The following article from the Nairobi paper, The East African Standard, was seen on AllAfrica.com at http://allafrica.com/stories/200511140727.html (thanks to a Google alert). It follows the conference in Addis previously mentioned (message #434) and is well worth the read. DZO
Is the African Tower of Babel a Blessing Or a Curse? The East African Standard (Nairobi) http://www.eastandard.net/ ANALYSIS November 13, 2005 Posted to the web November 14, 2005 Dr. Mwenda Mbatiah Nairobi The Seventh International Conference on Language and Development was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, between 26 and 28 October, 2005. The conference was historic for two related reasons. It was the first time it was held in Africa since the series of international conferences on language started in Bangkok in 1993. Secondly, it was the first time the conference brought to the fore the complexities of the language situation in Africa. Among the participants there were experts on language, education and development. There were also representatives from the civil society and government officials. The participants numbered over one hundred and twenty and were drawn from all over the world. It was the British Council that organised the conference with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAid), the UK's Department for International Development (DfID) and Ethiopia's Ministry of Education. Although the overriding theme of the conference was language and development, very interesting debates on related topics came up in the course of the proceedings. One such topic was the multiplicity of languages in Africa and the question of whether this is an asset or an impediment to development. Several speakers gave detailed descriptions of the language situation in their countries. It emerged that Sub-Saharan African countries are multilingual and multicultural to a degree that is not seen in anywhere else in the world. With 53 countries, the African continent has the highest number of nation-states. A number of countries have several hundred languages. The situation of small populations with a myriad of languages was best captured in the phrase: "Few people, many languages". In other words, compared to other parts of the world, African countries have small populations that are made up of very many language groups. An apt example is that of Cameroon, which has a population of six million people but over 250 languages. At one point, the question of how African countries have used the languages spoken within their boarders took centre stage. Several observations were made and conclusions drawn. For instance, despite the fact that African countries were colonised by different European powers in the course of the 20th Century, the similarity of the colonial legacy from one country to the other is striking. All African countries have accorded the colonial language a dominant role in national affairs. From north to south, east to west, European languages occupy the pre-eminent role of official languages. African languages are relegated to the periphery. They are mostly used within their localities and are rarely given official recognition. In nearly all cases, the colonial languages are used as the media of instruction in the education systems. One of the obvious reasons why European languages continue to dominate in the affairs of "independent" African countries is that the process of decolonisation was never concluded. Swahili scholars have sometimes used the term uhuru wa bendera to describe the dubious nature of the independence that we got. It amounted to a flag that symbolised nationhood and nothing more. The colonial structures were left intact. These include the economy, administration, defence, education and most importantly, language. Real independence would have given us a totally transformed nation-state that used indigenous resources, including languages, to respond to the needs of the majority population. When people talk of the underdevelopment of African countries, they mostly refer to the economy. But this is to oversimplify matters. Underlying our material poverty is our cultural poverty that is powerfully symbolised by our continued dependence on foreign languages. One discussant after another lamented the fact that African governments have failed to formulate and implement language policies that recognise the importance of African languages. Even where such policies are in place, nothing is done to promote and develop African languages. It was observed that although African governments have continued to view the multiplicity of languages in Africa as a curse, it is in fact, a blessing. Languages are carriers of communal wisdom, philosophy and art. If Africa harnessed the wealth of her languages, she would have a firm foundation on which to build economic prosperity. True, it is practically impossible to develop all our languages to the same level. But we have strong lingua francas that can be used within and beyond our borders to communicate among many language groups. In Ethiopia they have Amharic, in West Africa they have Hausa and in East and Central Africa we have Kiswahili. As one of those who have been advocating the recognition, promotion and development of Kiswahili, particularly in Kenya, I emerged out of the conference with two important lessons. First, the world is now awake to the fact that the monopoly of foreign languages like English in the affairs of African countries has only succeeded in creating urban elites who are far removed from the impoverished rural masses. The solution in a region like East Africa is to deliberately design a bilingual system. Kiswahili would be an official language that is used alongside English as a medium of instruction in education. Kiswahili would also have a greater role in the mass media, parliament, judiciary and government business. Other African languages would be used within their localities. However, they need explicit official recognition and support. The second lesson is that in comparative terms, Kenya has not done so badly in matters of language policy and implementation. Since independence, Kiswahili was made the national language. Its diffusion and development over the years has been remarkable despite the scant material support and the predominance of English. Since the 1980s when the 8-4-4 system of education was instituted, Kiswahili was made a compulsory subject in schools. Few other countries on the continent have an African language taught and examined as seriously as Kiswahili is in Kenya. Moreover, the Ministry of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social Services has been doing commendable work in the preservation and development of indigenous languages. It has set up district language committees that will coordinate language matters in their localities. Provincial language committees are now being formed. The Nairobi Province Committee was launched on September 1, 2005. Finally, the Proposed New Constitution, the so-called Wako Draft, has explicit provisions for Kiswahili. Under the subheading of language in Chapter Two, it says: "The official languages of Kenya are Kiswahili and English and all official documents shall be made available in both languages". If this document gets the approval of the people in the forthcoming referendum and becomes the supreme law of the land, the role of Kiswahili in this country will be dramatically transformed. This will be in line with the recommendations of the Seventh International Language and Development Conference. The writer is the Chairman, Department of Linguistics and Languages, University of Nairobi. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. 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