Africa: Eternally Trapped?

by Alexactus T Kaure

Before we take an excursion on this linguistic journey, two caveats should be in place however.

One is that Arab-speaking Africa is excluded from this discussion
for obvious reasons.
The other is by way of a quick counter-factual.

To ask: are these languages on loan with a "return by" date or
have they been permanently inherited by Africa and thus part of the
cultural, intellectual and linguistic landscape of the continent?
Lapsing into a relativist mindset, I would say: it depends on one's
take on the issue.

And it also depends on which part of Africa you find yourself
in.

During my travels in a number of African countries and
discussion with people of various backgrounds, one comes across
some contrasting views on the issue and use of foreign
languages.

In both francophone and lusophone Africa, I have come across a
number of people with very strong associations with either French
or Portuguese saying these languages are part of their culture -
they are our languages, they would say.

Whereas in anglophone Africa English is mainly accepted for its
utilitarian value.

In fact, when I raised the issue of a common language for SADC
as part of the integration project in Harare back in 1999, a
Mozambican colleague called me naive.

And mind you, this was a lecturer at a leading university in
Mozambique.

But such are the strong sentiments in favor of European
languages in parts of Africa.

Or indeed among a number of individual Africans everywhere -
especially the elite.

Closer to home, before Independence, we also regarded English as
the language of liberation and Afrikaans that of oppression.

And this was true both of South Africa and Namibia.

The protests of the 1970s against Bantu education were also
partly against Afrikaans and obviously pro-English.

A publication of the then Lusaka-based UN Institute for Namibia
dealing with language options for independent Namibia made a strong
case in favour of English.

Of course, as we know, Namibia adopted English as the official
language after Independence - thus discarding Afrikaans.

From a practical point of view, Namibia is a star performer in
this regard.

But retrospectively we were somewhat naive to see English as the
language of liberation as our Zimbabwean colleagues would testify
to the contrary.

Language plays different roles in society.

It can be a source of communication, national pride and
unity.

But it can be a source of power and thus social and economic
oppression.

It can also be a source of division.

Thus, from colonial times to the present, the colonial language
has played varied and, at times, contradictory roles.

The mastery of the colonial language both during and after
colonialism in Africa became one of the obvious indicators of
social division and status.

Those who are conversant in the official language - the language
of education, business, administration and the media, always have a
clear competitive edge over others in terms of employment
opportunities and getting simple things taken care of.

At the horizontal level, the colonial language has arguably
united different communities and groups whereas at the vertical
level it has done exactly the opposite.

Now with a number of regional and continental integration
experiments underway, what role will these languages play? An
extrapolation of the language policy from the national to the
regional and continental levels might have the same unifying effect
- horizontally speaking.

But as it stands now, the situation is not very conducive to
either regional or continental unity.

When last did you browse through SADC, Comesa, Ecowas, AU or ADB
Websites? I urge you to.

Especially if you are looking for a good job with these
continental bodies.

The only hurdle is that you would be required to pass three
European languages.

So forget about your advanced university degree.

Instead, visit your nearest British Council or French Cultural
Centers to see if you can get a handle on a new language.

A typical requirement for a job with all these bodies, in
addition to normal educational requirements, is a heap of European
languages.

The UN is even worse.

At the UN, the powerful nations have their languages as either
official or working languages.

Now just imagine the amount of papers and documents that get
translated during the endless meetings and summits of these
organisations.

And most of the time they are translated from English into the
other languages - which shows that there is basically one dominant
international language.

And I can tell you it's fun to watch some of these African
gatherings, especially when the delegates from different countries
stand up to speak in "their languages".

You would be excused if you thought you were watching the
European Union Parliament proceedings - except that you should be
able to recognise Muamar Ghadaffi speaking in Arabic.

What I'm calling for then, in addition to the many other things
that are still to be put in place such as a common currency,
central bank or passport; is a common language for Africa in order
to facilitate the various cross-cutting interactions in a regional
or continental community.

The choice would be among the three European languages used in
Africa.

Although one might legitimately ask why not Arabic, Swahili or
even Ndebele as a choice? I'm surprised that most pan African
centres are mute on this issue - including our own Pacon.

But the adoption of a common language for SADC, Ecowas, Comesa
or even the AU, will not only enhance regional integration but will
also represent a small liberating act - reducing one of the many
vestiges of colonial interferences in our affairs.

We have to break loose from these Anglo, Franco and lusophone
categories.

