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Language Use in Rwanda. Multilingualism in Public and Private Contexts.“

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Language Use in Rwanda. Multilingualism in Public and Private Contexts.“ DIPLOMARBEIT Titel der Diplomarbeit „Language use in Rwanda. Multilingualism in public and private contexts.“ Verfasserin Katrin Jordan angestrebter akademischer Grad Magistra (Mag.) Wien, 24. November 2013 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 057 390 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Individuelles Diplomstudium Internationale Entwicklung Betreuer: Univ. Prof. Dr. Walter Schicho Ubukana bw'ururimi buruta ubukana bw'ingabo. Rwanda uri nziza. Contents Acknowledgements..................................................................................................................... 7 1 Introduction............................................................................................................................. 9 1.1 Rwanda's trilingual language policy.................................................................................9 1.2 Research questions and sources...................................................................................11 1.3 Structure of this work..................................................................................................... 13 Theoretical Framework............................................................................................................. 16 2 Sociolinguistic approach.......................................................................................................17 2.1 Sociolinguistic methods and the issue of speech communities.....................................18 2.2 Repertoire, register and prestige...................................................................................19 2.3 Language attitudes – Accommodation theory and Lasswell's formula..........................21 3 Terminology........................................................................................................................... 25 3.1 Multilingualism .............................................................................................................. 25 3.1.1 First language versus second language.................................................................26 3.1.2 Lingua Franca versus vernacular language .........................................................29 3.1.3 Conclusion of chapter 3.1.1 and 3.1.2 ...................................................................32 3.1.4 Regional and social linguistic varieties...................................................................33 3.2 Official versus national language...................................................................................35 3.3 Endoglossic versus exoglossic......................................................................................37 4 Sociolinguistic key concepts – terminology and analysis......................................................38 4.1 Multilingualism versus Monolingualism..........................................................................39 4.1.1 Definitions of multilingualism..................................................................................41 4.1.2 Rwanda – multilingual or monolingual?..................................................................43 4.2 Bilingualism.................................................................................................................... 48 4.3 Diglossia – Charles Ferguson and Joshua Fishman.....................................................50 4.3.1 Diglossic situations.................................................................................................52 4.3.2 Diglossia according to Calvet – the importance of power relations........................54 4.4 Status and corpus – terminological and functional issues.............................................56 4.5 Code-switching ............................................................................................................. 59 4.6 Language contact.......................................................................................................... 64 4.7 Final remarks on the sociolinguistic key concepts.........................................................68 5 Language policy ................................................................................................................... 69 5.1 Language policy and language rights in South Africa....................................................71 5.2 Colonial influence .........................................................................................................74 5.2.1 Colonialism and language policy in the Democratic Republic of Congo ...............76 6 Conclusion of the Theoretical Framework ...........................................................................80 Rwanda – a sociolinguistic case study......................................................................................81 7 The Republic of Rwanda – an overview................................................................................81 7.1 Historical overview.........................................................................................................82 8 The sociolinguistic situation of Rwanda................................................................................86 8.1 Kinyarwanda.................................................................................................................. 86 8.2 French............................................................................................................................ 88 8.3 English........................................................................................................................... 90 8.4 Swahili (Kiswahili)..........................................................................................................91 8.5 Language competence and proficiency.........................................................................93 9 Language policy in Rwanda..................................................................................................96 9.1 Official status and use of languages..............................................................................96 9.2 Language use in media.................................................................................................99 9.3 Conclusion of Language use in official and informal domains.....................................102 9.4 Kinyarwanda in the current language policy................................................................102 9.5 English - language of instruction..................................................................................104 10 Reasons for the language shift..........................................................................................110 10.1 Language attitudes....................................................................................................110 10.2 The Role of France during the genocide ...................................................................111 10.3 The Commonwealth and the East African Community...............................................112 11 Conclusion......................................................................................................................... 115 12 Bibliography....................................................................................................................... 117 Appendix................................................................................................................................. 124 I. Abstract................................................................................................................................ 124 II. Zusammenfassung.............................................................................................................. 125 III. Curriculum Vitae................................................................................................................. 126 Acknowledgements The writing of this thesis has been a struggle, a constant up and down but now it is finally time to finish the last sentences, write the last words and close this chapter of my life. I had to break through obstacles like writer's block, deal with unavailable or inadequate sources, explore new scientific territory, develop new competencies, overcome my inner laziness, push myself beyond personal limits and try to regain motivation time and time again. At this point I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Walter Schicho for his valuable input and feedback, his helpful questions and assistance, and for always having a friendly ear, even on short notice. I could not have risen to the challenges of writing a thesis had it not been for my amazing friends and family who supported and encouraged me no matter what. For this I am deeply grateful. First and foremost I would like to thank my family CoNiSiMaRo for always being there for me, for giving me the support, time and space I needed, for rooting for me, putting up with my various moods, sharing my every sorrow, the endless moral support and for all the unconditional love you give me! For that and for many more things I love you very much! Thank you Papa, for caring and worrying (sometimes even too much) and for always reminding me of my strengths and that a mad moiselle can overcome any difficulties! Thank you Niklas, for being the greatest brother one could wish for! A special thanks to you, Mama, for spending endless hours of correcting, proof reading, revising and pondering on every single phrase with me, never loosing patience and always encouraging me! Merci Rodrigue, pour toujours être là pour moi, pour me remonter le morale, écouter mes soucis, ton soutien,
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