The Republic of Ghana is a multilingual country situated in West Africa on the coast of the Guinea Gulf. Ghana is bordered by Burkina Faso on the north, Togo on the east, the Atlantic Ocean on the south, and Cote d’Ivoire on the west. With its capital city in Accra, which serves as the commercial and educational center of the country, Ghana is home to a diverse population of over 30 million people. The major ethnic groups in Ghana are the Akans with a population of 47.5%, Mole-Dagbon – 16.6%, Ewe – 13.9%, Ga-Dangme – 7.4%, Gurma 5.7%, Guan 3.7%, Grusi 3.5%, Mande-Busanga – 1.1%, Kusaasi, Bikpaaam, and other ethnic groups which constitute the remaining 1.4%.

Besides being a country with varied ethnic nationalities, the people of Ghana are a diverse group of religions and beliefs. Christians make up the bulk of Ghana’s population with 71%, Muslims with 18 %, 5% indigenous traditional worshipers, and other unspecified religions accounting for 6%.  A common identity of the Ghanaians is their national flag which instills a sense of unity among its citizens. The color of the Ghanaian flag is a symbol of what its citizens hold dear to their hearts. The red color on the Ghanaian flag is a symbol of the sacrifices of those who died in the quest for the country’s independence, the gold is a symbol of mineral wealth, the green a symbol of forests and natural wealth, and the black star at the center is known as the ‘lodestar of African freedom’ derived from the flag of the black star line. The design of their flag is an example of the relationship between cultures and colors.

National and Local Languages of Ghana

Despite being a multilingual country, with an estimate of over 50 ethnic languages spoken by people of diverse ethnic groups, the official language of Ghana is English.  English is widely spoken by all and used for legal, administrative, documentation, and all official processes. In informal settings and gatherings, a different variation of English known as pidgin English is mostly used for communication. Pidgin English is common around west African countries and can be described as a second, generally accepted language of communication after English, although not official.

While English serves as the national language, the Twi dialects Asante, Akwapin, and Fante are the major local languages of Ghana used in publication and communication. Other Ghanaian languages with written resources include Ga, Kasena, Nzema, Ewe, Gonja, Dagbene, Dagaare, and Wali.

Other Ghanaian Languages

Other immigrant languages such as French, Hausa, and Arabic are also spoken in the country. In the northern part, which is predominantly occupied by the Zongos, Hausa and Arabic are widely spoken and are being taught in Islamic schools across Ghana mostly for religious purposes. French is also spoken due to the presence of surrounding francophone countries. Presently French is being taught in junior and senior high schools in Ghana and was about to be made an official Ghanaian language in the year 2019 since Ghana is surrounded by francophone countries.

Ghanaians communicate in their indigenous languages when interacting with someone from the same ethnic group, because to them, language is an identity to be proud of. It is important to have a grasp of the country’s national language; English and a bit of pidgin, especially for interaction with the locals as this allows for better communication. These are quite interesting points to note, if one is planning a business venture or service in Ghana as Ghanaian interpretation services will be required. Good knowledge of the Twi language will also come in handy for the localization of products and services as the majority of the Ghanaian population speaks Twi.

Ghanaian Culture and Values

Ghana’s culture differs from one ethnic group to another, but the values of a Ghanaian are the same across the country. This is reflected in their family life and social interactions. Common values you can find associated with Ghanaians are hospitability, kind-heartedness, and respect for elders. When it comes to tribal matters, decisions are made by leaders and community chiefs. In Ghana, an individual’s worth can be measured using his level of education and membership in professional and ethnic associations.

As with many countries of the world, Ghanaians are cheerful people who love to celebrate major events and festivals all year round. Seasonal celebrations such as Christmas are a moment of bonding as it brings people together, this event is usually celebrated in a grand style and is marked towards the end of the year. Other ceremonies such as a naming ceremony, funeral, puberty initiation, and marriage are major ceremonies marked in Ghana. These ceremonies are celebrated with Ghanaian cuisine of which soup is a major component. The most common are groundnut, light, and palm nut soups. The soups can be eaten with pounded plantain, yam, cassava Banku, boiled yam, rice, or bread as the situation dictates.

