Street children in Accra, Ghana, often speak multiple languages fluently.
Along with nonsense like the Jonah tale and the Exodus myth, the Tower of Babel story must rate as amongst the more ridiculous stories to have been bound up in a single book later declared to be the literal truth as revealed by a creator god.
These nonsense stories refute any notion of omniscient involvement in their telling. They were made up by people with minimal understanding of the subject about which they were writing, so, not surprisingly, they are unravelling as we discover more and see the magnitude of their errors and misunderstanding.
But the nonsense of the Tower of Babel tale should have been apparent to even the Bronze Age mythmakers who made it up as a simplistic attempt to explain the handful of different languages they were aware of, from their limited view of the world which saw everything within a few days walk of the Canaanite Hills as comprising the whole Earth.
That the story was poorly grafted onto other mythologies becomes apparent when you read the immediately preceding chapter, which explained how the descendants of the sons of Noah all spoke different languages, as though that were even remotely likely. Imaging your own family where you and your cousins and your and their children all speak different languages! Apparently, the authors of Genesis had no problem believing that was at all likely.
So, they concocted the following:
Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood. The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.
And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations… (Genesis 10:1-5)
These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations… (Genesis 10:20)
These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.(Genesis 10:31-32)
So, a whole chapter devoted to why there are so many different languages by constructing an unlikely family tree with each son in each generation speaking different languages. Unlikely though that silly tale is, we turn the page, and what do we see?
And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations… (Genesis 10:1-5)
These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations… (Genesis 10:20)
These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.(Genesis 10:31-32)
And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. (Genesis 11:1)
After than blunder it then goes into the preposterous tale of building a tower up to 'Heaven' which was obviously believed to be just above the clouds over the small flat planet on which they imagined they lived. In those days, the god of the Bible had not yet acquired omniscience so not only had to 'go down' to find out what they were up to but was a timid little god who was worried that the builders were going to invade his domain.
The point of the tale is then revealed - God 'confounded their tongues' so they couldn't communicate with one another, each of them speaking a different language!
So that explains why there are so many different languages!
But what the authors obviously didn't understand is that people can learn more than one language. In our English-speaking monoglot cultures, we often lose sight of the fact that over much of the world, it is normal to speak two or more languages. For example, my daughter-in-law, who was brought up in Czechia, can speak several Slavic languages, including Russian, Polish, Ukrainian and Slovak, as well as English, switching easily between them.
Now a study by linguists from the University of Potsdam, Germany has shown that, in polyglot continents such as Africa, fluency in several languages is normal, and, in Ghana, children can often speak between two and six languages fluently. Their findings are published, open access, in the journal Cognitive Development. Their research is explained in a Potsdam University press release:
What information do you have on the different languages spoken in Ghana and how they are related? Ghana is a multilingual country with over 80 languages spoken, belonging to various linguistic families. The primary languages belong to the Niger-Congo language family, specifically the Kwa and Gur subgroups. Here’s an overview of the major languages and their relationships:
Relationships and Mutual Intelligibility
- Kwa Languages (Southern Ghana)
The Kwa languages are predominantly spoken in the southern and coastal regions of Ghana. These languages are part of the Niger-Congo family and share certain phonological and grammatical features.
- Akan (Twi & Fante): The most widely spoken language group in Ghana, Akan consists of dialects such as Asante Twi, Akuapem Twi, and Fante. These are mutually intelligible to varying degrees.
- Ga: Spoken by the Ga people in and around Accra, it is related to the larger Gbe language group (which includes Ewe).
- Ewe: Spoken in the Volta Region and closely related to languages in Togo and Benin, such as Fon and Aja.
- Nzema: Spoken in the Western Region, closely related to Akan but distinct.
- Guan: A more diverse group of languages spread across different regions, including Anum, Gonja, and Nchumburu.
- Gur Languages (Northern Ghana)
The Gur languages are spoken primarily in northern Ghana and are part of a larger grouping that extends into Burkina Faso and northern Ivory Coast.
- Dagbani: Spoken by the Dagombas in the Northern Region, it is part of the larger Oti-Volta branch of Gur languages.
- Mampruli: Closely related to Dagbani and spoken by the Mamprugu people.
- Kusaal: Spoken in the Upper East Region and related to languages in Burkina Faso.
- Dagaare: Spoken by the Dagaaba people in the Upper West Region and also found in Burkina Faso.
- Mande Languages (Smaller Presence)
A few languages in Ghana belong to the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo family, spoken mainly in the northwestern regions.
- Bissa: Spoken by the Bissa people near the Burkina Faso border.
- Ligbi: Spoken near the border with Côte d'Ivoire.
- English (Official Language)
English is the official language of Ghana, used in government, education, and media. It serves as a lingua franca among speakers of different native languages.
- Akan languages (Twi, Fante, Nzema, etc.) form a continuum where many speakers understand each other.
- Ga and Ewe are separate languages but share some linguistic traits due to historical contact.
- Dagbani, Mampruli, and Kusaal are part of the Gur language family, sharing some similarities.
- Guan languages are more dispersed and less related to each other than the Akan group.
