by Tatiana Repkova

Woyram Boakye-Danquah, District Chief Executive for South-Dayi has called on Ewe parents to encourage their children to learn and speak the Ewe language even if they must learn other languages. Boakye-Danquah made the call at the May 20 launch of an Ewe language newspaper, Nutifafa, in Ho.

Boakye-Danquah observed that many Ewe children who live outside the Volta Region become aliens when they visit home because they can not communicate with family and friends in their native language. She said although it is important that children born to Ewe parents are able to speak other Ghanaian languages, it is regrettable they do so at the neglect of their mother tongue, noting that her own children speak Ewe, even though her husband is Akan.

Mamaga Kofi Bra the first, Paramount Queen mother of the Peki traditional area who chaired the launching ceremony is optimistic Nutifafa will attract a mass patronage. She said the newspaper represented a bold initiative by Esther Malwine Edu-Yao, its publisher and editor, and reflects the growing influence of women to assert themselves in every sector of the country. Edu-Yao said she decided to publish the paper to make news and vital information available to many people who were not literate in the English language but could read and write in Ewe. The tabloid size quarterly featured stories mainly on religious and social issues with a cover price of ¢5,000. GNA; http://www.thestatesmanonline.com/pages/news_detail.php?newsid=3541&sect... May 22, 2007