Of languages, spellings and signboards

Two straight hours into the journey, feeling rather uncomfortable now from the excessive and merciless shouldering I was receiving from those two heavyweight market women on both sides, I thought I should just be a little more disciplined, stay awake and enjoy the view until I got to my destination.

The way these women left themselves, unperturbed that my tiny bones were already suffering from the stress I had endured from travelling almost eight hours earlier, hurt me the more. However, I sure did not have a case. So I just kept mum through all the harshness.

Now, that sensation that accompanies travelling to a destination with no idea in sight, and mostly with no hint of how long or short, smooth or bumpy that journey could be and whether or not you would get there in time to execute your assignment begun to tingle my mind.

And then I saw this spot.

That was an unusual one so I forced my neck around a little, allowing the side of my eyes to stretch as far as they could to behold and reaffirm what I had earlier seen as what it was, or just confirm that it was only my sleepy visage that had gotten me so confused. But I was right. It was what I had seen and read and which I was a little perplexed about.

That spot, as I learnt later, is one that many commercial drivers heading for the famous Axim Township prefer to ply as an alternative due to the typically unbearable vehicular traffic situation on the main road due to a construction work, which you cannot miss. I think you would be causing a sacrilegious, unforgivable and untenable offense to say the least, if your vehicle traveled that road without you seeing that bold inscription, “Liquid Waste Management – Toilet Puller.”

For me, the confusion that tickled my eyes and danced in my mind was an instantaneous riot as I tried to understand the exact import of the message, as intended by the sender was.
Luckily, that was not my first encounter with this rather fascinating unfairness to the representation of the English language that has the propensity of causing either uncontrollable laughter, spontaneous depression or a running tummy at the disregard many give to what is expected to be salient to us.

In any case, besides the local Akan language that has, in recent days become a conventional national language in the country, the British English language happens to be our lingua franca and should be uplifted, right? It should be handled with all the weightiness and given the highest form of responsibility, yeah? But No. Today, the language is spliced and butchered with the highest rate of disregard and sheepishness and nobody seems to care.

For all it is worth, why should we not want to safeguard what we already have and make it better?
You know, very often, I hear this cliché of a statement: “We are surrounded by three Francophone speaking countries yet the percentage of average French speakers in our country is appalling,” yet it has not dragged us to the stage where we can decorate it with all the seriousness it needs.

Daily, we welcome these very neighbours of ours into our fold in our bragging ‘hospitable’ nature, educate them and polish their desire to learn the English language so well for them to return home to their countries to occupy senior positions in multinational companies. Yet, we are still where we were.
The sad part is that with their full grasp of the French language, they gain an advantage over us because just none of us is interested. After all, how many of us liked it whenever it was time for French lessons in school? And for those who did, how many followed it up to understand the language better besides the fact that it was required to satisfy the school curriculum?

On the average, some marvel at the fortitude of foreigners to learn our language including the local ones and even praise them for the effort while we pride in our comfortability.

When His Excellency John Dramani Mahama was sworn into office as president of this republic on January 7, 2013 at the Black Star Square (Independence Square) where multitudes had gathered from across the length and breadth of the country, continent and the world, something unique happened. Chairman of the African Union and President of the Republic of Benin, Dr. Thomas Yayi Boni, in my estimation, stole the show when he addressed our nation in English.

The dynamism and punch with which he delivered his speech added splendour to the already colourful event and should have received a standing ovation. But Alas! We were too engrossed in the merriment of the moment so much that besides the journalists who were listening with rapt attention to enable them come up with accurate reportage, the rest of us just waited, listening but hearing nothing he said.

Forget about the relevance or not of his message and let me bet my last shilling on this that not even under a percent of our leaders can exhibit such bragging prowess in any country where English is not spoken, whether orally or in writing.

There is just no competition between the ratios of Francophones who appear more forceful in attempting to speak the English language to that of our backyard fellow English speakers. It seems the English speaker appears to think that besides English, no other language is important. How sad.

