According to Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Kusaal is the language of the Kusasi people of Bawku District in the northeastern part of Ghana (1992, 269). The source states that two per cent of the population are reportedly literate but does not specify in which languages (ibid.). The source states that the Kusaal spoken in Bawku is distinct from that spoken in Burkina Faso. Other dialects spoken in the area include Angole and Toende, which are "inherently intelligible" (ibid.).

In a 24 September 1996 telephone interview with the DIRB, a professor of political science specializing in African and Ghanaian politics, at Carleton University, in Ottawa, stated that Kusasi is the language of the Kusasi people in northeastern Ghana (24 Sept. 1996). He further stated that there are many Roman Catholic Schools in Bawku district (ibid.). He explained that English is the official language of Ghana and that it is the language of instruction in Ghanaian schools from the elementary to university level (ibid.). However, he added, that Ghanaian languages are also taught at the elementary level, and that the local language taught is normally the one spoken in the area (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 1992. Edited by Barbra F. Grimes. Dallas, Texas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.

Professor of political science specializing in African and Ghanaian politcs, Carleton University, Ottawa. 24 September 1996. Telephone interview.