It is time Africa starts to take some small steps towards
re-discovering herself.

But which group of countries would be prepared to give up their
colonial inheritance and thus commit a "cultural
suicide"?


The other is by way of a quick counter-factual.To ask: are these
languages on loan with a "return by" date or have they been
permanently inherited by Africa and thus part of the cultural,
intellectual and linguistic landscape of the continent? Lapsing
into a relativist mindset, I would say: it depends on one's take on
the issue.And it also depends on which part of Africa you find
yourself in.During my travels in a number of African countries and
discussion with people of various backgrounds, one comes across
some contrasting views on the issue and use of foreign languages.In
both francophone and lusophone Africa, I have come across a number
of people with very strong associations with either French or
Portuguese saying these languages are part of their culture - they
are our languages, they would say.Whereas in anglophone Africa
English is mainly accepted for its utilitarian value.In fact, when
I raised the issue of a common language for SADC as part of the
integration project in Harare back in 1999, a Mozambican colleague
called me naive.And mind you, this was a lecturer at a leading
university in Mozambique.But such are the strong sentiments in
favor of European languages in parts of Africa.Or indeed among a
number of individual Africans everywhere - especially the
elite.Closer to home, before Independence, we also regarded English
as the language of liberation and Afrikaans that of oppression.And
this was true both of South Africa and Namibia.The protests of the
1970s against Bantu education were also partly against Afrikaans
and obviously pro-English.A publication of the then Lusaka-based UN
Institute for Namibia dealing with language options for independent
Namibia made a strong case in favour of English.Of course, as we
know, Namibia adopted English as the official language after
Independence - thus discarding Afrikaans.From a practical point of
view, Namibia is a star performer in this regard.But
retrospectively we were somewhat naive to see English as the
language of liberation as our Zimbabwean colleagues would testify
to the contrary.Language plays different roles in society.It can be
a source of communication, national pride and unity.But it can be a
source of power and thus social and economic oppression.It can also
be a source of division.Thus, from colonial times to the present,
the colonial language has played varied and, at times,
contradictory roles.The mastery of the colonial language both
during and after colonialism in Africa became one of the obvious
indicators of social division and status.Those who are conversant
in the official language - the language of education, business,
administration and the media, always have a clear competitive edge
over others in terms of employment opportunities and getting simple
things taken care of.At the horizontal level, the colonial language
has arguably united different communities and groups whereas at the
vertical level it has done exactly the opposite.Now with a number
of regional and continental integration experiments underway, what
role will these languages play? An extrapolation of the language
policy from the national to the regional and continental levels
might have the same unifying effect - horizontally speaking.But as
it stands now, the situation is not very conducive to either
regional or continental unity.When last did you browse through
SADC, Comesa, Ecowas, AU or ADB Websites? I urge you to.Especially
if you are looking for a good job with these continental bodies.The
only hurdle is that you would be required to pass three European
languages.So forget about your advanced university degree.Instead,
visit your nearest British Council or French Cultural Centers to
see if you can get a handle on a new language.A typical requirement
for a job with all these bodies, in addition to normal educational
requirements, is a heap of European languages.The UN is even
worse.At the UN, the powerful nations have their languages as
either official or working languages.Now just imagine the amount of
papers and documents that get translated during the endless
meetings and summits of these organisations.And most of the time
they are translated from English into the other languages - which
shows that there is basically one dominant international
language.And I can tell you it's fun to watch some of these African
gatherings, especially when the delegates from different countries
stand up to speak in "their languages".You would be excused if you
thought you were watching the European Union Parliament proceedings
- except that you should be able to recognise Muamar Ghadaffi
speaking in Arabic.What I'm calling for then, in addition to the
many other things that are still to be put in place such as a
common currency, central bank or passport; is a common language for
Africa in order to facilitate the various cross-cutting
interactions in a regional or continental community.The choice
would be among the three European languages used in Africa.Although
one might legitimately ask why not Arabic, Swahili or even Ndebele
as a choice? I'm surprised that most pan African centres are mute
on this issue - including our own Pacon.But the adoption of a
common language for SADC, Ecowas, Comesa or even the AU, will not
only enhance regional integration but will also represent a small
liberating act - reducing one of the many vestiges of colonial
interferences in our affairs.We have to break loose from these
Anglo, Franco and lusophone categories.It is time Africa starts to
take some small steps towards re-discovering herself.But which
group of countries would be prepared to give up their colonial
inheritance and thus commit a "cultural suicide"?