On the Wa East MPs bloody massacre of the English language... There are those who insist that it is wrong to attack the Wa East MP for his linguistic acrobatics on the floor of the House the other day. In his defence they claim that the English language is not his mother tongue and that to lambast him for his performance is elitist and panders to a colonial mindset of glorifying English over a local language Granted, it is not his mother tongue. But that is a wet excuse. The business of the House is conducted in English. That is the reality. If an MP is to contribute effectively to the work of the legislature, it makes sense for him to have a decent grasp of the language in which the House conducts its business. One does not need an impeccable command over the language, but what the MP put up was way, way below standard. Of course it is ridiculous to judge a mans intelligence by his command over a non-native language. And in some situations, it is ludicrous to judge his competence by his command over a foreign tongue. But in the specific matter of the formal work of the Parliament of Ghana, it is hard to imagine how an MP without a fair grasp of the Houses official language can be expected to be effective and subsequently competent. And it is not elitist to say so. Let us not justify and glorify mediocrity by resorting to emotional panafricanist and class arguments, delivered by the MPs advocates in impeccable English...ironically. Their arguments would be motre credible, in my opinion if they campaigned hard for English to be replaced by our local languages as the working language of the House. At least that would save us all from linguistic torture.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 03:39:26 +0000
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