Cataloguing of Ghanaian names: problems and possible solutions

Abstract

There are not less than 50 indigenous languages and dialects in Ghana. Languages follow tribal divisions and although English is the national language, there are other important languages such Twi, Dagbani, Ewe and Ga. These follow the major tribes of Akan, MoIe-Dagbani, Ewe and Ga respectively. Fortunately, the diversity of tribes and language has been kept under control, largely, as a result of imaginative governmental policies over many decades, and it is possible to speak of a single national consciousness embracing, all the diverse elements with their varied traditions and cultures. Even so, a distinction can be made between the southern people on the one hand, who have come most directly and longest under the influence of modem European life and the Christian religion, and the northern people on the other hand, whose traditional modes of life and religion have under gone relatively little change. Even among the southern people, there are significant disparities, the Akan group dominating all the rest in size and extent. it will be interesting to note that despite the fact that majority of the tribes and languages are found in the northern part of the country, the problems with names are more predominant in the southern part than the northern part