My last post was on the controversy that English education is causing in Australia. It started to get me thinking about how an “English” education is approached in other countries. Then I discovered this article, written by Gwynne Dyer, titled The Unstoppable Rise of the English Language. Dyer writes about how Rwanda is forgoing French language education within the classroom and now opting for complete English immersion. This touches on a couple fascinating issues. One is that the Rwandan government is expelling a colonist language. In essence, this is the language of the oppressor, those who colonized their land, and much more recently, those who were partly responsible for the massacre of the Tutsi’s by the Hutus. Dyer states:
When the Hutu regime began murdering the minority Tutsis in industrial quantities in 1994, France did not abandon it. The French president at the time, Francois Mitterrand, is alleged to have remarked that “in such countries, genocide is not too important…”And a principal reason that France overlooked its Rwandan ally’s ghastly behaviour was that the Tutsi-led opposition in exile mostly spoke English, because its members had found refuge in English-speaking Uganda.
The English speaking government has begun to remove all touches of French influence and they have finally removed the language itself. This would have been impossible had French been the primary conversational language but it wasn’t, and as English was becoming the language of business and politics there was no room for French. Dyer writes:
. . . But can an African country just switch from one European language to another like that? It can if, like Rwanda, it only uses one language domestically. Almost all Rwandans, whether Hutu or Tutsi, speak Kinyarwanda, so they have no need for a lingua franca to communicate among themselves. Only those going into higher education or working with foreigners need any other language at all – which is why only eight per cent of Rwandans speak fluent French after all this time.
This is especially interesting to me because the school systems do not teach their most widespread language, instead opting for English, the language of world economics and politics. It is interesting for me to think about how the spread and control of language can have an influence on culture. I know that authors such as Chinua Achebe and Tsitsi Dangerembga have struggled with the choice of writing in their native African language or that of English. These colonial languages are those of the oppressor and are one of the most lasting marks of the colonial enterprise in Africa. It also seems to create a great divide between those who can and cannot speak English because without it, you cannot succeed in high levels of business. The legacy of imperialism within Africa can vividly be seen in language. There is a delicate balance of cultures in Africa and it makes me worry that by embracing the English language whole-heartedly they may be neglecting the great traditions in literature that occur in their native language.
Gwynne Dyer
Dailygleaner.com
Oct 20th, 2008
I found your article very interesting and relatable to the subject matter I am currently learning about in my anthropology class. In the class we were discussing how in some more remote African cultures people leave their homes to go into society to become educated and learn the main language of the society that as you stated through the article is the language used commonly in politics and the work place. I believe it is important for people to learn another language from their own, namely if it means being able to better communicate with outside cultures and further your education. I do agree with your point about people being able to study within their own culture and language and not losing that identity. It is important to maintain a balance so that the one culture is still perserved. As society is changing more rapidly it may be difficult to focus on the indivdual language of a society of people in the field of education, when the goal is for the overall learning of a more mainstream language. Overall I enjoyed your article and thought it raised many interesting points especially relating to my other class.
As a future teacher and probably future resident of the African continent, this blog post definitely interests me. I’ve talked to various friends from Africa and acquaintances that I met in Uganda about the fact that English seems to be taking over there, and issues that you mentioned in your post were raised. Does the spread of English overtake the cultural richness of the multitude of groups throughout the continent? I actually don’t think so….in fact, I think that it’s really great that many African countries are now effectively communicating with other countries throughout the world in order to build relationships and promote sustainable growth. I think that for far too long, many African countries have been hindered by others who have taken advantage of them, and even African governments themselves have taken advantage of citizens. I think that with the means to communicate using the fastest spreading language in the world, African countries are building closer relationships with others around the world…with or without governmental support. I believe that the many cultures throughout Africa are so intriguing, and I certainly don’t want to see them disappear. But I don’t think that they really will…even in Uganda, where nearly every billboard and sign was in English, I was surrounded by people who would speak to me in English and to others in their native languages, and it was awesome
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