Fante, one of the spoken languages in Ghana, has been approved on Wikipedia, joining four other Ghanaian languages with their own Wikipedia pages.
This approval signifies a great achievement for the Fante Wikimedians Community, who started the process in March 2022.
The language was approved during its incubation stage in the Wikimedia Incubator on Tuesday, 18th April 2023 and the transition was completed on Thursday, 20th April 2023.
Fante is primarily spoken in the central and southern regions of Ghana, as well as in settlements in other regions in western Ghana, with an estimated two million speakers.
Some notable speakers of the language include former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, former Ghanaian presidents Kwame Nkrumah and John Atta Mills, Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, and Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang. Additionally, famous poet and author Maya Angelou learned Fante as an adult during her stay in Ghana.
The approval of Fante on Wikipedia now allows users to read articles in the Fante language and access some materials exclusive to Fante history, culture, and people.
This is a significant milestone for the Fante language and its speakers, as Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia edited by volunteers from all around the world and hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation.
The Fante Wikipedia can be accessed via fat.wikipedia.org or through the translation button from other Wikimedia wikis. This development is not only a win for the Fante Wikimedians Community, but it also contributes to the preservation and promotion of the Fante language, culture, and history.