The commonest and most primary reactions to a French lesson in most cases come with the assertions that the French language is a difficult one. And just as my Basic Statistics Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism would put it, “Until you look that math (French) book in the face and tell it, I will conquer you, that course (language) would only re-confirm your fears by being non-comprehensible.”

I recall many of my colleagues back at the secondary school who were just lazy at learning the French language although they had picked it as an elective subject. I have wondered why till date even during terms where it was so clear that I had not revised my notes enough for the examinations ahead, I eventually always topped the class at the end of it all. This is no bragging right at all – it came too easily.
One day, a class mate told me to the face, “As for you and your Ewe brother, even if you had just woken up from sleep and you were given the French paper, you would still score an A so there is no need to try competing with you.”

I dropped my jaw in utter awe.

Right here in Ghana, although it is not gazetted, the ‘Twi’ language has been accepted as the most popularized local lingo and that is awesome because at every cardinal point of this country, we can easily interact and brainstorm on ideas of mutual interest, with no language forming a barrier.
However, a worrying trend is the kind of demeanor that greets the speaking and learning of other local dialects like Ewe, Ga, Krobo, Frafra, Hausa, among others.

“For what?”

“Why would I?”

“Oh, that language is too someway and their words are too much of a mouthful.”

These are just a few of the reactions when such an issue comes up. The bare fact is that for some people, their tribes, or their dialects are more superior to others and as such, why bother learning those languages any way?

I recall an elderly friend chiding me one day in class while I was engaging a sister in my native mother tongue, in a conversation. She retorted, “Hey hey hey, we are in school so please speak English so everyone can understand you. How do we know if you guys are not planning on selling us?”

I giggled and calmly asked her, “Don’t we usually speak Twi with you in class?”

She replied, “Yeah, but that is different because Twi is more popular and much easier to understand than your language. Some of your words are just jaw-breaking.”

I forced laughter from my mouth.

By now, I was burning within in angst and shock because of the underrating posture that has been accorded other local dialects like my own Ewe language. With speeches like this, the impression is created that these other languages are “unconquerable” with others gradually catching the false drift that it is one area they should not attempt. How sad.

And like fungus, those words feed on the mind and create gullies of ill-perceptions on their I.Qs.
Well, this could perhaps be a good lead to an article I could consider penning down in the future so let us relocate our punch from this equally misleading comments to the main thrust of this article on spelling; although highly noticeable.

Signboards around our country are disasters and worrying spectacles not because of the way they are manufactured or positioned on our roads.
No. Far from that.

So, whenever I am in a ‘troski’ and par chance I am not too stressed from other previous activities, I do a lot of searching with my rolling eyes. I look out for signboards – signboards and the spellings inscribed on them. And my oh my, the diversity, effort and inconsistent patterns that show up on these sign posts are just marveling.

Alternatively, (if I gather the needed support) I have vowed to embark on a long term crusade to canvass for proper scrutiny to be accorded the inscriptions of such signposts across our country. My worry is that for the many uneducated ones who chance upon these posts scattered all over the place, their attempt at rising above negligence to dominating the English language is only bruised further. And I see it in writings lately. I mean the writings of young people like myself.

Take a walk through the principal streets of your area and you would be amazed at the negligence and crucifixion that artisans, especially, have served the Queens official language, English. Just be a little more observant at these signposts and shirk that proverbial African attitude and read.

The writings are done with such dexterity and from the font sizes of the alphabetical letters that are embossed on these boards, one can easily sense the haste and utter defiance in getting those posts raised high off the ground. I believe they tap themselves on the shoulder with the words ‘we have hit the spelling jackpot’ after it is all done. But alas, the truth is far from them.

One day, at Haatso, a suburb of Accra, I chanced upon this: “ASSAULTED Drinks sold here” and immediately the imaginary, little curious-flying angels of my mind begun hovering in rhythmic symphony as in the cartoons. I was amazed at what I was reading. It was unbelievable.

