This research is part of the
research project ‘Africa
Platform for NT Scholars’,
directed by Prof. Dr Ernest
van Eck, Department of
New Testament Studies and
Related Literature, Faculty
of Theology and Religion,
University of Pretoria.
Special Collection: Africa Platform for NT Scholars, sub-edited by Ernest van Eck (University of Pretoria).
This definition should not be taken without criticism because in some countries
such a Kenya, India and various East Asian countries, ‘mother tongue’ refers to
‘mother language’ or ‘native language’ and is used to indicate the language of one’s
ethnic group, in both common and journalistic parlance, rather than the first
language. Also in Singapore, ‘mother tongue’ refers to the English language that was
established on the island through British colonisation, which is the lingua franca
for most post-independence Singaporeans because of its use as the language of
instruction in government schools as a working language.
The author acknowledges the following people: Paul
Ekanwala Daboro, Samuel Sam, Solomon Dansieh, Samuel
Zuul Bayeti, Paul Abdulai and Frederick Mawusi Amevenku.
J.E.T.K.-A. is the sole author of this article.
