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THE SENYA LANGUAGE (EWUTU)

Senya/Ewutu is one of the numerous Guan dialects spoken across the breath and length of the Republic of Ghana and part of Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo. Senya is exclusively spoken by the people of Senya-Bireku. With Guan being the aboriginal language of this nation and the Guans as the first settlers on this soil, Senya can rightly be said to be one of the most ancient languages spoken by a section of the earliest people in Ghana.

However, in spite of its antique richness, the language is under threat of extinction or adulteration sooner than the birth of another millennium. My research has brought me to the discovery that long ago the ancestors of Senya had a way of recording information in the course of trading. The various parts of the human body were used to represent various symbols that gave meanings to credit transactions. Later, these symbols were used to develop distinct alphabets (named Aseba, by the Great Ekuba Topi Odoom Isaac of blessed memory) for the Senya language. In those days, writing Senya was done vertically, not horizontally.

However, Senya is unfortunately not one of the nine Ghanaian languages spoken and taught in Ghanaian schools. In our present world where virtually everything is experiencing rapid changes and languages are swiftly converging into each other as a result of global interaction, any language that is out of print and never taught in school is likely going to fall out of existence than that which is taught and studied in schools, all things being equal.

 In place of Senya, Fante is taught in all schools in Senya-Bireku, of course because Fante is the widely spoken language in the Central Region and also its written version has long been officially recognised. But that, to natives and the youth of today, is not healthy for the growth of Senya as a language of ancestral legacy. Also, apart from the great Ekuba Topi Isaac Odoom’s Church of Senya Bireku (in the second half of the 20th century), no church activities in Senya Bireku has ever been fully conducted in the dialect. Therefore, most modern words that have come about as a result of civilization, globalization and the growth of technology have no Senya equivalence even though the possibility for such development is crystal clear.

The most disgusting spectacle is the conscious lack of enthusiasm by some youth with respect to speaking the language in public. To some, it is a sign of inferiority to speak Ewutu in public. Other youth also, with their meager academic acquisitions and perhaps white collar occupation or tawdry social status, they tend to treat the language as that reserved for the illiterates and the uncivilized. A ridiculous scene I observed at the time of writing on this particular topic tells of how shamefully such youth expose their ignorance and blockheadedness. A gentleman who had soon returned from abroad resorted never to speak Ewutu, even though he was born and bred in Senya-Bireku. He was talking to my sister, apparently wooing her, when I approached them. To my amazement, this gentleman was just bombarding my sister with disgusting English. He jumbled the words up and got his grammar wholly wrong that I could hardly understand what he really was talking about. Not knowing my academic background, he intensified his shameful showoff by slanging. And I bet you, I was too much ashamed of him because just as it happened before us, I believe he has been spilling the same feces and would continue to do so from his mouth. “Is speaking English by-force?” My sister asked when we left his presence.

Ironically, great men and great women of Senya-Bireku, who have attained enviable feats, are more enthusiastic and profoundly proud of the language. Mention is proudly made of Hon. Haruna Esseku (founding father and former chairman of the New Patriotic Party), Mr Samuel Parry (Univ. of Ghana, Legon), Dr. Hanson (Chief Medical Officer, VALCO, Tema), Rev. DCOP Nenyi Ampah Bennie (Volta Regional Commander of Police), just few to mention. All these great men, worthy of appreciation, treat their mother tongue –Senya - as a language that is second to none in the whole wide world. Is it not a pride?

THE WRITTEN SENYA/EWUTU

In my primary school days in Accra, I once watched a neighbor arguing with my brothers that the Central Guan languages, that is, Awutu (Awutu Breku), Effutu (Winneba) and Senya/Ewutu (Senya-Bireku), can never be written, else it would have seen print already. That argument did not go down well with me but at the time, I had no knowledge on the subject so I could not step in to wipe out the ignorance of this neighbor. From that day however, I set my mind to learn my language well and possibly contribute to it seeing print. Therefore, when after my secondary school, the opportunity surfaced for me to research into the history of Senya-Bireku, I did not hesitate at all to dedicate myself diligently to the studying and writing of the Senya language. The following is my little findings so far and I am still in the business of going deep into the subject for obvious reasons.

Unlike other languages such as English and French, each Senya alphabets (Aseba; refer to the Pronunciation Guide at the last pages) is an exact representation of its sound. That is to say every aseba is peculiar to its sound and never alters in any combination – just as it is pronounced, so has it (and must be) been written. For instance ‘A [a]’ is always pronounced ‘a’ as in ‘bat’, ‘hat’, ‘mat’. It never changes as in these following English words for instance: ability and able; or Awurade (pronounced ey-wura-di) and Akunta (pronounced aku-nta) as in Akan. Senya is therefore a phonetic language and written just as Ga (language of the people of Accra) is written.

Also, at every time, a combination of two or more aseba to form a word requires that the individual sounds of each of the aseba be clearly mentioned and all vowels (mmurebitכּ) well pronounced to grasp the accurate sound or actual pronunciation of that word.

However, it is important to note that the same combination of certain aseba may stand for different words and meanings. Thus to make the difference in such an instance requires contextual rise or fall in tone. For example; a word like sre may mean, ‘to run’ or ‘to fear’. Also a word like pata may mean ‘canopy’ or ‘to appease someone’. The difference as earlier said would only surface according to the context in which it is written and also the tone of the speaker.

Similarly, a full sentence may also possess more than one meaning but the particular meaning at every given time would depend on the context in which it has been written or read.

Example:

Ani ba ade could mean the following:

1.      You (plural) will sleep

2.      You (plural) should come and sleep

3.      You (plural) should come to this side

4.      We will sleep

5.      Let us come to this side

NB: Some Senyans use the sound ‘Sh’ (as in ‘Shame’) in the stead of the sound ‘S’ as in ‘Same’).  For example, some Senyans, especially the fisherfolks, may say She (pronounced she-y) instead of Se (pronounced Sey). However, Sh is not a sound in original Senya. It is derived from the Ga language perhaps due to the traditional and long historical interaction between the Senyans and the Gas – both sharing a common traditional border.

Indeed, it cannot be denied that Senya/Ewutu is one of the most beautiful languages Africa can boast of. So it is imperative speakers of the language give way for it perpetuation, not however resisting necessary development. To foreigners who want to learn the language, call my line: 0249287855