<div dir="ltr"><h1>Multilingualism is Africa’s common language</h1>
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<ul class=""><li class="">
Tito Alai
</li><li class="">18 Apr 2016 10:59 (South Africa)</li></ul>
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<div class="">In general, Africa’s language policies are a sad
reflection of its politics: great intentions stymied by a massive
colonial hangover. But even though we’re still learning in English,
French and Portuguese, the African Renaissance will be fuelled by the
incredible diversity of languages that we’re speaking at home.</div>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>Twenty-two
years after the independence of South Africa, the last colonial outpost
in Africa, it is starkly clear that the struggle for social, economic
and cultural freedom and equality is not over. In this context, the
recent confirmation by the University of Pretoria that all its lectures
will be offered in English only, in response to student protests against
its apartheid legacy language policy, represents a notable step forward
for a society and continent still reeling from the long-lasting effects
of colonialism. </span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>Let
me first dispose of a question that had me scratching the back of my
head in puzzlement as I observed these momentous events from afar. There
is a heavy dose of situational irony when the abandonment of Afrikaans
in the classroom in favour of English is considered a victory of huge
significance. What really is the difference between Afrikaans and
English to an indigenous African? After all, aren’t they both colonial
tongues? And if we are going to get rid of one shouldn’t we get rid of
both in the classroom and replace them with a couple of indigenous
languages?</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>The
answer could be that Afrikaans represents the most virulent form of
racism against which hundreds of young Africans sacrificed their lives
demonstrating in the tragic Soweto Uprising of 1976. In addition, there
is the matter of practicality, where the overt cultural symbol of racial
privilege is beaten back in favour of English which, while
unquestionably a colonial language, promises easier upward mobility and
is, at the very least, spoken almost worldwide.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>To
focus on the colonial origins of the English language is to miss the
point entirely, which is that unlike Afrikaans, which was imposed on
South Africa’s education system, English is a language that African
students and staff at the University of Pretoria have chosen for
themselves.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>Which
brings me to the wider pan-African discussion, of which South Africa
increasingly becomes a more recognisable part (as it used Afrikaans as a
language of tertiary educational instruction, South Africa could be
seen as an outlier on the continent in that it conducted its education
in a language other than English, French or Portuguese).</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>African
countries are multilingual nations. This rambunctious diversity is an
unsung positive defining feature of African culture that flies in the
face of the homogenising hegemonic thrust of the languages and culture
of the erstwhile colonial powers. Let’s not forget that despite more
than two centuries of active denigration, repression and undermining of
African languages and cultural practices, sub-Saharan Africans have
managed to conserve the world’s richest collection of cultural
resources.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>The
more than 2,000 languages spoken on the continent today make it the
most linguistically diverse continent by far. However, far from being a
source of pride, African mother tongues continue to suffer from neglect,
if not from active suppression and official discouragement.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>While
this could be a symptom of the wider colonial hangover syndrome
described so vividly by Frantz Fanon and other perceptive commentators,
blame should also fall squarely on the shoulders of African governments
and the elites of their educational and cultural establishments.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>In
general, African leadership has been characterised by expediency.
Instead of making a clean break with the colonial past and starting
over, African leaders found it easier to continue to use both the
colonial structures and the policies they inherited. The problem is that
their independence rhetoric promised a different outcome for the
African people. Unsurprisingly, despite the changes in political power,
the continuation of inherited policies has not delivered the
postcolonial outcomes that the African populace rightly expected. </span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>This
state of affairs is exemplified by the confused language policies of
Africa. Africans know full well that the colonial language was never
introduced and imposed on them with the aim of empowering the local
community socially, economically or culturally. Unfortunately, the
elites entrusted with coming up with new policies for the freshly
independent states were the very ones who had been co-opted and educated
into having a negative attitude towards their own languages. </span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>Even
today the paradox remains that the higher the education level of
African elites, the lower their opinion is of their own languages, to
the point that many of them have stopped speaking their mother tongues
altogether and speak European languages exclusively, even at home. It is
a badge of honour for many an elite African family in the capital city
to have children whose first and only language is English or French. </span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>Zooming
out again to the policy arena, let us recognise that language policy is
a metaphor for African government policy in general. The problem is not
that the policies do not exist on paper. The point is that the
policies, sometimes drawn up with the help of top-notch international
consultants, are entirely cosmetic. They are not followed through with
any sense of conviction and they do not trigger the requisite
adjustments in allocation of resources and funding. </span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>Therefore
what takes place in practice is the result of ongoing inertia where
people continue to do what they have been used to doing. And the results
get more and more mediocre as even the original colonial ethos crumbles
without any fresh impetus. </span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:12pt;font-family:georgia,palatino"><span><span>And
yet it is not all doom and gloom. Tanzania stands out as an exception
that proves the rule. They are admired across the continent for having
adopted Kiswahili as their national language and it has been far more
effective as an avenue for nation-building than European languages have
been in neighbouring countries. Across the continent, Africans have
continued to speak and develop their languages, against the odds. A new
generation is rising up to challenge the postcolonial momentum behind
inherited policies, such as those epitomised by instruction in
Afrikaans, which protect historical privilege while discriminating
against the disadvantaged. </span></span></span></p>
<span style="font-family:georgia,palatino;font-size:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span><span style="text-decoration:none">Africans
will continue this sacred struggle entrusted to them by their ancestors
until they arrive at the definitive solution. My guess is that this
eventual solution will be directly opposite to the Eurocentric view of a
singular hegemonic language holding sway as the main road towards
upward socio-economic mobility. Rather, what will ignite and fuel the
true African renaissance will be the implementation of a coherent,
equitable pan-African language policy as multilingual, multicultural and
multilayered as African culture truly is. A long struggle lies ahead.<br><a href="http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2016-04-18-opinion-tito-alai-multilingualism-is-africas-common-language-in-general-africas-language-policies-are-a-sad-reflection-of-its-politics-great-intentions-stymied-by-a-massive-colonial-hangover.-but-even-though-were-still-learning-in-english-french-and-portu/#.VxZILke92-c">http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2016-04-18-opinion-tito-alai-multilingualism-is-africas-common-language-in-general-africas-language-policies-are-a-sad-reflection-of-its-politics-great-intentions-stymied-by-a-massive-colonial-hangover.-but-even-though-were-still-learning-in-english-french-and-portu/#.VxZILke92-c</a><br clear="all"></span></span></span></span><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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