Common Ghanaian Language Translations and Expressions

Speaking the language of a person creates a special bond between speakers. It is one of the magic of languages, as it allows one to better connect with native speakers of the language.  For a person who is new to the Ghanaian terrain, the following Ghanaian language translations will come in handy.

• Akwaaba – Welcome
• Charlie (pronounced chale) is a common slang word for “dude” in Ghana. It is mostly used in an informal setting amongst friends.
• Trotro – This is a term used to describe minibuses used for public transportation within the city.
• Obroni/Blofoniyo – these Ghanaian terms are used to describe a non-African. Obroni is a Twi word, while Blofoniyo is its Ga equivalent. N/B: this should be taken lightly, as it is not being used offensively. In Africa, it is quite okay to describe a person based on their skin color.
• Bibini – this is a Twi term used to describe a person of dark-skinned color or an African.
• Abeg – please g Abeg no vex (Please don’t be angry)
• Eti sen: this Ghanaian phrase is an Akan term for the hi/hello greeting, which translates to “how is it?” more like saying “how are things going”. The response to eti sen is ƐyƐ (It is good) pronounced eh-yeh.

Conclusion

Getting started with facts and useful information about the Ghanaian language and culture is a vital step for the localization of businesses or services. As a cheerful and culture-loving people, a good way to approach a Ghanaian or a Ghanaian business opportunity is to communicate in a language the Ghanaians understand. This can be achieved with language and localization experts like Globalization Partners International who offer localization services such as Ghanaian language translation and interpreting services.

References:

• Pidgin English
• Ghana
• A guide to Ghanaian dialect

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Language plays a significant role in our day-to-day communications. Communicating in the language of your target audience is important, as it lets us be inclusive and embrace diversity. From thinking about vacation trips, sharing thoughts with friends and loved ones, or starting a business venture, learning a new language can open doors to new experiences and regions.

African language learning apps can help you attain fluency in your target language by mastering the key skills needed to speak a language confidently. Some of these apps focus on grammar usage or vocabulary building.

Whether you are looking for ways to learn an African language or to get an African language translation service, we have put together the best apps to help you achieve your goals.

In this article, you will learn more about some of the best language apps to learn Swahili, Hausa, and Zulu languages.

Language Learning Apps for Swahili

Swahili, which is spoken in eastern Africa, is quite easy to learn compared to other African languages, especially for English speakers. This is a result of its easy-to-pronounce words, gender-neutral nouns, and writing scheme. As stated by the US Foreign Service agency it will take an average learner 36 weeks to be proficient in Swahili. The language can be learned in the various language learning apps listed below:

1. Duolingo: It uses a gamified method of teaching to make learning Swahili fun and interesting. The app uses a bite-sized model of activities to aid your proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking Swahili.
2. Drops: This app teaches over 2000 Swahili words and phrases recorded by native speakers. Using Drops to learn Swahili is both fun and educative as it is a visually appealing interface, the infographics help in building a learner’s knowledge of Swahili grammar and vocabulary.
3. Pimsleur: Learning Swahili on Pimsleur is done spontaneously in a gradual process. Daily lessons on the app last for 30 minutes with audio recordings on how to have conversations in Swahili.
4. Memrise: This Swahili learning app allows users to generate courses of interest based on their fluency levels. Learning is done with audio, videos, games, and free tutorials.
5. Swahili Pod 101: Swahili Pod 101 offers a complete course on Swahili using podcasts. This is the best platform to use if you are a lover of podcasts, the app uses a word list and flashcards to help build your vocabulary of Swahili words. After learning, you get to compare your pronunciation with that of native speakers to know if you’re on the right track.
6. Italki: On this app, you get to meet Swahili speakers and teachers all over the world. They range from basic tutors to professional instructors of the language. All you have to do to get started is to view the video bio of the instructors and pick a preferred instructor.
7. Mango: Mango language uses a color-coded system to enable users to make simple sentences on their own.

Language learning Apps for Hausa

Hausa is one of the most common languages spoken in Africa besides Swahili, French, Arabic, English, and Portuguese. It is a language of trade in most of Africa such as Benin, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Togo, Ghana, Niger, and Chad.