How many languages can you learn at the same time? – Ghanaian babies grow up speaking two to six languages
Africa is a multilingual continent, and many adults speak several languages fluently. An empirical study by a research team led by the Potsdam psycholinguists Prof. Dr. Natalie Boll-Avetisyan and Paul O. Omane now shows that the roots of this multilingualism can be found in infancy: In Ghana, most babies grow up multilingually, with most of them coming into contact with two to six languages and just as many regular speakers of each language. The researchers also showed that the babies heard some languages primarily indirectly – i.e. via radio, television or background conversations – while other languages were used by their caregivers to directly communicate with them. The results of the study have now been published in the journal “Cognitive Development”.
The study, which examined 121 babies aged three to twelve months in Accra, the capital of Ghana, demonstrates a remarkable variety of language input in the early months of life. The children are regularly exposed to two to six languages. Strikingly, the number of caregivers the children have also ranges between two and six, and babies who have more adults in their daily lives who regularly take care of them also hear more different languages. In Ghana, families often live in so-called “compound buildings”, where many everyday interactions take place in the courtyard, where family, neighbors and other relatives play an important role in the lives of children.
The idea that a child learns only one particular language from a single caregiver, as is often assumed in Western cultures, does not apply to these communities. Rather, children are surrounded by a rich spectrum of linguistic inputs from the very beginning.
Paul Okyere Omane, first author.
Department of Linguistics
University of Potsdam, Germany.
The majority of studies on children's language acquisition have been conducted in Western industrialized nations, which is why they often focus on a rather narrow conception of multilingualism. Our research shows that other societies show a much more vibrant multilingual environment.
Professor Dr. Natalie Boll-Avetisyan.
Department of Linguistics
University of Potsdam, Germany.
A key finding of the study is the distinction between direct and indirect language input. While English is primarily acquired through indirect channels such as television and official communication, children receive most of the local languages (such as Akan, Ga and Ewe) through direct contact with their caregivers. Accordingly, the proportion of direct input is higher in the local languages than in English, which is predominantly present as indirect input.
It is often emphasized how important direct language contact is for language acquisition. However, our results suggest that indirect input – especially through media and official communication – also plays an essential role in the children’s daily lives, particularly in urban contexts.
Professor Dr. Natalie Boll-Avetisyan.
As a result of their empirical study, the researchers call for a broader view in language research. The common assumptions do not reflect the diversity and complexity found in other cultural contexts such as Ghana. The study makes it clear that it is not only the number of languages a child hears, but also the diversity of people and the different forms of input that have a decisive influence on language acquisition.
Our research shows that for many children, a multilingual environment is a dynamic, vibrant reality from the very beginning. Multilingualism is not just a bonus, but a fundamental part of children's identity and social structure.
Professor Dr. Natalie Boll-Avetisyan.
Publication
Omane, P. O., Benders, T., & Boll-Avetisyan, N. (2025).
Exploring the nature of multilingual input to infants in multiple caregiver families in an African city: The case of Accra (Ghana). Cognitive Development. In press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101558
It's research such as this that reveals the true depth of ignorance of the Bronze Age pastoralists who made up the tales later written down and bound together in a book declared to be the inerrant word of a creator god by vested interests who wanted ordinary people to imagine they were privy to some secret, God-given knowledge, to justify their unelected, unaccountable control over the population of a failing and fragmenting empire.HighlightsAbstract
- Infant language input was estimated in a highly multilingual environment.
- Tools were a Language Input Estimate interview protocol and a logbook over a day.
- Ghanaian infants are raised multilingually, with between two and six languages.
- Infants with more input providers also hear more different languages.
- Ghanaian infants get more indirect than direct input in Ghanaian English
Examining the language input experiences of infants growing up in multilingual African environments is essential to understanding their language acquisition. We explored the language input to 3;0–12;0-month-old infants (N = 121) in Ghana (Sub-Saharan Africa), a non-Western and less-economically rich social context and highly multilingual country. Data collection involved an interview assessment, followed by caregivers completing a 12-hour logbook to indicate the languages their child heard over a day. Results demonstrated consistency of the infant's language exposure across both input measurement tools, suggesting their reliability. Results revealed that Ghanaian infants are raised multilingually, exposed to between two and six languages, and engage with between two and six regular input providers. There was no evidence for associations of age with number of languages or regular input providers. Analyses of the relative amount of input in Ghanaian English, Akan, Ewe, and Ga, revealed that infants receive less direct than indirect input in Ghanaian English, with no such difference observed in Akan, Ewe, Ga, and no evidence of age effects. These findings shed light on the language environment and input to African infants raised in multilingual societies, highlighting the impact of social and cultural contexts on linguistic input. We conclude with reflections on studying infants in non-Western, less-economically Rich social contexts in multilingual Africa.
Omane, P. O., Benders, T., & Boll-Avetisyan, N. (2025).
Exploring the nature of multilingual input to infants in multiple caregiver families in an African city: The case of Accra (Ghana). Cognitive Development. In press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2025.101558
Copyright: © 2024 The authors.
Published by Elsevier. Open access.
Reprinted under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0)
