LINGUIST List 15.1863

Sat Jun 19 2004

Review: Sociolinguistics: Mazrui (2004)

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  • Brent Henderson, English in Africa: After the Cold War

    Message 1: English in Africa: After the Cold War

     Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2004 14:09:26 -0400 (EDT)
    From: Brent Henderson <bhendrsnuiuc.edu>
    Subject: English in Africa: After the Cold War


    AUTHOR: Mazrui, Alamin M. TITLE: English in Africa: After the Cold War SERIES: Multilingual Matters PUBLISHER: Multilingual Matters, Ltd. YEAR: 2004 Announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/15/15-458.html

    Brent Henderson, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

    SUMMARY

    Mazrui's book is a brief, opinionated essay concerning the reality of English use in Africa in the context of globalization and the post-colonial legacy. Assuming a general background knowledge of colonialism in Africa, Mazrui explores current trends of English expansion and contraction in Africa, its impact on the educational system, and its role in the quest for Pan-African unity and Afrocentric discourse. The goal of the book is to spark dialogue about the major issues involved in English use in Africa in its global context with the hope that progress can be made toward linguistic liberation.

    CONTENT

    The Introduction immediately dispels the common and simplistic notion that forces of globalization are forcing the spread of English at the direct expense of indigenous languages. The situation is much more complicated, and Mazrui believes that the marginalization of indigenous African languages (and their speakers) cannot be combated without a proper understanding of the issue involved. At the center of the situation is Africa's relatively weak linguistic nationalism as well as Africa's heavy political and educational dependence on imperial languages. The key question for Mazrui is whether or not English can be adopted to carry the weight of the African experience. If it can, efforts must be made to make it so. If it cannot, then indigenous African languages must be moved front-and- center in the dialogue of African issues. Mazrui states up front that this will be an opinionated essay, 'one way of seeing, one voice in the stadium of African voices.' (pg 10).

    In Chapter 1 Mazrui outlines six changes in the global political reality precipitated by the end of the Cold War, relating each to the spread of English as a global language:

    1. The increased Americanization of globalization has been a stimulus for the global spread of English.

    2. The fall of the USSR has increased competition between the US and European powers, leading to an increase of English infiltration into Francophone areas of Africa.

    3. The decline of the nation state has made it difficult for a country to impose its ideological will on its people, including language policy. Regional cooperation between countries is also increasing, resulting in an expansion of imperial language (or sometimes indigenous lingua francas) use.

    4. The construction of Islam as the West's 'Other' has stimulated a return to Arabic movement in Africa. But because people who speak Arabic are often considered 'ethnically Arab,' and because of English's ecumenical quality, the movement hasn't been widespread.

    5. The spread of pluralistic government encouraged by the US has led to a spread of English (as the language of liberation) as well as a refocus on local languages as 'ethno-nationalistic' trends have emerged.

    6. IMF and World Bank demands for a decrease in educational subsidies have made education in Africa a property of the rich elite. Since the elite know English well, this leads to further westernization of education in Africa and a growing rift between a westernized upper class and the masses.

    Mazrui's conclusion is that English provides a way for creating counter-hegemonic discourses, but also deepens Africa's intellectual dependency on the West. Indeed, this tension between adopting English as a tool of liberation and yet not being limited by the use of an imperial language is the central question of the book and Mazrui deals with it in a number of contexts.

    Chapter 2 explores the history and continued use of English and indigenous languages in the educational systems of Africa. Mazrui argues that the domination of English at the secondary and post-secondary levels has created an 'intellectual dependence' ' both in material and psychological terms ' on the West, and that this dependency cannot be separated from linguistic dependency. Because learning English happens through a formal system of Western-style education (inherited from the colonial legacy), one cannot learn English without adopting other aspects of Western culture as well.

    The chapter concludes with Mazrui's (1995) five processes of decolonization, adapted to become five imperatives for language and education policy in Africa:

    1. Indigenization: indigenous languages must be used more for instruction.

    2. Domestication: English must be Africanized, along with the Western school system.

    3. Diversification: African languages must respond to stimuli from languages other than just English and French.

    4/5. Horizontal inter-penetration and vertical counter- penetration: African languages and cultures must exert greater influence on Western cultures and on each other. A greater effort in translation would serve this objective.

    Part II of the book examines Africa in its global- historical context, taking into account aspects of the Diaspora. Mazrui argues that globalization has created a 'global apartheid' that may have created conditions for a renewed effort of Pan-Africanism. Chapter 2 highlights the crucial role played by English in facilitating the beginnings of the Pan-African movement, initiated by African-Americans whose only language was English. Though English has divided African-Americans and Africans, it was also adopted as the 'language of freedom' because the concepts of justice, freedom, and human rights were part of its cultural legacy. Mazrui points out, however, that while imperial languages may help introduce the concepts of rights, they are also impediments to these rights. The central tension mentioned above again rears its head: a balance must be struck between the question for unity among African peoples and the imperative of social justice realized by linguistic liberation. Moreover, Mazrui points out that a true Pan-Africanism cannot be centered on the common language of English alone, but must include Francophone and Lusophone peoples as well as those in the Caribbean and Arab nations.