If you are a beginner or just trying to communicate in Hausa, you can make use of a Hausa language learning app. Listed below are some of the popular apps you could use to learn how to speak Hausa.

1. English to Hausa Translator and Dictionary: this Hausa language translator app functions as a dictionary. You can get the Hausa translation of English words in just a few clicks.
2. Learn Hausa, Speak Hausa, Study Hausa: this app enables you to learn, speak, and understand Hausa using interactive video lessons. The lessons are pre-recorded and are personalized to meet the need of the learners.
   Whether you are learning Hausa for a job, business, or to communicate with loved ones, you can learn from personalized courses on the app.
3. Learn 101: helpful for tourists and travelers, learning the Hausa language offline serves as the Hausa language translation app, it is easy to use and has courses starting from the Hausa alphabet, grammar, and verbs for beginners.
4. Genii Games app: this is an African language gaming app that uses animated videos to teach various African languages including Hausa. Genii games are suitable for learning for all age ranges. The lessons are grouped into modules to make learning fun, easy, and exciting.

Language Learning Apps for Zulu

Zulu is a Bantu language spoken in the KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa with about 12 million speakers. If you are looking for an avenue to learn the Zulu language, getting a Zulu language app is a good place to start with. Listed below are some Zulu apps that will aid your learning journey.

1. Learn Zulu: the Learn Zulu language learning app teaches vocabulary and common everyday phrases with audio pronunciations.
2. italki: this app enables you to connect with a community of language teachers in your Zulu. Learning is self-paced, fun, and interactive with italki.
3. Duolingo: The app uses a gamified method of teaching to make learning Zulu fun and interesting. The app uses a bite-sized model of activities to aid your proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking Zulu.
4. Utalk: Utalk uses pictorial representation and audio sounds to teach Zulu. The app also comes with practice sessions, where learners compare their Zulu pronunciations with that of native speakers. It is an interactive approach to learning Zulu.

Conclusion

The language learning apps listed in this article can help you learn a language on your own time and at your own pace. They help with vocabulary, grammar, building sentences, and developing your reading, writing, and pronunciation skills, or they can help you get connected to tutors.

If your interest in these languages extends beyond learning a new language to wanting to market your services to speakers of these languages, Globalization Partners International can provide professional African language translation services. GPI provides African language services including translation, website and software localization, and internationalization – all designed to suit the needs of any locale.

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The “&” or ampersand (in English) is certainly one of the most attractive glyphs in the Latin writing system. Originally conceived for economic purposes – the economy of time, economy of space, economy of energies—, with time, the ampersand acquired some elegance and became gifted. For example, an & can promote mere associations to a brand status just by showing up. “Dolce and Gabbana”, “The Velvet Underground and Nico”… sound the same, but look downgraded if not used.

For some reason, this curvy and august character tempts us to exploit its possibilities each time a sentence meets an and, but at the same time, its usage seems limited to rare and privileged occasions—which perhaps, makes it more appealing.

So, what is this symbol? What does it mean? Where did it come from and what is its role in modern writing?

What It Is, What It Means

Better known as the “and” sign, the character & (the ampersand) is a logogram¹ used to substitute the conjunction and. Behind its multiple shape variations is the merging of the letters e and t, since & is, precisely, a ligature² for et—the Latin word for and.

History

Although the exact moment of the birth of the ampersand remains unknown, evidence of its usage dates back to the Roman civilization. The oldest known et ligature appears as graffiti on a wall from the remains of Pompeii; buried under the ashes of the Mount Vesuvius volcanic eruption in the year 79 AD.

The ampersand managed to reach different languages as the Roman Empire spread.

Centuries later, because of its space-saving quality, scribes first, then typesetters, made extensive use of this ligature in running text—contrary to how it is used in modern writing. In this way, the & was used as a replacement for and whenever a line got too crowded.

It is also worth mentioning the parallel existence of a Tironian et (⁊), designed around the year 100 BC by Marcus Tullius Tiro (Cicero’s secretary) as part of his shorthand system³, known as Tironian notes.

