Goldstar Air, the Wings of Ghana takes to the skies with Ghanaian dialects, such as Ewe, Akan, Hausa, Ga-Dangme, Dagbani, and others on board our flights to and from all our destinations.
The airline is also determined to collaborate with some institutions to take the Ghanaian languages internationally and create a platform for people to connect with language learners and teachers online, as part of the airline’s over one million direct and indirect job opportunities for the youth in the country.
Although the English language was selected as the official language of aviation at the 1944 Chicago Convention, it was not until 1998 that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) established different proficiency levels.
The International Civil Aviation Organization is based on an established level scale ranging from one to six, and the minimum level accepted by the organization for pilots is four. This comprehensive test assesses reading comprehension, auditory, understanding, speaking ability, pronunciation, phrase structure, vocabulary, and fluency.
Goldstar Air will use innovative ways to promote the Ghanaian languages for economic development and seek to stimulate increased trade volumes, investments, and business activities in the country.
The airline will soon initiate scheduled and non-scheduled flights from international destinations to promote tourism and Hajj flights to and from Ghana, which Goldstar Air has been licensed by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to operate, alongside our West Africa and Intercontinental flights.
According to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Goldstar Air Eric Bannerman, operational safety stands as the top priority of the airline, Language proficiency will not be only essential for service delivery but will also be paramount for safety. Passengers will feel understood; speaking in a language that almost everyone understands will help to maintain a relaxed atmosphere in case of delays, missed connections, or simple landing waits.
The explanations of our pilot in command in a common language for all will make the passengers feel that, despite what may be happening, their situation is considered, and, in consequence, they empathize with the crew as they understand that they are doing their best to get everyone to their final destinations.
Ghanaian languages for the first time will make great incursions on the international scene once Goldstar Air starts operations on its routes, with the view that all flights on any routes will be using some local languages as its dialect on board, showcasing our native culture and identifying with the people of Ghana. Languages, especially our mother tongue, not only bond with each other but also influence us in doing business as a medium of communication for transactions and building bridges for networking.
As part of our 24-hour service to promote local languages, the airline’s special initiative will focus on discounted child fares for Ghanaian families in the diaspora, to take advantage of, named Home Sweet Home, to enable them to bring their children to visit Ghana at least twice a year so that their kids will be thinking of acquiring Ghanaian citizenship and making the country more attractive to them, so they can collaborate significantly with their local communities to boost development and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the future for a better Ghana. This will also make the kids more empathetic towards cultural differences, helping them adapt to changing situations and it can even shape their linguistic development.
Travel has the potential to teach children about similarities with others and lays a strong foundation, especially in the early years. Traveling and educating children about their native languages and roles as citizens of the world when they are young ensures they will retain that message into their adult years. When somebody begins a habit or tradition early in life, that becomes the foundation through which they view the world for the rest of their life.
Goldstar Air would like to bond with passengers by introducing a request line item asking passengers when purchasing their flight tickets to fill in or tick a space requesting the most understanding of the spoken local dialect they are familiar with. This will reflect on their boarding passes and will also help the airline know beforehand, the number of passengers who can be identified by the local dialect, the way to communicate with them, what to entertain them with, and what to eat.
All of these will make the airline more comfortable, enjoyable, and bonding with passengers on board. As operations commerce, passengers will feel a sense of familiarity and warmth, transforming their journeys into immersive and captivating experiences with an indigenous touch.
The airline will be tapping into every sector of the economy through global markets and corporate networks. Goldstar Air is an economic tool and game changer for Ghana.
Ga serves as the indigenous language of the Ga State, with Accra, the capital of the Ga people, serving as the administrative center of the Republic of Ghana. The vibrant city houses governmental institutions, public services, and various commercial establishments.
The Ga-Dangme language will prominently feature on the ground and onboard our aircraft. Ga-Dangme, a combination of two closely related languages, Ga and Dangme, shares similarities in basic vocabulary and extends its speakership beyond Ghana to Togo, Benin, and Western Nigeria.
Historically, Ga was first written around 1764 by Christian Jacob Plotten (1715-1769), born to a Danish soldier and a Ga woman. Plotten was an 18th-century Gold Coast Euro-Afro-Moravian missionary and educator. Further linguistic studies, including the compilation of a dictionary and translation of the entire Bible to Ga, were conducted in the mid-1800s by German missionary Johannes Zimmerman (1825-1876) and Gold Coast Carl Christian Reindorf (1834-1917).
By integrating the Akan language, Goldstar Air will foster significant economic benefits and growth opportunities, as the airline believes language embodies a nation, and showcasing Ghana’s local languages is paramount to global recognition.