    Mazrui argues that while English can be useful to create counter-hegemonic discourse, it can only be reactionary since it remains an imperial language. A wholly independent African perspective, he claims, must be accomplished through the use of indigenous languages. Given the dependence of the African elite on imperial languages right now, Mazrui claims that this possibility can only be realized through the African masses who are still tied closely to indigenous tongues.

    As to the possibility of a 'Black national language' (often suggested by groups concerned with African unity), Mazrui remains skeptical. Rather, he argues for the centering of indigenous languages in political life, complemented by an increased domestication of English and the incorporation of other global languages into the Pan- Africanist agenda, along with increased effort to penetrate the intellectual fortresses of the North while building bridges of cooperation in the South.

    Chapter four explores the relation of English to the recent rise of Afrocentricity. Afrocentricity is a view of the world which puts Africa at the center of global concerns and 'idealizes its role in human affairs' (pg 95). It is thus different from Pan-Africanism, defined as a quest for economic and political unity among African peoples. Afrocentrists have been actively engaged in the domestication of English, often employing terms and concepts from African languages to construct symbolic bridges within the language. Kiswahili has been the biggest source for this due to its success as an international language. In fact, Kiswahili has repeatedly been mentioned as a candidate for a Black national language, though little has ever been done to facilitate such a use. Mazrui spends a few pages examining the issues involved in such an adoption, outlining the debate about whether Islam and Arabic (to which Kiswahili is culturally and linguistically tied) are 'authentically' African.

    Mazrui concludes that Afrocentricity has not gone far enough in its domestication of English to free Afrocentric discourse in English from its reactive nature and from largely being a tool of the elite. Though much interesting work has been done, Afrocentricity has largely been an exercise of intellectuals and academics with little impact on the masses.

    The Conclusion of the book comes back to the two schools of thought that have created the chief conflicts of the essay: should African languages be shifted to the center of African life, or should efforts be concentrated on coming to terms with English as part of the Africa's reality and domesticating it to carry the weight of the African experience?

    Mazrui comes down on the side of African languages, arguing that the latter option of 'envoicing' English only takes place within the elite intellectual class. He points out that, historically, the true domestication of an imperial language has always been 'rooted in the broader struggles for a radically new social order.' He points to Algeria and Grenada as examples.

    EVALUATION

    Mazrui draws from an interesting array of sources including historical documents, scholarly works, and works by African literary figures, reflecting just how deeply this issue effects every aspect of African society. This essay is a perfect work for seminars or reading groups focused on globalization and language or decolonialization. Though opinionated, Mazrui covers the breadth of the issues involved and resists any unfair indictments of English as a tool of imperialism and nothing more. Indeed, in Chapter 3 Mazrui raises the question of whether a Pan-African movement, or indeed any movement toward African unity, would have been possible without English and other imperial languages. Though skeptical, Mazrui is open to the possibility that English could be domesticated enough to legitimately express African intellectual discourse, pointing to Ebonics and Nigerian English as possible examples. One criticism is possible here. Ultimately, Mazrui comes own on the side of African languages for two reasons stated above: 1) English could only be truly domesticated if this transformation were part of a radical social transformation, and 2) as a language principally confined to the elite, English cannot carry the voice of the masses. It seems to me, however, that if the 'global apartheid' described by Mazrui is recognized by the masses, then conditions could be right for (1) to take place, beginning with countries whose populations do employ some form of English as a lingua franca. In other words, a true domestication of English may not be entirely out of the question.

    Second, though it is certainly unfair to suggest gaps in an essay written for such a specific purpose, one area neglected by Mazrui involves the practicalities of language planning and policy. The ultimate conclusion of the essay is that indigenous African languages must be re-centered in African political life in order to create a legitimate independent intellectual discourse. Little attention is given, however, to the issues involved in accomplishing this goal. Should regional lingua francas be employed at the expense of smaller indigenous languages? Should indigenous languages used in the education system be local languages or more widely spoken indigenous tongues? Aside from reforming the educational system, how can wider use of African languages be encouraged? Mazrui, like many authors who write on this topic, point to the success linguistic nationalism of 'Swahilization' in Tanzania. However, Swahili was widely employed as a lingua franca in Tanzania before independence. Moreover, the highly fragmented ethno- linguistic landscape of the country meant that a lingua franca was necessary and allegiances to local languages were relatively weak. This has not been the case in Kenya, for example, where allegiances to larger languages (such as Gikuyu and Luo) are strong, creating resistance to the use of Swahili as a lingua franca despite its use in the education system. My point is simply that language policy cannot be decided based simply on political debate and then implemented like economic or health care policy can. The process of re-centering African languages in African political life is a complex task whose facets cannot be counted. While I am certain Mazrui is aware of the difficulties involved in language planning, his essay is content to leave those issues for policy makers to work out, expounding only the need for such reforms in the wider global political context.

    ABOUT THE REVIEWER

    Brent Henderson is a Ph.D. candidate in Linguistics at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Major research interests include minimalist morphology and syntax and the grammar of Bantu languages. Other professional interests include varying aspects of African linguistics; the political science of East Africa; the history and use of Kiswahili. He has taught Kiswahili at UIUC and studied at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.