Africa is a playground for various European linguistic structures. These have stolen the continent’s ability to develop in stature and self-belief. English, French, Portuguese and Spanish are the major European languages that are accorded official language statuses in various African countries. These languages have become lingua franca between Africans even though this continent is blessed with a myriad of languages.
LANGUAGE OF DOMINANCE
Around 1500AD, about 5 million people spoke English and were obviously British. Today (500 years or so later), that number has grown by 40,000% to around 2 billion. Put differently, British cultural imperialism, dominance and influence has multiplied a 40,000 times.
Interplay of Colonialism and Globalisation
This expansion can be attributed to a complex interplay of historical factors, including British colonialism, the rise of the United States as a global power, and the advent of globalisation. Consequently, English has become entrenched as a lingua franca in diverse domains such as commerce, science, technology, and entertainment.
The implications of this development are varied, influencing linguistic diversity, cultural exchange, and the dissemination of ideas on a worldwide scale.
Languages Disappearing
In 2018, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) issued a fire forecast that half of the 6,000 languages spoken around the world will disappear. This is a significant threat to cultural diversity and heritage as language is a crucial element of identity.
The Khoi and San languages are experiencing a precipitous decline, largely attributable to the lack of official recognition and adoption by African countries. As a result, these languages are increasingly marginalised, with their usage and intergenerational transmission diminishing.
In South Africa, initiatives are underway to preserve and promote indigenous languages, including the Khoi and San languages. There are some measures undertaken to document and revitalize these languages, acknowledging their cultural significance and the importance of linguistic
THE TEMPEST
Did nature dictate that this be the case or did some human elements engineer this evolution?
Attempting to answer the above question, let us detour for a second. William Shakespeare, as early as 1611 in one of his revered works “The Tempest”, explains concisely the relationship between language and colonisation. This famous British author (I do not want to debate whether he agreed with the characters or not) presents a falsified image of the people of the Caribbean Islands by using some very racist likeness in representing the status of various characters in this play.
Caliban, an African inhabitant of the island in Shakespeare’s play, falls victim to the machinations of colonisation. Initially, he places trust in Prospero, only to be subsequently relegated to a state of servitude, classified as a savage and compelled to conform to Western norms. Through this process, the coloniser exerts a profound influence over Caliban’s worldview, utilising language as a tool to reshape his perceptions and impose a Western interpretive framework.
Caliban, the colonised subject, eventually rebels against Prospero, the coloniser, articulating his frustration thus: “You taught me language, and my profit on’t is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you for learning me your language!” This poignant remark underscores the insidious nature of colonialism, wherein the imposition of the coloniser’s language serves as a means of exerting control over the colonised mind.
Language Facilitates Exploitation
The ultimate objective of the coloniser is to dominate the cognitive landscape of the colonised, thereby facilitating exploitation. This is achieved through the enslavement of the indigenous population, their subjection to menial labour, the usurpation of their land, and the exploitation of its resources.
Inappropriate Language Builds Revolt
Caliban’s frustrated and angry lines show an undiluted confession by the victim of how inappropriate language is used by colonisers to influence the state of mind of the colonised. This is an unfluted indictment of the coloniser’s linguistic imperialism. This reveals the insidious manner in which language is wielded as a tool of manipulation. In essence, Caliban concedes that the coloniser’s language, imparted to him as a supposed benevolence, has yielded an unintended consequence – the capacity to articulate his resentment and execrate his oppressor.
Through this riposte, Caliban implicitly acknowledges that the acquisition of the coloniser’s language has enabled him to subvert the intended narrative of subservience, instead harnessing this linguistic knowledge to express his indignation and decry the circumstances of his subjugation.
YOU ARE A MODERN VERSION OF CALIBAN
All African nations, without exception, can identify with Caliban’s experience. Language and its use, therefore, is never neutral and unbiased. History and even the current epoch continue to show it to be more than just a method of communication but a tool of social dominance and superiority.
Shakespeare, in the aforementioned work, represents the state of mind that existed to impose the European approach in global politics. They saw Africans as savages who were barbaric, animalistic and deserved no respect but subservience to the European master. One can still observe that they have a modernised version of the same thing. They are using various modern techniques to keep Africans carrying the begging bowl whilst they exploit them using their languages of dominance.
