[lg policy] Rwanda Prospers Because We are not good at Foreign Languages

[Harold Schiffman]

Rwanda Prospers Because We are not good at Foreign Languages

By Lonzen Rugira

Over the past couple of weeks this column has tried to point out how
imported values, even when well-intentioned, can distort collective
aspirations, and how the pursuit of 'democracy of form' undermines our
efforts to engage society substantively on the changes that its members
would like to see in their lives.

Societies seek change from democracy. This is the reason the discourse
around it ultimately brings about issues of development, which is why it is
often stated that the two go 'hand-in-hand.' For the same reasons, it is
often said that the pursuit of one over the other is likely to lead to
undesirable consequences for a society.

They must move in tandem. However, the pace of this shift must be a result
of an inclusive process that involves the majority of the would-be
beneficiaries. All this is underlain by the idea that both democracy and
development are about the expression of the values of such beneficiaries.

When this is not done, a tenuous relationship between democracy and
development develops and the potential negative consequences vary from
social stagnation to outright violence meted out among compatriots.

It is this misguided pursuit of democracy and development - the inability
to recognise that it is a struggle about values - that has been at the root
of a tenuous social context for much of post-colonial Africa.

This is also why democracy and development have been elusive - they do not
speak to the aspirations of the ordinary person. Which leads us to an
equally powerful, and emotionally-laden, third force: language.

Language expresses culture. Culture is a set of people's values and
language is how they express those values - their sensibilities: fears,
hopes, and dreams. When language and culture are not considered in the
discourse on democracy and development, what is left are ideals that are
devoid of meaning and are therefore rendered impossible to identify with.

Our cultures and languages must be the vehicle through which we conceive
both democracy and development. Moreover, it should be obvious that the
pursuit of the kind of either that renders its beneficiaries mute is
problematic to say the least, and is likely to suffer stillbirth. More
problematic, however, is the idea that we must undermine our values and
people in order to access the 'virtues of a higher civilisation.'

This is the story of post-colonial Africa. Indeed, raising such issues was
often treated as subversive activity. That is because language policy is
always a sensitive matter, and a possible career-killer for policy makers.
As such, it has been treated as a hot potato - left alone to cool on its
own.

But that is only a tactical, not strategic, move. The fact that values in
general, and language in particular, undergird democracy and development
isn't going to change, ever. Crucially, change that minimises the negative
consequences thereof will not happen on its own.

*The Irony of Rwanda*

And so, the policy makers have had to dither. Which is why the most
generous characterisation of our language policy over the years is that it
has been inconsistent. There's been so much switching from French to
English to French and back to English that parents, teachers, and students
get surprised when they complete their academic cycle without any
pronouncement of another policy change.

Consequently, the joke in the town is that Rwandans neither know French nor
English, the two major foreign languages. In fact, the Ministry of
Education has often been maligned for this confusion, er, inconsistency.

My view is that this has been a blessing in disguise. That we neither
possess command for English nor for French has forced us to resort to our
native language, ikinyarwanda - the one we comprehend most, the one in
which we are able to comfortably convey our sensibilities and aspirations.

Most importantly, the resort to our native language has had a lot to do
with why our country has prospered.

Unwittingly, the language of development and democracy has taken on a
national character, and has helped to create a sense of national purpose
along common aspirations.

Which then begs the questions: Shouldn't this be how we conceive progress?
With some serendipity, we seem to have discovered what works. But shall we
stay the course? Or shall we eventually return to the tested - and failed -
path of being uncritical recipients of antidotes to misdiagnosed problems?

Let me end with two thoughts. They are rebuttals to the potential
counterargument that what I am advocating for undermines our
competitiveness in a 'global village.'

I turn to Edwin Mukizawabo, on Twitter, as my lead counsel: @mukizaedwin
"The Turkiya constructing our symbol of hospitality the Kigali conventional
center barely speak English. I wonder why they got the

contract."@mukizaedwin "So the Cuban/Chinese/Russian doctors who can't
speak English or French can't compete on the international arena?"

http://allafrica.com/stories/201602010305.html


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