Akan, the most widely spoken language in Kumasi, serves as the principal language of the Ashantis, forming the majority of the city’s population. With two main dialects, Twi and Fante, Akan holds linguistic diversity. Twi, spoken by the Ashantis, stands as the standard Akan language, while Fante exhibits distinct phonological differences yet remains part of the Akan language family.
The Dagbani language, widely spoken in northern Ghana, is one of the languages which will be introduced. The Dagbani, Nanumba, and Mamprusi languages of the Northern Region are almost the same and are mutually intelligible with the Frafra and Waali languages of the Upper East and Upper West Regions of Ghana. Dagbani is one of the Gur languages, and the number of native speakers is more than six million when considering remarkable similarities in dialects like Nanumba, Mamprusi, and Kamara.
Our 24-hour service will prioritize all sectors of Ghana’s economy and determine to produce a record revenue to stay in Africa, comparable to some airlines in the United States that produced gross profits of over $11 billion in 2022 and over $14 billion in 2023, an increase in capacity year-over-year.
Championing the inclusion of Ghanaian local languages on board our aircraft, the Ewe language will also feature prominently. Ewe language or Eʋegbe, forms part of the Volta-Niger branch within the Niger-Congo family. It is spoken across Ghana, Togo, and Benin, with a trace of the language found in West Nigeria. Ewe boasts dialects such as Anglo, Tongu, Vedome, Gbi, and Krepi, all sharing remarkable similarities.
Ghana is a multilingual country that was inherited from the colonial era and stands as a testament to diversity and cultural richness. The airline is committed to celebrating this linguistic diversity through the introduction of the Hausa language.
Hausa is one of Africa’s most commonly spoken languages, after Arabic, French, English, Portuguese, and Swahili. It is a lingua franca and a language of trade in West Africa. It is spoken in Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Congo, Eritrea, Germany, Niger, Sudan, and Togo.
What sets Hausa apart from closely or distantly related Chadic languages is the unusual richness of its vocabulary, due in large part to the deluge of loanwords adopted from a range of other languages, most especially Arabic, and the fact that it is the world’s eleventh most spoken language.
The utilization of the Hausa and Dagbani languages holds significant importance for business operations in Northern Ghana. With Tamale International Airport serving as a pivotal hub for our airline, maintenance, and training, coupled with plans underway to operate international passenger and cargo flights to and from the Sahel region and Hajj flights to Mecca,
Mr. Bannerman emphasized that Ghana is poised to emerge as a preferred global destination for travel and transit. Goldstar Air’s overarching objectives are aligned with fostering economic growth, generating sustainable employment prospects, and positioning Ghana as a prominent hub for aviation and tourism.
Goldstar Air will focus on and leverage Ghana as the center of the world and gateway to West Africa to deliver our strong revenue performance, which will also be driven by our continued strength in the demand environment.
In the aviation industry, effective communication is paramount for ensuring safe and effective flight operations because it ensures that critical information is conveyed and understood on board. At Goldstar Air, we recognize multilingualism and multiculturalism in fostering strong connections with our passengers or customer’s native language, we establish a profound psychological bond, assuring them that their problems will be solved, and their needs will be met.
Ghana’s population has crossed the 33 million mark and is expected to reach 52.47 million by 2050 according to the latest projections by the Ghana Statistical Service.
Ghana’s population at the end of the 2021 population and housing census was 30.8 million, but the statistical service says between 2021 and 2030, 711,706 persons will be added each year, pushing the population to 37.24 million by 2030.
According to the 2021 census data, 38% of Ghana’s population is made up of young people aged 15-35, while 35% are children under 15, and only 4% are older than 65. There is no doubt the youth of the country remains a critical resource in the 21st century nation building and development, and the airline is in the process of creating worth for the youth in Ghana.
The airline is dedicated to implementing the right strategies and technologies to ensure an exceptional experience for our valued passengers while simultaneously creating more jobs for Ghanaians.
Ho Industrial Zone viability will be an economic generator for the region. Hajj flights to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and charter flights will also open more doors for the Volta region.
Wa will be experiencing charter flights from the rural and smaller communities connecting global cities which will help businesses in the area expand and attract new companies — also, Hajj flights to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Tamale will serve as a pivotal hub for our airline’s maintenance base, cargo village, and training school, and plans are underway to operate international passenger flights to and from the Sahel region and Hajj flights to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Goldstar Air will initially operate flights from Kumasi to Rome, Madrid, Hamburg, London, Dusseldorf, Milan, and Hajj flights to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Also, flights from Accra shall include destinations such as Washington, Dubai, Lagos, Toronto, Monrovia, Conakry, Abidjan, Guangzhou, Dakar, Banjul, Rhode Island, London, and Freetown and pending cities such as Miami-Florida, Atlanta-Georgia, Chicago-Illinois, Glasgow-Scotland, Houston-Texas and many more.