Ngugi waThiongo insists, “They gave us their accents in exchange for their access to our resources. When African intellectuals and leadership were busy perfecting their borrowed accents, Europe and the West were busy sharpening their instruments for access to the resources of the continent. Accents for access: unfortunately, that is the story of post-colonial Africa”.
LANGUAGE DEFINES US
What role does language play in developing or destroying an African’s identity?
Steven Bantu Biko’s (Black Consciousness Movement leader) thoughts in the ’70s speak to what Caliban faced at the hands of Prospero when he said, “The greatest weapon in the hand of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed”. This great son of Africa, further, argued that the basic objective of a colonialist is to make an African feel like a foreigner in the land of his birth.
Following Biko’s analysis, it would be correct to say Caliban was being castigated by a coloniser who, through language enforcement, was creating a mind that viewed Prospero’s ways as the refined ways.
Losing a language goes hand-in-glove with losing a culture. Losing the latter goes hand in glove with losing identity. Language use, therefore, allows the users to define who they are. This is a people’s history, culture and identity lost forever.
Colonial languages have become congruent with societal status. This happens at the reduction of African languages to second or lesser strata.
Individuals may encounter obstacles in securing employment or gaining access to opportunities, not due to a lack of capability, but rather as a consequence of their proficiency in the dominant language, specifically British English, being perceived as inadequate. This linguistic disparity can inadvertently serve as a barrier to social mobility and professional advancement.
WE OWE OUR CHILDREN AND OUR ANCESTRY
As we strive towards complete freedom, it is imperative that we steadfastly preserve our cultural identity. Language plays a pivotal role in this endeavour, serving as a vital conduit for the transmission of our cultural heritage and sense of self to successive generations. It constitutes a precious legacy that we are obligated to bequeath to our descendants, whilst also representing a debt of gratitude that we owe to our forebears, in recognition of the cultural traditions they have imparted to us.
Professor Okoth Okombo puts this point more lucidly when he says, “the death of a language is like the burning of a library”. How does history record your role if your language dies during your era?
A GLOBAL VILLAGE WITHOUT AFRICA REMAINS INCOMPLETE
We need to be careful as we go through what is referred to as globalisation.
As we navigate the complexities of globalisation, it is imperative that we exercise caution to preserve Africa’s intellectual and cultural contributions to the global community. The marginalisation of indigenous languages poses a significant threat to this endeavour, as their gradual decline into disuse imperils the very fabric of African identity.
By embracing our languages as distinctive markers of our cultural heritage, we can ensure that our engagement with the global community is authentic and meaningful. It is essential that we resist the homogenisation of global culture, which risks effacing African linguistic and cultural identity, and instead strive to preserve the rich diversity of our languages and traditions.
THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY REMAINS RACIST
Africans are taught at schools using the so-called universally useful languages mainly English, Portuguese and French. The assumed usefulness of these languages is questionable.
Writer, Publishers and Society Must Take the Steering Wheel
The purpose of education is learning and access to knowledge. Knowledge is knowledge – does it really matter the language that it comes in? Does it make me a deficient scientist if my education came in Igbo, kiSwahili or IsiXhosa? Does it make for a deficient writer if their content is published in Kikuyu?
The prominence that African countries give to these European languages makes Africans to continue being subjects of their colonisers. It makes colonialism to persist despite political independence.
Inherent In Parasites Is Exploitation
Shakespeare’s Caliban, subsequently realised that Prospero, the individual he had entrusted, was not providing benevolent guidance, but was instead exploiting him, with the ulterior motive of cultivating a servile relationship. Prospero’s actions, ostensibly philanthropic, masked a self-serving intent to subjugate Caliban, thereby revealing the duplicitous nature of their master-servant dynamic.
Who will tell your story if you do not tell it yourself? Are you waiting for Prospero to do that for you?
The publishing industry remains dominated by parasitic entities that look down upon the value of works published in indigenous African languages. A parasitic entity is unlikely to provide sustenance or support, let alone offer remedial assistance, as its inherent nature is to exploit and deplete resources for its own benefit, rather than to contribute or provide aid.
Is ‘1+1’ Written in Isixhosa Different From The One Written In English?
Do we have enough material that is published in African languages for the Instructors to make use of?
There is a notable scarcity of educational materials published in African languages, which poses a significant challenge for instructors seeking to utilise such resources. A considerable number of African languages remain underrepresented in published works, with available materials often focusing on basic literacy rather than advanced academic content. A substantial gap persists.
How Many Science Books Are Published in Indigenous Languages?
