Here is an interesting passage from an article by Nigerian linguist Ben
Elugbe (reference below). Note in addition to the remark about minority
languages, the discussion of the need for language planning.
Don Osborn
The development of African languages is not uniform across the continent.
Some languages have been fortunate, others have not. Some parts of the same
language have been fortunate - others have not. Even so, it has been the case
that large languages (as defined within a given country) have received
attention. By contrast, small (often called "minority") languages have been less
fortunate.
It is probably the wish of African governments in multilingual countries
that the small languages should die. Fortunately, because these languages have
speakers and because their speakers do not always have literacy in a viable
alternative, the rate of extinction is surprisingly low. Hence the problem of
language simply will not disappear.
There are convincing arguments for avoiding the development of African
languages in the multilingual states. First of all, multilanguage policies are
considered expensive (which they are) and disuniting (which has never been
proved). It is also true that investment in language is not quantifiable in real
statistics - unlike investment in oil production, in wheat production, or in
dairy farming, for example.
Yet there are advantages in encouraging the development of African
languages - large and small. These include the fact that the speakers of such a
language develop a sense of political care and belonging. The speakers are
automatically carried into the modern age because new ideas, modern ideas, can
be presented in the language they understand best. (Note that this point implies
that language development goes beyond the provision of a writing system and
readers or primers; it includes the expansion of the vocabulary of the language
to cope with new ideas.) Education is a major beneficiary as children would be
able to learn - at least for a while - in their mother tongues. There is thus a
major gain for national development. Governments have to look beyond the
immediate to see the gains of policies charitable towards African
languages.
Of course, the problem needs planning, a trait not too often associated with governments in this part of the world. A country should have an accurate figure of the number of languages within its borders and the size of each as defined by speakers and territory. If it does not (language is an elastic term), it should have a good idea of the linguistic situation in every part of its territory. Questions to be answered would include the number of languages; the extent of each language; the diversity among the languages; the number of speakers; etc.
Elugbe, Ben. 1998. "Cross-border and Major Languages of Africa." In K.
Legère, ed. Cross-border languages : reports and studies, Regional Workshop on
Cross-Border Languages, National Institute for Educational Development (NIED),
Okahandja, 23-27 September 1996. Windhoek : Gamsberg Macmillan. (page
24)
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