THEME : LES LANGUES LOCALES
ET L’IDENTITE AFRICAINE
LOCAL LANGUAGES AND AFRICAN IDENTITY
Par Mr.
Mahamadou Sangare
ߒߞߏ ߡߊߟߌ߫ ߡߊ߬ߟߌ ߡߊ߬ߟߌ߬ߓߊ
Professeur Principal
Mathématiques/Informatique/N’Ko
Lycée Monseigneur de Montclos de Sikasso
BP. : 114 ; Sikasso – Tél. +223 620 214
Rép. MALI
1 fr.
2 fr.
3 eng.
N'ko Maliba la
Conférence du Caire du 17 au
18 avril 2004
LANGUAGE AND POLICY IN AFRICA
THEME 1 : LANGUAGE AND IDEOLOGY
SOUS
THEME 1 :
AFRICAN IDENTITY IN THE LIGHT OF MULTILANGUAGE
The AFRICAN IDENTITY TO THE LIGHT OF
MULTILINGUALISM
I
would start my exposition with the answer given by Seydou Badian
to the question
« How do you see the relationship language-culture?
»
« The language is certainly the pillar of the culture.
By the language, we have what the past let us like message and what the
present composes for us. It is the language that binds us, and it is her
that founds our identity. It is an essential element and without the
language there is not a culture. The language helps us to all to
interpret. »
The linguistic diversity is a cultural wealth for a
people given each community that composes it where brings its part of
values in its practices, its concepts, its reflections, its beliefs, its
art… through their language of communication.
The unit African is again today founded on the common
cultural parameters to Africans who are, among others:
« The orality of the civilization, the color of skin in
spite of nuances, the matriarchy, the polygamy, the practice of the
previous circumcision to the Islam. » MR. Wade
The hospitality is the own of the traditional Africa.
The problem of our cultural identity can not be actually
solved to the means of the linguistic difference exacerbation,
phenomenon that predisposes to skids tribalism and ethnocentrism more
that to the national conscience. The cultural identity is the expression
of this conscience; the common language is the vector of it. Daniel
Tchapda Piameu
The language is the foundation of this vision of
Cheick Hamidou Kane in the ambiguous adventure that said; I mention:
« Every hour that passes brings a supplement of
ignition to the crucible where merges himself the world. We didn't even
have the past, you and us, but we will have the same future, rigorously.
The singular destiny era is by gone. In this sense, the end of the world
arrived well for each of us, because no one can live the alone
perseveration of one more.»
«… It existed an African cultural unit, unit that one
identifies by the means of the negro-African that would be the original
negro-African language of which would be descended all other languages
of the Africa black.» Cheick Anta Diop
The cultural identity that we search for in Africa is
first a political will question.
Africa can permit itself more to not continue its path
with leaders or can prepare badly to assume their loads. Most our
problems come of this human failing. Oléségun Obasanjo in 1988
The exclusive use of the maternal languages and their
respective alphabet takes to the fold of one in term of knowledge (scientific)
and cuts us of the remainder of the world. We must make there greatly
attention.
On the land, it is necessary to analyze the linguistic
and cultural contents of words as they are written and as they are
defined by populations to clear the scientific concepts of it. Our local
languages will become real tools of communication, of education and
therefore of development.
The problem of the recon quest of our historic
personality and therefore our cultural identity would be the foundation
of the question of reforms our educational systems in peril.
It is some thus because the school is the vehicle most
efficient of values and the most effective fashion of their
transmission. For the need of this reason a reforms deep of the school
imposes it.
The poverty, the hunger and the other avatars of our
history are rather obstacles to our bursting, of obstacles that we must
fight decidedly and of responsible manner so that occurs Africa of which
we dream. We must be able to extricate our culture (our languages) means
to fight these curses that are not a fatality as one.
The French language in situation of adoption as national
language in France was not the unique existing local language. It
emerged by political will endow France of a national communication
language. It was some in the same way of all European national languages.
A language doesn't need to be African origin to express
the African culture. Besides today the historiographies of all African
languages enough clearly shows that their contact with the other peoples
of the world enriched them of phonemes and new linguistic turns.