12/6/2012
5th Period AP Human Geography

1) Based on the article, describe the linguistic complexity of Ghana (what are the major languages/minor languages)

While about a fifth of Ghana speaks English, the native language of Akan is spoken by roughly a third of the country as a first language, and millions more as a second language. Twi, or the dialects of Akan that are non-Fante, is the trade language of the densely populated southern half of the country.

2) Identify the main argument concerning the use of English in Ghana.

Teaching English to children as a first language threatens the culture diversity of the country, and at the present time it isn’t even close to a majority language. While English does allow for debate between political candidates and outside interest – it leaves the actual voters in the blind about political views in favor of the minority of English speakers.

3) Identify the main argument concerning the use of African Languages in Ghana.

By choosing a single African language, many speakers of a dialect of that language would fail to understand, and even when picking a native language, speakers of another native language would be alienated to see that another native language was chosen over theirs.

4) Identify the author's main arguments concerning the connections between language, national Identity, and politics.

The author is clearly in favor of the country choosing to maintain their cultural identity by using native languages, but gives no clear solution to the problem – a