Thanks for this observation. It does seem like African states by and large have pursued a "lose-lose" language policy with regard to African languages. That is, to minimize or attempt to avoid the possibility that any indigenous language be advantaged over any other, they all are disadvantaged in relation to the former colonial tongue. Another part of the thinking, at least originally as I understand it, was that a country needed a single common language for "nation building" - something very much part of European thinking concerning nation-states.
There were some big debates in some countries on language policy about the time of independence and it would be really interesting to re-examine these in light of how things have evolved over the last half century. I'm not sure, however, that anyone thoroughly thought through the implications of the reliance on English, French, and Portuguese for education and development in the long term. In any event, it's hard to see how anything positive can be derived from policies that marginalize indigenous languages especially in their lands of origin - effectively promoting degrees of "linguistic amnesia." It's had disastrous results (as part of larger racist policies) for indigenous peoples of the Americas and Australasia for instance. On the other hand, the Scottish and Irish have almost lost their respective versions of Gaelic to English as a consequence of English occupation and aftermath. And both seem to be okay economically and socially (though now there is increased efort to save, revive and spread these - note the case of Wales for instance). Does it make a difference the way you lose a language or if it is to one in the region as opposed to something very foreign? The latter is an uncomfortable question for endangered languages in Africa - they tend to lose out to neighboring ones, while the more widely spoken ones lose ground to the European ones (or so it seems). Don --- In AfricanLanguages@yahoogroups.com, "egbaman1" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Good post Don, unfortunately though, there are many Africans who > don't see the need for African indigenous languages in official > situations! These people, often in powerful positions, tend to > favour the status quo, and will fight tooth and nail to keep it that > way. > > ciao > --- In AfricanLanguages@yahoogroups.com, "Don Osborn" <dzo@> > wrote: > > > > While looking for a ref on written Ga language I came across this > > phrase on a background info page of a site introducing the > language: > > "Even though English is the official language of Ghana, many ethnic > > groups continue to use their own language." > > http://www.addo.ws/language.htm > > > > What I hear in this and quite a number of similar phrases in > similar > > contexts - especially from non-Africans - is a sort of implicit > > assumption that the official language is what really counts and the > > maternal tongues are sort of anachronisms. That this phrase > appears on > > a site introducing the language and culture of the Ga is a little > > surprising, but not too much so. > > > > There is a link between this sort of appraisal (I need to start > noting > > sourves on all of these) and policies both of donors and > governments > > that minimize or ignore African languages. There is sort of a > > subliminal bias agaimst use of African languages that I noted in > > another case ("And then there's the language problem" message #156 > > Dec. 2003 in which people using languages other than English at > home > > was described as a problem). > > > > It is not necessarily a bias against things African, but often > stems I > > think from the notion that there is a tradeoff involved in > languages - > > you can't have both, which is fallacy #1; plus the notion that the > > "modern" official languages from Europe are naturally going to > replace > > the indigenous languages as part of the development process - after > > all, African languages are not suited for technology, science, and > > complex reasoning, right? = fallacy #2. > > > > In the world of software localization I ran across the notion that > > software in the official languages should suffice for Africa, after > > all, anyone likely to use a computer will have English or French, > > right? Then it turned out that some software producers had the same > > assumption elsewhere, for example in India ("but everyone speaks > > English, don't they?") or Hawaii (where the notion of localizing in > > Hawaiian language was scoffed at). We're moving past that now in > many > > places, but it's another part of the larger problem. > > > > For a non IT exampple of the same phenomenon: I ran across two > > references to Setswana in Botswana. The first in a business > > publication stated that English is more widely used than Setswana > and > > the second in a more authoritative source on languages said that > > Setswana is used in all domains of life for the vast majority of > the > > country but English is important and may dominate in certain > domains. > > To me the first article seemed to reflect the view of outsiders > whose > > interactions with a certain segment of the population give them a > > certain impression, but what they published creates an arguably > > mistaken impression. > > > > Responses? There's a need to educate first of all. But foreigners > will > > not respect African languages unless they see them being used > > seriously in domains that they see. Often they are ignorant of the > > level of usage in popular culture, media, community life, > > business/commerce and government - > > > > Then I wonder about the negative effects of calling a language "the > > official language of...." The irony in the case of Ghana, though, > is > > that English is not the official language by law, just de facto. > Not > > sure what to do in this case, but raising one or more major > indigenous > > languages to the status of "official" as some countries have done > > would go a long way to countering assumptions that all that > matters is > > the former colonial tongue. > > > > Don Osborn > > Bisharat.net > > > Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