African publishers are mainly recognised insofar as the indigenous African language books that they publish. Books in Mathematics, Economics and Accounting are mainly published in European languages with the obvious benefit of these countries. Prospero has done his homework, left us competing over our ability to speak his languages, continues to dominate even if he is seated somewhere in Buckingham Palace.
We Need To Fix This Gap
African languages are slowly running the risk of becoming extinct.
Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow”. The right to publish is an important tool towards ensuring that our languages stay afloat.
This ability, however, is diminished if its application is occasional. This is also achieved through the deprivation of funding to African language publishers. Books at schools are and still are published in English or French. This is another method of economic manipulation of the African market to the benefit of European countries.
Mobile technology has grown in leaps and bounds across the African continent. African writing professionals must exploit the potential capacity provided by the evolving digital technology in book publishing. The African writer’s audience is no longer constrained by the national boundaries. Immediately a book is published, it becomes available to the global audience. This avoids costs associated with freight, staffing and packaging that tend to take the bulk of the expenses. This, however, must be done with measures against piracy in place.
COLONIAL LANGUAGES ARE A WEDGE BETWEEN AFRICANS
Colonialism is a severe dent in the promotion of unity in Africa. It has led to a scenario where Africans distinguish and discriminate between one another on the basis of the European language that each speak.
Cameroon At the Centre of European Fight for Socio-Cultural Control
Can we really talk of a British Cameroon and a French Cameroon? The answer unfortunately is a big YES. European languages seem to have assumed a superior status in determining whether that country remains united or not.
British Cameroon refers to the former British Mandate and Trust Territory of British Cameroons, which was administered by the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1961. Located in West Africa, the territory was a portion of the German colony of Kamerun, which was partitioned between two European countries United Kingdom and France following the First World War.
The British Cameroons was divided into Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Later the Northern Cameroons was integrated into Nigeria and Southern Cameroons into the Republic of Cameroon, resulting in the dissolution of the British Cameroons.
This historical context has contributed to the complex cultural and linguistic heritage of the region, with English and French being official languages in Cameroon. The legacy of British v French Cameroons continues to influence the social, economic, and political landscape of the area. It is not about the spoken African languages but about the influence of culture driven by these European languages.
Colonial forces continue to show the power that they still have on the oppressed mind as Biko suggests. A nation of united Africans would have driven these sources of division back.
Kwame Nkrumah, in his plea for Africa to unite said, “The forces that unite us are intrinsic and greater than the superimposed influences that keep us apart”.
Africans Must Take Control of the Levers Business Power
To a number of people, I have posed this question, “What is the language of business?Almost all said, “English”.
An Economics graduate friend of mine told me what I believe was the correct answer. He said that it is ‘economics, accounting and finance management’. It is the ability to manage finances, track expenses, track revenues as well as responding to the requisites of demand and supply.
You could be speaking any language or using any method of communication as long as you manage the above elements of business accurately. English or French is not a prerequisite for one to understand and apply these in business.
OWNING OUR IDENTITIES
More importantly, it is important for all of us to recognise that we need one another. Now that we know the influences that Prospero has attempted to put on us we should, through African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTFA) work on a common African programme.
Let us take guidance from the inimitable Ngugi wa Thiongo when he says: “If you know all the languages of the world and you don’t know the languages of your culture, that is enslavement”.
IDEAS CONVERGE
Jambo Africa Online begets the stage,
Where progressives engage.
Architects of thought,
The space to say your say.
The stage begets the language,
That gives us a glance.
Banishing Doubt,
Outlawing fear.
The language begets knowledge,
Where ideas converge.
Forging connections,
Letting Africa breathe.
Knowledge begets comprehension,
Grasping the reins of understanding.
The torch that lights the path,
Making my decisions informed.
Comprehension begets excellence,
Entering the village of competence.
Africa is eager,
To devour your wisdom.
Excellence begets power,
Willing to selflessly empower.
Now you have the baton,
Show them you can sprint.
Power begets liberation,
Where you break free from oppression.
The journey is in your minds,
Own your own strength.
Liberation begets freedom,
As it’s converse to fiefdom.
Unchain your minds,
Just let yourself be.
It’s your belief,
That give us the belief,
That true freedom
Is within sight.
Let’s converge and converse!!
So, Loyal readers – in your journey to liberate our minds or keep your liberated minds on a developmental trajectory – Love your Language!!
Zikomo