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Kierra Inniss

AFR251H1

Professor Wasike

October 16, 2023

What Exactly is the Language issue in Africa?

Language rights are critical to political stability and legitimacy in postcolonial Africa,

although many African administrations have ignored language policy. Phillipson and Skutnabb-

Kangas begin the article with a genealogy of sorts on colonial empires vilifying indigenous

languages while favouring French and English as the languages of logic, reason, and human

rights. (Phillipson & Skutnabb-Kangas 2) Under apartheid South Africa, Boers felt Afrikaans

was God's language and saw themselves as a "chosen race." In the Arab world, the Koran is

considered God's language, hence Arabic is regarded superior. Newly independent North African

states then institutionalized "classical" Arabic, which can only be learned formally, limiting the

linguistic rights of Berber and demotic Arabic speakers.

Colonial education in each colonial empire praised the dominant language, degraded the

dominated, and justified the link between the two, always to the dominant's advantage.

(Phillipson & Skutnabb-Kangas 2) Local languages, traditions, and education were all deemed

unimportant. African languages are purposefully underdeveloped alongside the economics of

these cultures, as money and time are concentrated on teacher training, textbook manufacturing,

and teaching in the dominant language. Here, this sector of Colonialism (colonial education)

impacted African linguistic human rights, with many Africans believing that only European

languages contribute to development. This is still the case in contemporary independent Africa
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since this colonial legacy, as the authors put it, still governs contemporary educational policy.

Thus, Linguistic imperialism restricts language growth in most former colonies because a single

language predominates.

Following independence, UPE (Universal Primary Education) intended to implement

Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which affirms everybody’s right to free

and compulsory education at the elementary level. (Phillipson & Skutnabb-Kangas 3) However,

because this ideal was linked to the colonial legacy of economic and political ideology, African

mother tongues were neglected. Much assistance has been directed toward teacher education and

curriculum development in former colonial languages, but less has been directed toward other

African languages due to this colonial legacy. The article uses the former French colonies in

North Africa as an example of this phenomena: French remains the language of "modernization,"

but Arabic is sold as the language of political and religious legitimacy. Since independence,

Algeria has been decolonized and arabized, while modernized Koranic Arabic has supplanted

French, Arabic, and Berber. Demotic Arabic and Berber speakers do not have basic linguistic

rights to their native tongues. (Phillipson & Skutnabb-Kangas 4)

To further complicate things, African languages are typically ignored in reports on

educational planning for former British colonies in Africa. Local languages such as Hausa, Igbo,

and Yoruba are becoming overshadowed by the old colonial speech. (Phillipson & Skutnabb-

Kangas 4) The use of former colonial languages as educational mediums has widened the gap

between educated elites and ordinary people, generating concerns about national interest. In

Africa, language education research is lacking, and many aid attempts are culturally and

educationally inappropriate due to this ghost of colonial language policy legacies. Tanzania is
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frequently highlighted as a successful African language policy since Swahili is easier to learn

than English. However, English continues to be preferred in secondary schools and higher

education, preventing Tanzanian societal goals from being accomplished. (Phillipson &

Skutnabb-Kangas 4) Other East African countries are much more supportive of English, with

Zambia's language policy used in adult literacy programs but not in primary or secondary

schooling. Many African researchers document the linguistic complexity of their respective

countries and argue for multilingual language planning. (Phillipson & Skutnabb-Kangas 4)

Kiswahili, Hausa, Arabic, Lingala, and Zulu, according to an OAU bureau survey on

African language policy, should be used for regional and continental contact and unity. The

survey advises that African governments should put language policy first, encourage African

languages, and develop a "Linguistic Charter for Africa.” (Phillipson & Skutnabb-Kangas 4) The

proposed charter respects everyone's equal linguistic rights, provides literacy in every living

African language, establishes as many languages in each African state as possible, and makes at

least one African language an official language. Despite these recommoendations, African

language policy remains constant as economic, political, and social concerns escalate. Although

national constitutions and practice rarely guarantee linguistic human rights, recent political

changes in African cultures may boost demand for them. Language discrimination is prohibited

under the proposed continental African Charter on Human and People's Rights by the United

Nations in 1981 yet these language issues within the continent directly violate these rights.

This article helped me comprehend the multiple, intricate faucets of linguistic

imperialism (which may even be considered a faucet of colonial imperialism). This linguistic

imperialism can be attributed to colonially inherited language policies, the original purpose of
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which was to ensure the dominance of European languages in order to replace native cultures,

languages, and societal structure as a "civilizing mission" justified as replacing superstitious and

"illogical" ideologies with superior Western ones. It is obvious that the language problem in

Africa derives from linguistic policies embedded in educational policies, or, as the

author's refer to it, a colonial education. However, in contemporary African countries, where

indigenous languages have been represented as illegitimate and non-modern or beneficial in

combination with the issue of access to education (due to user fees and the majority of the

population being unable to afford schooling), many Africans are being governed by a colonial

language they do not have access to and thus do not understand. The authors conclude that this

phenomenon has not been investigated further than the above conclusions, but with colonial

attitudes being the desire to ‘underdevelop’ and create class divides with African countries

through language policy, the authors' conclusion that this issue cannot be resolved due to the

predominance of colonial languages is really a further, let us call it, fourth phase of colonialism.

If international actors such as UNESCO (one of the actors responsible for this

underdevelopment) continue to highlight these issues but never investigate their solutions or

push for the implementation of linguistic human rights in favour of modernity, it appears that the

solution is to draw more attention to the exact nature of language policy, which is overshadowed

by a colonial heritage, and truly implement African languages in all aspects of education.

Although, as the article points out, this is easier said than done, I feel it is critical that this

language issue becomes a critical priority in the continent's decolonization goal and African

Studies in general. One's education is how one develops their ideas on the world and even their
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views on themselves, and when one is unable to interact effectively with their surroundings, they

are effectively prevented from establishing their selfhood.

It is a very insidious form of control that, while dark, needs to be brought to light within

the context of African Studies discourse. Why is Swahili still fighting for resources and

recognition as a "official language"? Why are colonial inherited languages still considered

"official languages" in legally decolonized countries? What I believe this issue will bring to light,

and this may be why there has been so little research or funding into this topic, is that these

language policies underscore the reality that colonialism never truly ended on the continent. It is

merely being transformed and integrated into all aspects of daily existence. Is the root to

decolonization, truly, decolonizing our language? I would venture to say so because, how we

communicate, create ideas, think of the world, think of ourselves is directly intertwined with

language. If a certain language is favoured, we have to reflect on what that means. We even have

to reflect on how we understand why that language is favoured once we begin to truly

acknowledge the exact language issue in Africa.

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Works Cited

Phillipson, Robert & Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove (1994). Language rights in postcolonial Africa. In
Skutnabb-Kangas, Tove & Phillipson, Robert (Eds.), in collaboration with Mart Rannut.
Linguistic Human Rights. Overcoming Linguistic Discrimination. Contributions to the Sociology
of Language 67. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 335-345.