Obviously, the perpetrator of this crime intended to send the message, “ASSORTED” instead of the imprinted “ASSAULTED.” The mere imagination of what the Queen’s thoughts would have been if she saw this in person was inconceivable and I instantaneously cleared my psyche of that reflection.
At this point, Mr. Reader, I strongly believe that you have become conversant with some of these (I am unsure if they are intentional or not) weird writings that are supposed to educate or direct prospective customers to these service providers, locations or simply to educate.

Do not be too astounded at the turn of events in recent times especially where almost everyone is amassing all the energy therein to grasp a mouthful of the national language since we seem to have lost touch with our traditional dialects. We have lost our mother-tongues to the Western lifestyle because we feel that it is the more fashionable thing to do.

There are countless examples of these catastrophic crucifixions all over the place but let me attempt to run by you just a few of the ones I have had to observe in my few travels:
        “Specialist in CROCH,” instead of “Clutch”, at Kotei in the Ashanti Regional Capital, Kumasi.
        “DON’T URINERATE HERE,” located at Oforikrom also in Kumasi.
        SLOW DOWN, ACCIDENT ‘PORN’ AREA, on a picture of signboard I chanced upon on Facebook.com

        To God be the ‘GROLY’ – this was spotted behind a taxi cab in traffic
        “Have you eat? We have food and ‘solft’ drinks here. Banku and ‘Tillapia’, Ampesi with Palava ‘Suace’ – Eat for the ‘Butter’ ‘Grouth’ … captured on the store of an eatery somewhere after Takoradi.
        Run For Your Life Int. Church – Motto: Let the weak ‘says’ I am strong
        Life is Not Easy ‘Drinking Office’
        A. S. Bamba – The Spiritual Investigator…
        We sell Dogs Children; boys and girls
        Store for ‘LENT’
        Wheelbarro for Hiring
        Snacks – MEAT PILES, EGG ROLL, DO NOT (Doughnut), FISH PILES, PLANTAIN CHEPS, ROSETED MEAT…
        KANADIA Furniture Expert in: Kitchen CABLET, Wall ODROP, INTELIA Decoration, STORFFIN Chairs
A Kapinta Constrasion and Feniture.

In all the above, one thing is evident: the disseminators of these messages believed they had their communication in tandem yet, taking the extra pain of crosschecking and again, crosschecking the details of their messages was completely inexistent. No question was attached to whatever they sent out there talk-less of re-running their suspicions with a second or third party.

So the questions about who acts as a check on the mounting of such posts and the legal merits or not of their implications have been shoved to the background. Questions must be asked but again, who asks these questions?

It is from these same lackadaisical attitudes that even the sweat of tireless people, working for the good of their country are not recognized or given any long-term attention. The likes of ace undercover investigative Journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, is evident. Although his work has been hailed across the nations of the world, little has been done about his sacrificial works for his own nation in the past.

The euphoria that usually greets his escapades are ecstatic but only lasted for as long as the media kept it in the public eye while the victims hurled diatribes at their celestial stars for failing them in the romp of their illegality. (Don’t be too bothered about this verboseness here). After this, they expire so quickly with the wind like vapour.

We are like the people of Nazareth who were not ready to accept their own Jesus Christ and have folded our arms in rocking chairs, looking on while the good works of one of ours is being more recognized by the international community.

Like the many cases that have gone before this, he has been offered a fat and consistent recognition for his sweat while he is promised the hosts of the finest security apparatus and deployment of the world to be solidly on hand to add sync to his labor.

Can we brag of any achievements close to this in our history books? I stand for correction but I fear not; we do not have the balls.

There is already a looming danger with regards the English language. The beheading is ongoing and it doesn’t seem like there is going to be any light at the end of the dark tunnel. However, I see hope for the future.

I believe that just as things like internet shopping and marketing (which was alien to us because of the questions surrounding legibility and the inexistence of credit cards) are catching on, our young brothers and sisters studying in tertiary institutions could begin to introduce some innovation to this societal canker and bring some redress to it.

The future is not centuries away from us: it is only a second ahead of us and we can cause a stir on the world stage if we stay determined. We can do it.
There is hope! I will meet you at the other side.Written by Etsey Atisu
Writer’s email: [email protected]
Read me: www.therealetsey.wordpress.com