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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

Email perso :  mvsangare@yahoo.fr

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 blackCheick 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. 


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