An activist’s effort to put his native language Dagbani on the digital map · Global Voices
Adéṣínà Ọmọ Yoòbá

““Independence Arch – Accra, Ghana” by George Appiah is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Editor's note: From April 27-May 3 2021, Mohammed Sadat Abdulai will be hosting the @DigiAfricanLang rotating Twitter account, which explores how technology can be used to revitalize African languages. Read more about the campaign here.
The Gold Coast, now called Ghana, is home to a distinct set of languages — over 46, to be precise. Dagbani, otherwise called Dagbanli, is among them, as one of the Gur languages spoken in some part of West Africa. The Gur languages fall under the Niger-Congo category of languages of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mohammed Salat Abdulai is a Ghanian of Dagbonba descent who resides in Germany. He is passionate about the visibility of his native language Dagbani on the internet.
Global Voices’ Yorùbá Lingua Manager, Adéṣinà Ọmọ Yoòbá, interviewed Mohammed to find out about his efforts to put his native language on the digital map.
Adéṣinà Ọmọ Yoòbá (AOY): Could you please tell us about yourself?
Dagbani language enthusiast Mohammed Salat Abdulai. Picture used with permission.
Mohammed Salat Abdulai (MSA): I was born in Tamale, Ghana, but currently live in Berlin, Germany. I’m passionate about the value and potential of open knowledge to change the world. At the heart of that dream, I think that a good representation of languages, mostly those that are currently underrepresented in digital spaces, is needed to actualize that potential.
AOY: What is the current status of your language offline, as well as online?