Language, education and identity in Africa

Why has Africa not been doing so well and what is the way forward? This book starts with the analysis of Vansina and Prah: the old cultural traditions in Africa have been destroyed in colonial times; new ones are currently taking shape, based in part in African languages. The book uses cross-cultural psychology to show that such new cultural traditions are indeed forming in Africa. However, almost all African countries currently use a former colonial language in secondary and higher education. The book demonstrates that if more and more people get educated, this system will no longer scale. Over the next decade, more and more African countries will have to make a transition towards increased use of African languages. The book proposes a distinction between discerned and designed languages. All over the world, designed languages are made to serve speakers of several discerned languages. This could and should happen in Africa as well. The book contains a number of brief case studies, showing how in fact such a transition is practically possible. In future, African countries will be able to achieve success in their educational systems by using a small number of languages as medium of instruction. Such a transition will also help to form the new cultural traditions that are already taking shape on the continent. Descriptive and Comparative Linguistic

The “elephant in the room”: why and how medium of instruction and decolonisation of education are linked

The content of education and the medium in which it is delivered are generally seen as two different things: a curriculum that is in need of being “decolonised” can still be delivered in a colonial language. Likewise, a curriculum that is colonial in nature could in theory be delivered in any medium of instruction. This article argues that, seen from a macro perspective, this belief is incorrect. In African settings (and probably elsewhere as well), the medium of instruction and the content of that instruction are intricately linked. Evolution towards a decolonial educational system has to include a change in the medium of instruction if it is to be successful. Language Use in Past and Presen

Language and education in Africa: a fresh approach to the debates on language, education, and cultural identity

This book starts with Vansina, who holds that old cultural traditions in Africa have been destroyed, but that new ones are emerging. With Prah, the study argues that a key role is played by education, which has to be based on African languages and values. Using a new quantitative comparative analysis, the study shows that maintaining former colonial languages as medium of instruction will become impossible to sustain. Over the next decade, some African countries will have to transition to African languages. The issue of language choice has vexed researchers and policymakers. The study shows how all over the world, designed languages serve speakers of several discerned languages. This solution could also be used in Africa, as demonstrated through six brief case studies. African languages in education will bolster the new, decolonised cultural traditions already taking shape on the continent.ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

Language of instruction in education in Africa: how new questions help generate new answers

This paper reviews the major arguments used over the years in favour of mother-tongue instruction in Africa. It analyses the reasons that have been given for the lack of progress made. It suggests that the current Western paradigms obstruct a view of current and expected developments in this area. It offers a new analysis, based on the evolution of enrolment rates in education. The paper argues that in the next decade or so, a transition to using African languages more at all levels of education will become unavoidable.Language Use in Past and Presen

Botswana as a decolonial bastion in Africa

This paper follows the analysis of Vansina in analyzing colonization as an attempt to destroy and replace Africa’s autonomous cultural systems. It shows that in Botswana, this has been only partially successful. Due to clever forms of resistance,Botswana has been able to keep part of its autonomy intact. This helps to explain the relative success the country has had. However, in the educational field, the country is now also one of the first to be confronted with the limitations that are inherent in the colonial education system. The paperargues that a gradual transition to using indigenous languages as a medium of instruction is practically possible and will become inescapable if the country wishes to reach the goals it has set for itself. In this, special attentionis needed for the speakers of Khoisan languages.Language Use in Past and Presen

Why is a gradual transition to Botswana’s languages in higher education necessary? How can it be achieved?

Where other authors have argued for the need for using indigenous languages ineducation in Botswana on human rights or efficiency grounds, this article argues for this need foreconomic reasons, in line with the country’s vision for 2036. Further increases in enrolment in highereducation will mean that the country’s education system is stretched beyond its capacities, as shownby benchmarking Botswana’s educational system against that of Estonia’s. A transition towardsindigenous languages is practical by using the proposed concepts of discerned and designedlanguages. However, it should be based on five key principles, which are introduced in the article.Based on a new discussion of ease and difficulty of language learning, these principles are appliedto the Botswanan situation. The article concludes that Setswana could be developed as a medium ofinstruction for the great majority of people in Botswana, but that a special position is justified for theKhoisan languages. The article ends by suggesting a number of concrete steps that should be takenover the coming years in order to make such a transition a practical possibility.Descriptive and Comparative Linguistic

