A Biomedical Engineer at the University of Ghana Medical School has bemoaned the inability of some Bissas to speak the Bissa language, calling for a “good use of social media” to address the problem.
Mr Zakariah Abdul-Rahman Kindah says it is about time Bissa youth showed pride in their language by creating the desire to learn and speak it more.
The difficulty for some Bissas to speak the Bissa language has been one of major headache to the Bissa fraternity, with some leaders making some strategic efforts to avert the situation.
Speaking to bissanewsonline.wordpress.com, Mr Zakaria Kindah identified the situation to be of multiplicity of factors, talking more of the psychological side.
“Sense of belonging and pride is lacking among most Bissas, at times I wonder if its inferiority complex,” he said.
“Let us all feel we are bissas even if we don’t understand the language.”
Bissas is an ethnic group found in the northeastern part of Ghana, south-central Burkina Faso, the northernmost tip of Togo and northern Benin with its dialects being the Barka, Lebir and Lere.
Apart from children born in Bissa lands, those born elsewhere face the challenge of speaking the language.
Most Bissas living in the middle and southern sector of Ghana are more familiar with other languages than the bissa, a situation that has hindered the free flow of the Bissa dialect at social gatherings
such as weddings, funerals and other conferences.
While others blame it on parents, others believe migration has contributed to the major fall of the Bissa language on the lips of most youngsters.
Today, a Bissa born in areas like the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Western and Central regions face the challenge of speaking less or no Bissa at all.
The Hausa, Twi or English language has eventually become the most comfortable languag for those Bissas, a situation that has brought about the blending of the Bissa Language with other foreign languages at most Bissa-owned social gatherings for the purpose of effective communication.
But Mr Kinder fears the continuous blending of Bissa with other languages threatens the very foundation and heritage of the Bissa people in the southern sector.
He wants to see a paradigm shift in how to approach the situation, calling on bissas not to shy away from one another.
Mr Kindah, who hails from Garu-Tempane, believes the first step of correction will be to inculcate the Bissa pride in the younger ones.
“If we start blending bissa with other language we are gradually going to loss our rich Bissa Language and heritage,” he said.
“Even those of us who can speak and understand are not that perfect.
“I call my fellow bissas let’s be proud of ourselves even if we can’t speak and try our best to be part of the family.”
He endorsed and challenged for Bissanewsonline to also play it’s part in projecting the Bissa brand.
” You guys need to do more research to and publish educative issues about the Bissa people.
“We are getting lost especially in the south here,” he added.
Our brothers and sisters who can’t speak the bissa dialect is due to the upbringing. If parents don’t speak bissa to their kids while growing up, what do you expect? Definitely they would grow up speaking other languages. We bissa are not proud of our dialect.
I’m currently facing this problem at home. My wife is from a different tribe and cannot speak bissa. She speaks English to our children and because she spends more time with them than me the children are more comfortable with English than bissa. I have been speaking bissa to them but they always reply in English.
Largely true are most of the submissions. There are, however, some generalizations. A very good effort though and it is advised that Bissas should come out BOLD as has been started since 2004 with the first ZEKULA.
Some of us are fortunate even though born and bred in Accra we speak near perfect BISSA. Sometimes we even correct some of our brothers and sisters from the Bissa Belt.
I agree wholistically with you. You see I am with those of the view that parents are part of the problem. I say this because I have stayed in the south for sixteen years ,but all my children speak bissa fluently. Most bissas i know are shy of speaking bissa with their children ,and this has gone on for a long time.thank to the likes of you we are now being enlightened. Keep it up.