_____________________________________________________________ School of Literature and Language Studies Department of linguistics Assessing the Introduction of Angolan Indigenous Languages in the Educational System in Luanda: A Language Policy Perspective António Filipe Augusto Research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Linguistics Supervisor: Professor Tommaso M. Milani Johannesburg, January 2012 Declaration I, António Filipe Augusto, declare that this is my original work. It has never been submitted before for any degree or examination at any other university. Iam submitting it for the degree ofMasters of Arts in Linguistics at the University ofthe Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. ",ht+ec~.)o V"4~ 1"/ (Name of the candidate) 25 day of ct2ej.&42 -eL' 2011 ". Dedication In the memory of Zeferina Lídia Costa and Isabel Fernandes de Sá You decided to leave this world while I was away from home. We were not able to say goodbye. You should have known how I miss you. You will always be in my mind. May your souls rest in the peace of the Lord. i Acknowledgements Almighty God, heavenly King and Father, I give You thanks for providing me with hope, perseverance, patience and faith every single minute of my life, for without these virtues neither this course, nor the research report would have been completed. I address my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Professor Tommaso M. Milani for his magnificent support and patience throughout the whole process that has led to the completion of this research report. His critical comments and professional advice have shed light and introduced me into the inner world of language ideology and critical discourse analysis. My deepest gratitude is extensive to Jacob Mati for his immeasurable contribution and support he has provided me with by generously reading and providing me with feedback throughout the whole writing process. I would like to address my special thanks to Dr Daniel Mingas for his constant encouragement and initial support. These special thanks are extensive to Dr Zavoni Ntondo for the policy documents and other data he provided me. And to Moisés Mota and Mbiavanga Fernando for their first contact with Wits Linguistic Department on my behalf and to my colleague Celeste Sambeny for accepting to take my responsibility as Head of English office while I was away. I appreciate the financial support from Instituto Nacional de Bolsas de Estudo (INABE), the governmental institution that deals with scholarship related matters, and the Angolan government’s plan of allocating funds for scholarship. I am greatly indebted to my children Estácio Augusto, Agnela Augusto, Jardel Augusto, Lionel Augusto, Etiandra Augusto and Délcio Augusto for their understanding for being left without their father’s care throughout the whole period of my study. This is extends to my parents Augusto Fernando and Jacinta Rosa and all my brothers and sisters, particularly my younger brother Agostinho Fernando, for their encouragement and taking part of my responsibility while I have been away from home. Special thanks are addressed to my special friend Marinela Queiróz for all her kind and unconditional support she has provided me. ii I am also thankful to Dr Diyangi D. Nkama for first appreciation of the research theme and encouragement to carry on with the study and my friends Pedro Miguel and Tomás Pequeno for their support in providing me with some sources of data. Finally, I would like to address many thanks to everyone who direct or indirectly has contributed for the completion of this report, as I cannot recall and write all their names. Included here are all my research participants. iii Tables Table 1 - SADC estimated number of languages Table 2 - Chronological table of language policy events in the post-colonial Angola Table 3 - Participants’ sociological profiles iv Figures Figure 1 - Ethnic groups of Angola Figure 2 - Luanda, the capital city of Angola – The research site Figure 3 - Semiotic resource from article 1 v Abstract The aim of this study was to find out the agenda behind language policy in Angola, and in particular it assesses the introduction of the Angolan indigenous languages in the Angolan educational system in Luanda and why the chosen languages and not others, as well as providing my contribution as a teacher and researcher in the matters of educational language policy. To do so, it analysed two most relevant policy documents that provides legal support to the policy and three newspaper articles that reacted to this issue. A broad review of literature on the impact of colonial and post-colonial language ideologies in the country, including the historicity of the policy makers was done. Qualitative research tools were used to gather and analyse the data. Fifteen interviews and questionnaires were conducted to gather the views of grassroots and the policy implementers. This research was the first study in this field in Angola. The study found that Kimbundu is being also being used as a medium of instruction in Luanda where children have Portuguese as their first language which is the opposite of what the policy UNESCO’s persuasive campaign for mother-tongue education and the government claims was happening. Furthermore, the research established that there is a parallel between the Angolan colonial and post-colonial language policies. Therefore, I conclude that by doing the inverse there is a government hidden agenda behind the policy which is to preserve Portuguese colonial language ideology and maintain social discrimination on the basis of language. Hence, I recommended that the government reviewed the whole set of strategies applied to implement the policy by using more inclusive practices. vi Contents Declaration ....................................................................................................................................... ......i Dedication ............................................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................................... iii Tables .................................................................................................................................................... v Figures ................................................................................................................................................. vi Abstract ............................................................................................................................................... vii Contents ............................................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1 - Introduction ...................................................................... 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Pre-colonial era ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2. 2. 2. Colonial era ..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2. 2. 3. Post-colonial Angola ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Chapter 3 - Research Methodology ..................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Introduction ........................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 3. 1. Research Site .............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 3. 2. Research participants ................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 3. 2. 1. Institutional Participants ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 3. 2. 2. Participants ..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. vii 3. 3. Methods of Data Collection ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 3. 3. 1. Textual/document analysis .............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 3. 3. 2. Interviews ........................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 3. 3. 3. Questionnaire .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 3. 4. Methods of data analysis