The policy relevance of indigenous languages for higher education in Africa: a Ghanaian perspective

Now that the goal of universal primary education has been achieved in Ghana, the nation’s aim is to expand higher education as a key to development. We argue that this expansion will necessitate the gradual addition of Ghanaian languages as a medium of instruction. We innovatively explain why this is so by comparing the achievements of the Ghanaian education system with one of the best education systems in the world. We use the conceptual distinction between ‘discerned’ and ‘designed’ languages to discuss the problem of which languages to choose. We propose five scientific principles that could guide the introduction of Ghanaian languages and suggest concrete steps that could be taken over the coming years to make the transition practically possible. As such, we present a way of looking at using indigenous languages as a medium of instruction that has relevance for other African countries as well.Language Use in Past and Presen

Implementing indigenous languages in education in Francophone Africa: examining ways and means in Burkina Faso

Experiments with indigenous languages as medium of instruction have been ongoing in francophone Africa. These experiments have not been generalized to all schools by educational authorities and have been limited to the first few years of primary education. A more generalized approach to using indigenous languages as medium of instruction can contribute to improve the outcomes of education. However, when is such a development likely to occur and which languages should be chosen? This article explores these questions using the case of Burkina Faso as an example. We show that it will be practically possible to use a limited number of indigenous languages as medium of instruction, rather than all languages spoken in the country. In order to do so, we introduce an approximate assessment of which languages are easy to learn and to teach, for speakers of which other languages. We demonstrate that a gradual transition towards indigenous languages will become a necessity if the present trend of increased participation in education continues into the future. In order for this to happen, careful planning and preparation will be essential; we conclude with a brief examination of what such planning and preparation might consist of.Descriptive and Comparative Linguistic

Issues in introducing indigenous languages in higher education in Africa: the example of Nigeria

As the most populous African nation, with one of the most diverse, and problematic, ethnolinguistic profiles in the world, Nigeria provides a case study for the potential introduction of indigenous languages in (higher)education delivery in once colonised territories. We argue that increased enrolment in higher education will become necessary for Nigeria to attain its developmental goals. We then discuss the limits to what the Nigerian educational system can be expected to achieve using English as the medium of instruction. Once these limits are surpassed, the gradual addition of a limited number of Nigerian languages will become inevitable. We propose to make use of a distinction between languages as designed (or intellectualized) and languages as discerned, inspired by the terminology of ‘Ausbau’ and ‘Abstand’ languages as used by Kloss. The article briefly reviews the complex linguistic makeup of Nigeria and outlines a number of principles that could guide rational language choices in this area, such as ease of acquisition and inclusivity. It ends with suggesting a number of concrete steps that should be taken over the coming years in order to make the introduction of indigenous languages into higher education in Nigeria a practicalpossibility.Language Use in Past and Presen

Language of education and development in Africa: prospects for decolonisation and empowerment

The bulk of the book is based on papers presented during two virtual conferences hosted by the University of Leiden (Netherlands) in 2021. At the Africa Knows! Conference, a panel was devoted to ‘The language issue and knowledge communication in Africa.’ It was initiated by the Universities of Ilorin (Nigeria) and Chemnitz (Germany). The papers by Eleshin, Oloruntoba-Oju, Sanon-Ouattara, Van Pinxteren, and Zatolokina were all first presented at this panel, before being peer-reviewed for this volume. The central theme of the conference was the decolonization of Africa’s knowledge production and related processes. The second conference was the 10th World Congress on African Languages and Linguistics (WOCAL) in June, where a workshop took place under the auspices of the Edinburgh Circle on the Promotion of African Languages, entitled ‘Let’s turn to policy.’ The papers by Alfredo, Dissake, and Nguere and Smith were also first presented during this workshop before being peer-reviewed for this volume. In general, the position taken by the editors is that using indigenous languages in education can make an important contribution to national development as well as to personal empowerment. Africa is characterised in part by its continued use of former colonial languages in education. However, sixty years after independence, it seems high time to question this colonial heritage. In the context of global and digital communication today, old African values of multilingualism and culture-specific communicative strategies should not be neglected, but revalued and revived in new ways. We do not deny the importance of a good command of international languages. However, this should not be at the expense of indigenous languages. The introduction to the book argues that a transition towards increased use of African languages in formal domains will not only be necessary and practically possible, it will become inevitable. bookDescriptive and Comparative Linguistic