The work of GILLBT began exactly fifty years ago on the basis of a cooperative agreement between SIL and the University of Ghana. The mutual objective was and is the development of the languages and cultures in Ghana. Specifically this included:

• the intensive study of the hitherto unstudied languages
• adequate analysis of their phonological and grammatical systems
• a comprehensive collection of their vocabulary,
• the collection of legends, songs and all types of folklore of these people,
• the recording of these languages,
• the collection of anthropological data in these language groups.

On April 12-14, we organised the second of three conferences celebrating our golden anniversary under the theme “Language, Culture and National Development”. The conference brought together SIL International, GILLBT, and University of Ghana, each of which was represented by its current and past leadership and by its leading researchers.

The conference had three objectives:

• celebrate fifty years of academic collaboration in language development
• reflect on the implications of language development for national development
• decide on the future direction

Celebration

The conference celebrated the contributions to language development which have come from the cooperation between GILLBT and the University of Ghana – specifically the development of 34 previously undeveloped Ghanaian languages. Through its academic output to the University of Ghana, GILLBT is the largest contributor to the documentation and analyses of the minority languages of Ghana.

We celebrated the many people who have given their lives to this task. The contriubtions of many non-Ghanaians was specifically noted. Many have committed decades of their productive years to the study of our languages, under conditions and in areas where most middle class, educated Ghanaians would not be willing to serve.

We also noted our appreciation for the University of Ghana for its friendship and support. The GILLBT Director stressed: “We are here to say a Thank You to the University, the Institute of African Studies (IAS); the Linguistics Department; the Language Centre, and the Institute of Adult Education–now the Institute of Continuing and Distance Education (ICDE).”

Reflection

The conference concluded that:

• The overall environment for the development of Ghanaian languages is positive, including a constitutional provision for their development
• But significant work remains to be done to ensure the integration of Ghanaian languages into critical domains of national life.

A number of critical components of national development depend on developing our languages, including:

• The mobilisation of all Ghanaians for national development
• Effective education for all Ghanaians

Future Directions

Against this background, the conference decided to act to develop the relations further, and to build a national coalition to support the development of our languages through research and advocacy. Specific actions taken in this direction included:

• extension of the cooperative agreement to include the Faculty of Arts
• the outline of a cooperative agreement with the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) was agreed upon.

The anniversary conference became a moment when the development of our languages was given a much needed boost, with a number of critical actors and institutions all committing to work together for this purpose.

Edward D. Lauber (adapted from a report written by GILLBT Director Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah)