Perhaps the greatest barrier known to mankind is not a wall. Perhaps it is not a vast ocean ora tall mountain. Perhaps the greatest barrier is language--the tool that distinguishes humans from other animals, the tool that empowers people to transform the world. Language represents an indelible part of humans’ identities and achievements. Thus, people can incur irreparable damage that reverberates across the globe when they use language forcibly and corruptly to erase the very values it symbolizes.
Africa is the world’s most linguistically diverse continent, with over two thousand native languages spoken (Gazette). This linguistic diversity became a problem when slave trade began during the age of exploration and was further compounded when the Dutch, British, French, and Belgians colonized much of Africa during the age of imperialism. The languages spoken by these European superpowers came to symbolize the loss of freedom--Africans held captive on slave ships were forced to speak the Europeans’ languages, and they feared that their identities and their heritage would be lost along with their native languages (Survival). How does the issue of linguistic diversity impact education, politics, and development in Africa today? Language conflicts and barriers have consequences on Africa’s international image as well as on education and development on the continent.
Due to linguistic conflicts, many African cultures have been portrayed negatively and are in danger of being lost, and this is largely due to European influence. To start with, native Africans have many regional languages, which are barriers for their mutual communication. The Dutch and British colonists compounded this problem by introducing English and Afrikaans, which both rival each other and rival the native languages (Survival). Relative to the more “civilized” European languages, native African languages are viewed as uncouth and barbaric (Herald). This shows how European influence has complicated Africa’s linguistic conflicts, endangered many native languages, and caused African culture to gain a negative international portrayal.
The linguistic diversity in Africa also leads to barriers in education and development. For example, Senegal, a former French colony, has twenty codified national languages, and this presents a problem for education. Some argue that to be on par with the developed world, children should be educated in a monolingual French program. However, the Senegalese fear the loss of their native heritage and want to fund at least a bilingual education. This conflict, along with lack of funding to realize bilingual education, has created barriers in Senegal’s education system that do not optimize student achievement (Studies). In addition to education, linguistic conflicts also present barriers in development. The lack of a common language to unite Africa leads to a struggle to maximize development (Guardian). Because Africans neither have a common language among themselves nor have a common language with the rest of the world, there is great difficulty in optimizing education and consequently a challenge in maximizing development.
Linguistic diversity is one of the African continent’s most precious gems, yet due to the rapid modernization and development of the rest of the world, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Africans to preserve their multicultural and multilingual heritage while staying on par with the industrialized global landscape. Through colonialist, imperialist, and industrialist forces, the gem of African linguistic diversity has become disfigured. Should this conflict persist, the gem may never be restored to its once-pristine condition.
Works Cited
“African Languages Still Fighting to Be Heard.” Zimbabwe Herald, June 2016. Accessed Mar. 2017.
“Development's Language Barrier.” "The Guardian", The Guardian, 2005. Accessed Mar. 2017.
“Introduction to African Languages.” "Harvard University Gazette", Harvard University Gazette.
OpenScholar, n.d. Accessed March 2017.
“Language Education Policies in Senegal, Africa,” "Language Education Policy Studies," Languageeducationpolicy.org. INLEPS, n.d. Accessed March 2017.
“Language Policy and Oppression in South Africa.” "Cultural Survival", Cultural Survival, June
1982. Accessed March 2017.
My favorite part about your piece is the ongoing metaphor of using a gem to symbolize Africa's unique cultural diversity. My main take-away is that linguistic diversity is not a bad thing, but in today's world where theres is an increasing need to be connected internationally, it has weighed in more economic/political cons than pros. My follow up question would be, "How can Africa continue to preserve their linguistic diversity while also solving the problem of language barriers?"
ReplyDeleteI love the way you start your paper, talking about physical barriers. My main take-away is that there is a large divide between different groups of people due to language. My follow up question is how should people fix the language barrier between them?
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really cool topic you chose that must have been very fascinating to read and write about! I love the word choice because it makes the article have a more professional feel. Do you think there is a way to fix the language barrier?
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