Mali in a recent referendum, dated June 18th, 2023, has decided to drop the French as its official language in favour of its local languages. French will however be recognised as a working language. It has been over 60 years that Mali had independence from France and French has been the main official language until this recent decision by the people.  The constitutional court has validated the 96.91% approval from voters as the final results. Thirteen (13) national languages spoken within the country will be formally recognised as official languages whiles French, as earlier stated will still function as a working language.      There is hope that with time, there will be a gradual shift from the use of French and fully adopting their local languages and encouraging their use in the international front.  This is a great idea as it would help preserve its local languages helping them to compete in the international front. It is also said that 70 languages which h...

THE GUANS (This article is directly sourced from my book: Know Ghana Better) The Guans believe themselves to be a branched family with the Akan tribe (not all of the Guans though). They migrated from Egypt and through several linguistic zones got to Mali. Their territory extended from parts of present day Mali to present day Senegal. They formed clans and the clans were Ndenye, Shuoyi and Le. The clans were formed for purposes of defence and for other linguistic and cultural functions. After some years, a group of Guans who were at present-day Senegal and members of the Shuoyi clan called the Ngbanye set off to Ghana. Perhaps there was a pre-meditated decision by the Ngbanye and the other Guans to find a more suitable settlement. It is also believed that the leader of the Ngbanye sought the assistance of a soothsayer who foretold him that he will be great in a foreign land. This perhaps prompted him to migrate with his people. All the other Guan groups later followed after the Ngbany...