Dehai News

Analysis-Reflections On Mother Tongue In Africa

By Dr. Mohamed Chtatou

October 16, 2017

Languages in Africa

The long spell of colonial rule in Africa, might have, temporarily, solved the problem of communication between African countries themselves, on the one hand, and these countries and the rest of the world, on the other. However, this created a complex linguistic situation on the ground that African governments have, since, been unable to solve. And as a result, national educational systems are constantly on the limp and need urgently to be revamped, but the burning question is: how?

Africa is home to thousands of languages and idioms. These numerous languages can, tentatively, be classified in the following manner:

1. Tribal language: an autochthonous idiom spoken by the members of a given tribe only. Unfortunately such languages are in imminent danger of extinction.
2. Community language: a native language used by several tribes in a given geographical area.
3. National language: a native language or languages used within a given country for communication and cultural purposes.
4. Trans-national language: a native language or languages used in more than one country, such as Pular, Swahili, Wolof, etc.
5. Official language: a foreign language or languages imposed by colonial powers as a lingua-franca for use in administration, business circles, trade and schools: such as French, English, Portuguese, etc.

Linguistic areas in Africa

It is a known fact that the issue of mother tongue i in education in Africa is saddled with pitfalls and drawbacks, even if many African countries have, seemingly, devised waterproof strategies to promote the use of such native languages in school curriculum. And as if the actual situation of mother tongues is not complex and intricate enough, globalization is adding more salt to injury by insidiously pressuring people, through the magic of ICT, to drop altogether their “useless” native languages as well as some colonial languages for the English language.

The present paper will attempt to shed light on and discuss the situation of mother tongues in the African educational systems from such angles as:

• Establishment of true national curricula;
• Textbooks;
• Teacher training;
• Language policy;
• Literacy, etc.

This article will aim at painting the true picture of the situation both in some North African and Sub-Saharan countries that were colonized by France the last century, given, somewhat, that the colonial educational legacy is similar.

Omnipotence Of Colonial Legacy

The worst thing about French colonialism is not so much its pronounced paternalism in Africa but its linguistic carbon print on African national identities which acted as an umbilical cord difficult to sever and led to an era of disguised linguistic and cultural imperialism legitimated by the so-called world francophone movement.

Initially, this movement was purely cultural with the primary objective to perpetuate French presence in Africa, but in the early 80s, as English language, emboldened by the digital revolution moved ahead to become the universal language, the French attempted to check its ineluctable advance by calling the world to adopt cultural specificity “specificité culturelle” and multiculturalism. But this cultural specificity was only good for the defense of French culture from English hegemony, not the other way around for other small countries, because French officials continued to defend bitterly their linguistic imperialism especially through their own autochthonous pressure groups present in key political spheres and in trade and business.

Indeed, when the French first set foot in Africa in early 19th century (Algeria 1830), they engaged into a massive cultural colonization making French the official language of education, administration and business, and discouraged the autochthonous people from using their national languages and scripts......................

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