…derived neither from the original Roman letters E and T, nor from their minuscule forms —e and t— but from a scribal abbreviation used in the Tironian notation system. […] The forms of the Tironian notes had almost nothing to do with the Roman alphabet but consisted of unmodulated strokes that carefully differentiated between oblique, vertical and horizontal⁴.

The Tironian et faded after the 1st century but had quite a comeback during the Gothic period. Yet, this script never shared a single piece of writing with the ampersand.

_{Jan Tschichold. A brief history of the ampersand. From left to right: Tironian et, Pompeiian graffiti (79 AD), early Roman cursive (131 AD), two late Roman cursives (mid-4th century), two manuscripts (before 509 AD and 7th century), from Anglo-Saxon Gospel book (8th century), from English Pontifical (10th century) and from Flemish Bible (around 1160).}

In the present day, the digital advantages of the OpenType expanded character sets allow flexibility, variety, and reminiscence in typography. A font family, for example, Adobe Garamond Premier Pro has ten different ampersands distributed among its Roman and italic versions, while Poetica (by Robert Slimbach) offers a total of 62 variations.

Despite of many writing variations, we usually distinguish two main streams or versions. Firstly, a roman glyph, which follows the Carolingian stroke, which we know and use the most. On the other hand, an italic variable that emulates later cursive et ligatures from the Renaissance resembles more the word itself. Even though styles and variations are frequent, it is by no means a rule in modern typography design.

About Its Contemporary Naming

An explanation to its English designation, ampersand, can be related to & being taught alongside the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet until the nineteenth century.

As explained in the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Starting in the late Middle Ages, single letters that also functioned as words—think I and A—were referred to as letters with the aid of the phrase per se, to clarify that it was the letter being referred to, and not the word. […] When the 27th quasi-letter & was referred to it was called & per se, and, meaning “& by itself (is the word) and.” That read as “and per se and”⁵.

Eventually, English speakers summarized this “and per se, and” expression into “ampersand”.

The French, on the other hand, went straight to the definition. The word for & is esperluette. This derives from es-per-lou-et, which is the Occitan equivalent for the French C’est pour le « et »: “it is for the and”. Crystal clear.

In Spanish, we simply call it et, honoring its Latin roots.

When and When Not to Use It

In Spanish writing, its use faces a functional dilemma, as the word for and is y, and it is simpler to draw than the ampersand itself. In which case, choosing to replace the word y with the ligature & will be a matter of aesthetics (and perhaps snobbery, too) rather than practicality.

Regardless of the language and despite its former purposes, using & as a replacement for the word and in running text is perceived as a grammar mistake and should be avoided, with some exceptions.

Most common usage of the ampersand:

In commercial-related matters such as business partnerships and, branding and logo design (Tiffany & Co., Johnson & Johnson).

In certain fields, to denote professional collaborations (“Screenplay by Quentin Tarantino & Roger Roberts Avery”).

In abbreviations that include the word and (B&B for bed and breakfast, R&B for rhythm and blues).

In academic writing, formal style guides like APA encourage its use in the citation when the source has more than one author.

The Latin expression et cetera (meaning and so forth)—frequently identified with etc.—can also be written &c.

¹ In a written language, a logogram is a character that represents a word or morpheme. All ten digits of the Arabic numeral system are logograms: 4 designates four. Moreover, it can be found in Chinese characters, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and even cuneiform scripts, dating back in the Bronze Age. You might be already familiar with logograms such as % (meaning percent), £ (meaning pound), or @ (meaning at).

² A ligature is the result of the merging of two or more letters into one. For example, ae into æ. From modern alphabets, letter w is the result of the merging of vivo and uu, and ñ was originally created to replace nn. The equivalent Armenian word for and—եւ—also has its own ligature: և.

³ This and future shorthand systems, were created with the intention of speeding up the writing process.

⁴ Tschichold, Jan. A brief history of the ampersand. Paris, Zeug, 2018.

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In November 2020, the game-based learning platform, Kahoot, announced its acquisition of the Estonian language learning app, Drops, after raising $215m from SoftBank. The deal is to incorporate more of Kahoot’s features into Drops Apps and bring their content to Kahoot’s main platform.

