Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Monday said Ghana has increased the number of standardised local languages from 11 to 16, mentioning Kusaal, Likpakpaanl, and Sisaali as part of the five newly standardised.
She said on June 23, 2026, the BGL launched the three standardised orthographies for Kusaal, spoken by the Kusasi people in the Upper East Region; Likpakpaanl, spoken by the Konkomba people; and Sisaali, spoken by the Sisaala people.
Three more standardised orthographies would be launched before the end of the year to advance the government’s vision of promoting Ghanaian languages, the Minister said.
That, she noted, were part of efforts to promote the use and preservation of Ghanaian languages and facilitate the production of reading and learning materials in the various Ghanaian languages for use in schools.
Madam Gomashie said this when she took her turn at the Government Accountability Series in Accra on Monday to brief the public of the performance of the ministry and its agencies.
She said the Bureau of Ghana Languages (BGL), in November last year, organised the Ghana Languages Dialogue to educate stakeholders and the public on the need to speak and preserve Ghanaian languages.
The Ministry and the BGL, in collaboration with Madam Mavis Kukua Bisue, Member of Parliament for Ahanta West, launched the orthography of the Ahanta Language to help the development of reading and learning materials.
She said the Ministry, through the BGL, also marked the Ghana Languages Festival in July 2025 to educate Ghanaians on the need to speak their mother tongues and pass them on to the next generation.
Madam Gomashie said the Ministry would continue to use the International Mother Languages celebration, held annually on February 23, to showcase Ghanaian languages and promote their preservation as an important component of the country’s cultural heritage.
The BGL was also undertaking an animation project in Ghanaian languages to introduce Ghanaian culture to children through cartoons.
“The rationale behind is to introduce our culture to Ghanaian children through cartoons,” she said.
GNA