[lg policy] FREEDOM AND EMPOWERMENT : Language Policy and Economic Development

Sat Jan 14 16:59:06 UTC 2017

FREEDOM AND EMPOWERMENT : Language Policy and Economic Development
Article paru dans Le Mauricien
<http://www.lemauricien.com/topics/Le%20Mauricien> | 13 January, 2017 -
18:00 | Par DR ROSHNI MOONEERAM
<http://www.lemauricien.com/author/dr-roshni-mooneeram>

The language policy of a country is directly related to its economic
development. This is why we need a clearly demarcated management of our
rich linguistic capital. End of 2016, the Festival Kreol was closed on the
triumphant announcement that Kreol would be used in Parliament very soon.
Just before, there have been comments from academics on how Kreol should
only be taught in schools by Creole faces (whatever this means).

Let’s disentangle a few things. Firstly, languages fulfil two purposes,
they are tools for communication, they also serve as identity badges.
Secondly, Kreol is not the property of one politician, his party, or an
ethnic group. It is a language that originated with slaves and to which we
have all contributed. It is undeniably the national language of Mauritius.
The only language I ever spoke in our family home is Kreol, because it is
the language of all Mauritians, ours. We laughed, cried and dreamt in
Kreol. It is the language of our hearts, of our guts, of our earliest
lullaby, it is the language that binds us to the country, to each other,
beyond ethnicity, geography and social class. It is, in fact, one of our
marvels as a nation. We have all chiselled at it, bringing in new elements.
Our creative writers in particular have helped to turn it from the language
of the street to the language of literature, capable of expressing the
sublime. My book From Creole to Standard (2009) pays homage to the unique
journey of our national language.

Yes it is true that in a democracy the people should have access to the
language of government, the judiciary, Parliament. And Creole must occupy
its rightful place. But should it replace English? While there is every
reason to teach our children to be proud of their mother tongue, we cannot
however take national decisions driven by abject populism. Theoretically,
yes, Kreol could fulfil all the functions that long-established languages
like English and French do. But the registers for its use in science,
technology, Parliament, Government, the judicial system, all have to be
created, disseminated, accepted and learnt. We are far from that point and
this is a long drawn process. Sure, 3 centuries ago there was a
nationalistic upsurge built around languages in Europe which saw the rise
of English, French, Italian which broke free from the imperial supremacy of
Latin. In turn these ‘new’ languages have exerted immense influence on the
world. But we cannot model the language policy of an island with no natural
resources and little economic power in the middle on the ocean onto the
rise of almighty European countries 3 centuries ago.

Our economic transactions are dependent on our negotiations with other
parts of the world. Our immediate neighbours in the Indian Ocean are all
English-speaking countries, East and South Africa, South Asia, Australia.
Surely as Africa rises to its fullest potential, we would want to weave
powerful networks on the continent. We would want to nurture mutual
openness and understanding across Parliamentary debates in the region and
Parliamentary debates at home.
The last thing we want to do is close off future generations of Mauritians
into a linguistic ghetto. Isn’t a half-way house of interpretation of
debates into Creole a wiser way forward? The bulk of the financial and
human resources that would be required to translate all legal texts into
Kreol, create the registers, then train all concerned could, instead, be
invested into an improved English language education for everyone. We could
invest the same resources into elevating our population to becoming
bi-lingual or tri-lingual in the long term. Yes there will be one more lost
generation of Mauritians who will miss out. But ask the question to the
average Mauritian. Do they aspire to a situation whereby everyone masters
Kreol in every sphere of life? Or would they rather that we start nurturing
generations of children who master at least one global language? And this
through tested means: a review of language policy, bold steps towards a
progressive pedagogy around English, ensuring that the English language
occupies some of the market space (so that children are familiar with the
language even before they go to kindergarten).

We do not have to go very far. If we take a look at postcolonial countries,
Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, we will see that initially they all launched
into a nationalistic language policy. Lee Kwan Yew understood that if he
wanted to drive economic and social development, it was not Malay that was
going to achieve that, but English. There are undeniable and direct links
between language policy and economic development. Lee Kwan Yew chose with
lucidity to implement English as the official language while making sure
that various mother tongues also found their rightful place in the national
scape. Singapore has not looked back on its historical decision. Pakistan
made a u-turn in the 1980s from Urdu-medium schools to English-medium
schools. There is a similar story with Malaysia. We are a new nation with
the chance to not repeat the mistakes that other countries have made.
The language policy of a country determines the economic future of a
country, it cannot be left to the whim of one politician, especially those
who are not particularly visionary, and a few friends. Nor can it be left
at the whim of academics pushing out their own boats. I have been one, I
have known the passion with which academics defend their lifetime
investment, their bastions, their schools, their mountains. But this is a
national project that should surpass the egos and short-term
personal/ethnic/political interests.  We are not in a position to make a
decision for generations of Mauritians to come on the basis of a fraught
nationalistic idea that we cannot afford. Now, more than ever, we need to
be reinforcing our ability to harness the global language par excellence
and more languages with global currency.
We are not empowered if we think that Kreol is vulgar, there is no such
thing as a vulgar language. All languages are born from the genius at the
core of our humanity. The only vulgar thing is the persistence of 19th
Century colonial racism that we have imbibed. But equally, our politicians
would be kidding their electorate by making us think that our success and
salvation lies in the entrance of Kreol in Parliament. Salvation in the
21st Century lies in providing the tools and the environment that allows
our children to use their mother tongue with pride + access to English,
French and more international languages that open the doors of opportunity.
By all means, let us invest in a nation of literate people. But let us make
sure that the decisions we make today will bring freedom and empowerment to
our people in 30 years time.
http://www.lemauricien.com/article/freedom-and-empowerment-language-policy-and-economic-development

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