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Towards a Multilingual Culture of Education Edited by Adama Ouane With the contributions of: Mohamed H. Abdulaziz, Efurosibina Adegbija, Dipta Bhog, Boubacar Diarra, Arame Diop Fal, Clifford N. Fyle, Malini Ghose, Utta von Gleich, Wolfgang Küper, Heike Niedrig, Pai Obanya, D.P. Pattanayak, Ekkehard Wolff The UNESCO Institute for Education, Hamburg, is a legally independent entity. While the Institute’s programmes are established along the lines laid down by the General Conference of UNESCO, the publications of the Institute are issued under its sole responsibility; UNESCO is not responsible for their contents. The points of view, selection of facts, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily coincide with official positions of the UNESCO Institute for Education, Hamburg. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the UNESCO Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country or territory, or its authorities, or concerning the delimitations of the frontiers of any country or territory. © UNESCO Institute for Education, 2003 ISBN 92 820 1131-3 translation into English: Colin Shearmur UNESCO Institute for Education Feldbrunnenstr. 58 $ 20148 Hamburg, Germany Tel.: (+49 40) 44 80 41-0 $ Fax: (+49 40) 410 77 23 [email protected] $ www.unesco.org/education/uie CONTENTS PART ONE: AN ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUES Preface - Adama Ouane ............................................................ -i- 1. Introduction: the view from inside the linguistic jail Adama Ouane ..................................................................... 1 2. Contributions to and its structure of the book Adama Ouane .................................................................... 15 3. Mother tongues: the problem of definition and the educational challenge - D.P. Pattanayak ......................................... 23 4. Multilingual contexts and their ethos D.P. Pattanayak .................................................................. 29 5. The discourse on mother tongues and national languages - Adama Ouane .......................................................... 35 6. The impossible debate about the use of mother tongues in education - Adama Ouane .................................................. 51 PART TWO: CASE STUDIES 87 7. The necessity of introducing mother tongues in education systems of developing countries Wolfgang Küper .................................................................. 89 8. The history of language policy in Africa with reference to language choice in education Mohamed H. Abdulaziz ........................................................... 103 9. Language policy and planning for basic education in Africa - Clifford N. Fyle ......................................................... 113 10. The place of languages in literacy and basic education programmes: an overview - Pai Obanya ....................................... 121 11. Language issues in literacy and basic education: the case of India - D. P. Pattanayak .................................................. 129 12. Language, orality and literacy: an experience of making the transition from orality to writing Malini Ghose and Dipta Bhog ...................................................... 139 13. Multilingualism and multiculturalism in Latin America: Matters of identity or obstacles to modernization - Utta von Gleich .................................................... 147 14. Central language issues in literacy and basic education: three mother tongue education experiments in Nigeria Efurosibina Adegbija ............................................................. 167 15. Choice and description of national languages with regard to their utility in literacy and education in Angola - Boubacar Diarra ....................................................... 183 16. The issue of language in democratization: the Niger experience in literacy and basic education Ekkehard Wolf .................................................................. 191 17. The language question in literacy teaching and basic education: The experience of Senegal - Arame Diop Fal .................................. 215 18. Multilingualism and school language policy in post-Apartheid South Africa - Heike Niedrig ........................................... 229 19. By way of conclusion: the normality of multilingualism and its political and educational implications Adama Ouane ................................................................... 249 APPENDICES 259 1. The language of Sub-Saharan Africa -i- 2. The languages of Africa: an annotated map -v- Classification of African languages -vi- 3. African community languages and their use in teaching -x- 4. Universal declaration of linguistic rights -xiii- List of contributors -xiv- PREFACE That the world of today is pluralistic, diverse and multi-faceted is an obvious fact that nobody would dispute. At the same time it is increasingly recognised that, alongside biodiversity, we need to preserve and value the diversity of our immaterial and intangible human heritage. There is here a certain contradiction. On the one hand we strive for simplicity and generality, looking assiduously for ways to reduce diversity and complexity. This striving for simple and general solutions is often based on genuine pragmatic considerations, and it is easy to perceive it as a freely chosen path. Despite legitimate questions and concerns, the search goes on for quick recipes and "one-size-fits-all" formulae that are supposedly context-free and non-culture-specific. But behind these apparently genuine and justifiable endeavours are hidden subtle attempts to control and maintain unequal power relations and a comfortable status quo. This book argues clearly against the failure to acknowledge the diversity of languages as normality. It sheds much light on the various discourses on language policy and the reality that they paint or fail to paint. It examines the carefully worded and subtle justifications, often backed up by sophisticated arguments and explanations that reduce complex situations to universal formulae, and it shows how the resulting policies deny and shy away from complexity and diversity in preference for so-called universal, affordable, conflict-free solutions that are also said to be merit- and value-based. Cohesion, simplicity and affordability are given priority, when what is really called for is an approach that takes complexity and diversity into account. Diversity is seen by UNESCO as a cornerstone of social, cultural and political well-being. In the linguistic realm it is of special importance, given that languages are an integral part of humanity’s intangible heritage. As forcefully expressed by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director General of UNESCO, in his message on the occasion of the celebration of International Mother Language Day (21 February 2003): "Ylanguages constitute an irreducible expression of human creativity in all its diversity. Tools of communication, perception and reflection, they also shape the way we view the world and provide a link between past, present and future." Living diversity means much more than simply managing it, and the present book does not simply deal with language preservation. It is not merely another appeal to protect all languages, especially the endangered ones. Rather, it addresses the practical questions and real situations that arise when different languages are in contact or in conflict. It exposes certain covert arguments and fallacies without shying away from addressing the underlying political, linguistic, psycho-social, relational and communicative dimensions of the issue. -ii- The essential question raised in this book is: if multilingualism is normal, why are language policies constructed on the basis of monolingualism? Exploring multilingual contexts in more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, the book addresses multilingualism as an existing construct, which is mutually enriching but also fraught with power-related, socio-cultural, ethnic, techno-linguistic and educational problems. Education is perceived as the terrain par excellence where language-related inequalities and discrimination are manifested. This book is an attempt to show how multilingualism is lived and practised. It also explains how, under severe circumstances and oppressive conditions, individuals, communities, societies and nations are inventing new ways of reconciling their communication needs and requirements with their ethnic and linguistic loyalties and identities. On the one hand, it argues and warns against the trap posed by over- simplistic universalist approaches, and rejects the tendency to view monolingualism as the ideal, unifying and integrating modality. On the other hand, it finds no comfort in ghettoes founded on particularism. It sees a more positive future in the naturally structured communicative sphere and the naturally acquired multilingualism found in many African societies. This modality is analysed, its pros and cons examined, and various ways of building on it are explored. Many concrete experiences are described, illustrating a wide range of innovative and culturally senstitive approaches. Many scholars and experienced activists have contributed to this publication. Besides the contributors themselves and those mentioned in the various chapters, many, many others have offered their deep insights and knowledge as well as their creative efforts to promote