The acquisition came as part of Kahoot’s strategy to expand into new areas of learning, and to become a go-to destination for all learners whether at school, work, or home. It seems Kahoot is getting closer to this end with 200 million of Kahoot sessions being attended by over 1 billion of participating players across 200 countries over the last 12 months. This number includes free and paying users.

This deal is said to be Kahoot’s fourth and the greatest acquisition to date, after paying $31m in cash and $19m in cash and shares based on Drops meeting certain goals until 2022.

Drops, Google’s “Best Android App of 2018”, produces three main applications: freemium, Script and Droplets, all come with free and paid features. These Apps teach language basics like alphabets and vocabulary using simple and colorful illustrations and visuals and a game-based approach. The startup “Drops” was established in Estonia with a diverse team spreading across Estonia, UK, USA, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Hungary, Ukraine, and Russia.

Surprisingly enough, travel restrictions in the wake of the Pandemic did not affect the language learning market which is flourishing. It seems that the COVID-19 crisis has caused a surge in e-learning after the shutdown of schools and the shift towards new teaching methods and remote learning. Therefore, the digital learning market is expected to grow significantly over the upcoming years to exceed $8 billion by 2025.

To read more, please see: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kahoot-drops-50m-drops-add-094852183.html

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The fact that only 20% of students in the U.S. receive a foreign language education between K-12 is a travesty. As a polyglot, this reality saddens me. While English may be the “world” language, certainly for commerce, and more and more people are speaking English around the world (seemingly every day), that doesn’t mean we should be a monolingual society.

There is documented proof that children who learn two languages early on show improvements in cognitive abilities, namely memory and multitasking. To put to bed a long-time misconception, foreign language education does not confuse children nor hurt their abilities in their mother tongue. Truth be told, some research has shown that youngsters who study foreign languages outperform their peers that are monolingual, in their native languages.

Additionally, the benefits of learning a second language can help pave the way for future academic success and beyond. For many professions, someone’s ability to speak a foreign language not only adds a lot of value to an organization, it simply makes that person more marketable.

Without a doubt, the U.S. as a whole (both public and private sectors) has chosen to turn a blind eye to the importance of learning foreign languages. As you will read in the article linked below, this trend is not only continuing, it is getting worse!

To learn more, please see: Foreign language classes becoming more scarce.

Sources:

Smith-Stein, Kathleen. Foreign Language Classes Becoming More Scarce. American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 6 Feb, 2019.
https://bit.ly/33PMBkO. Accessed: 13 Mar, 2020.

Eddy, Peter A. The Effect of Foreign Language Study in High School on Verbal Ability as by the Scholastic Aptitude Test-Verbal. Final Report. Center of Applied Linguistics, Wash. D.C. 1981.
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED196312. Accessed: 24 Mar, 2020.

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In 2020, Lego will launch Lego Braille Bricks, which are designed to help blind and visually impaired children learn Braille in a “playful and engaging way”.

Braille Bricks will be a set of approximately 250 bricks with studs used for characters for the complete Braille alphabet, numbers zero to nine, math symbols and teaching devices. They will also have printed characters to allow sighted people to read the bricks. They will be fully compatible with existing Lego bricks.

They will be distributed for free to institutions through the partner organizations.

The idea for this project was originally introduced by two charities, the Danish Association of the Blind, who proposed the concept to the Lego Foundation in 2011, and the Dorina Nowill Foundation for the Blind, who suggested the bricks in 2017.

Prototypes were developed with both organizations, along with Leonard Cheshire, the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted.

A 2009 study from the National Federation of the Blind found that only 10% of visually impaired children in the US are learning to read Braille. In England, that number is less than 5%. A reason for this is the increase of audiobooks and computer programs for visually impaired people. Braille Bricks will improve education for children with vision impairment and encourage inclusion, according to David Clarke, director of services at the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

There are also plans to have multilingual versions of the bricks. Testing is currently being done in schools for Portuguese, Danish, English and Norwegian. Spanish, French and German will be tested later this year.

To learn more, please see: Lego releases Braille bricks to teach blind and visually impaired children.

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