual Education." which was delivered by a lecturer from the School of Language, University of Education, Winneba. The second was celebrated as part of the Faculty of Arts Lecture series on the theme, 鈥淭he Need for Review and Stability of Language on the Mother Language Education鈥.