The following article from the Accra daily, Ghanaian Chronicle, was seen on AllAfrica.com at http://allafrica.com/stories/200607050531.html . If the chief has not written a book maybe some extensive recordings could be made for posterity. It is also an example, perhaps, of the kind of situation where a good speech-to-text (STT) program in the chief's language(s) could facilitate putting the word into text for possible publication and weblication. And indeed, such a program could be used with digital recordings later on as well (the important thing at the moment is to get the recordings made).
It also brings to mind another thought. STT or not, how to facilitate people like him who want to write in African languages now, but for one reason or another are not doing so (and might not until one day they look back and express regret about not having written something for posterity)? Note also mention in the article of "Octagon," a multilingual lexicon with terminology in several languages ... DZO Ghana: Chief Regrets Not Writing a Book Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra) http://www.ghanaian-chronicle.com/ July 5, 2006 Posted to the web July 5, 2006 Charles Takyi-Boadu SEVERAL YEARS after leaving the teaching profession, Nana Yeboah Afari Obuogyan II, chief of Obo Traditional Area in Kwahu, Eastern Region, has regretted not releasing a publication. He regrets that after 40 years of extensive teaching, he does not have a single publication to his credit. "Having taught for 40 long years, I am ashamed I have not written a single book," he said. Having been the principal and head of several educational institutions, he believes he could have written a couple of books to develop education in the country. He has therefore stressed the need to inculcate the habit of writing and reading into all children of school-going age to develop and maximize their potentials in education. Speaking at the launch of 'Octagon', a book on vocabulary to provide a multi-lingua guide for schools and beginners in English, French, Arabic, Hausa, Twi, or Akan, Ga, Ewe and Dagbani, the Chief noted that it was about time Ghanaians took up the challenge to develop our languages to be accepted by the international community. According to him, there was an urgent need for Ghanaians to commit themselves into studying our local languages and develop them to be accepted as the English and French languages that have been acclaimed by the international community with most annexing them as their second languages. This, he said, would make teaching and learning much easier since Ghanaians would feel better and comfortable using their own languages during examination periods. Malaysia is one of such countries that have developed its local languages to an extent that it translates foreign languages and examination questions into their local language for better understanding. This is said to be one of the reasons why that country is highly ranked in the Association of Chartered Accountants (ACA) examination in which they score high marks because they better understand and give more accurate answers. On her part, Mrs. Rosemond Asiamah Nkansah, author of Octagon, reiterated the need for Ghanaians to adopt their own mother languages. According to her, the speaking of 'pidgin English' by Ghanaian students was gradually affecting the level of written and spoken language in the country. She said it was evident in the poor writing skills exhibited by students of this country lately and also spoke against the poor reading habit of Ghanaian students. "The sort of language that people speak nowadays, I don't even know," she bemoaned. "We want to see our language grow to be accepted internationally". ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Great things are happening at Yahoo! Groups. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/TISQkA/hOaOAA/yQLSAA/TpIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
