THE LANGUAGE DEBATE IN CAPE VERDE A thesis presented to the faculty of the Center for International Studies of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Patrick J. Coonan June 2007 This thesis entitled THE LANGUAGE DEBATE IN CAPE VERDE by PATRICK J. COONAN has been approved for the Center for International Studies by __________________________________________________ Ann R. Tickamyer Professor of Sociology and Anthropology __________________________________________________ Drew McDaniel Interim Director, Center for International Studies Abstract COONAN, PATRICK J., M.A., June 2007, International Development Studies THE LANGUAGE DEBATE IN CAPE VERDE (138 pp.) Director of Thesis: Ann R. Tickamyer In many countries around the world, controversy surrounds state policy on language. The West African archipelago of Cape Verde is no exception. Ever since the country’s independence from Portugal in 1975, a movement of bilingual Cape Verdeans has spearheaded planning efforts for the national language (Cape Verdean Creole) in an attempt to build the case for making that language the country’s co-official language. Nevertheless, these individuals face resistance from other Cape Verdeans who view the project as an attempt to marginalize the current official language (Portuguese) and/or certain regional dialects of Cape Verdean Creole. This study looks at texts taken from the discourse of language policy in Cape Verde in order to identify the language ideologies, i.e. “sets of beliefs about language articulated by users as a rationalization or justification of perceived language structure or use” (Silverstein, 1979, p.497), that Cape Verdeans use to support or to resist certain language policy and planning options. In particular, the study examines how Cape Verdeans use beliefs about the connection between language and development and beliefs about the link between language and nation to rationalize their support of or opposition to the officialization, standardization, and graphization of Cape Verdean Creole. The study covers a period of recent upsurge in the language debate that commenced when the Cape Verdean linguist Dr. Manuel Veiga was sworn in as Cape Verde’s Minister of Culture in January of 2005. It suggests that even though language ideologies alone cannot determine the course of language policy, individuals and groups engaged in a language debate often use them with the intention of garnering support for their own approach to language policy and planning or generating resistance to the approaches of their opponents. Approved: ______________________________________________________________ Ann R. Tickamyer Professor of Sociology and Anthropology Acknowledgements I would like to thank my committee members, Ann Tickamyer, Beverly Flanigan, and Ghirmai Negash, for their support and advice throughout the writing of this thesis. Their encouragement helped me to push through the difficult times. I would also like to thank Peter Githinji for his advice during the early stages of this thesis. He provided me with extremely useful feedback that helped me to plot the course of this study. Thank you all! 6 Table of Contents Page Abstract ...............................................................................................................................3 Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................5 List of Tables.......................................................................................................................7 Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................8 Background: Cape Verde.............................................................................................. 12 Diglossia .......................................................................................................................30 Chapter 2: Language Policy, Language Planning, Language Ideologies.........................34 Language Policy and Planning...................................................................................... 36 Language Policy and Ideology...................................................................................... 44 Chapter 3: Methodology...................................................................................................59 Locating Ideologies....................................................................................................... 60 Description of Data and Collection Procedures............................................................ 62 Chapter 4: Language Policy and Development in Cape Verde........................................69 Language and Development ......................................................................................... 70 Crioulo as a Medium of Instruction.............................................................................. 77 Crioulo in the Instruction of the Portuguese language.................................................. 84 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 86 Chapter 5: Language Policy and Nationalism – Standardization.....................................88 The National Level – Portuguese and Crioulo in Standardization ............................... 89 The Regional Level – Inter-island Variation and Standardization ............................. 101 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 108 Chapter 6: Language Policy and Nationalism – Graphization.......................................110 Selection of an Orthography ....................................................................................... 110 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 120 Chapter 7: Conclusion....................................................................................................122 Consensus Building .................................................................................................... 126 References .......................................................................................................................132 Appendix: Interview Diagram.........................................................................................138 7 List of Tables Table Page 1. Personal Communications...........................................................................................64 2. Graphemes used in Cape Verdean Alphabets...........................................................118 8 Chapter 1: Introduction In his structural description of the Cape Verdean language published over twenty years ago, Cape Verdean linguist Manuel Veiga opened his book with these words written in Crioulo1: For you, Cape Verde my homeland For you, Cape Verdeans my people For you, mommy my mother For all of you in this gesture of love A part of myself A completeness for us all (Veiga, 1982, p.5) Veiga’s words resonate with pride in his identity as a Cape Verdean and as a speaker of Crioulo2. This same pride can be found in Cape Verdean communities across the planet. Perhaps it is no surprise that it is also present in state discourse on language policy. Still, it remains unclear exactly what role nationalism plays in the language debate in Cape Verde. An equally salient theme in the country’s language debate is the connection between language policy and development. Take, for example, a rather lengthy quote from Veiga’s most recent book, The Construction of Bilingualism: At the dawn of a new millennium, the vision pursued for our development is that of Cape Verde transformed for the participation of all of its children; a Cape Verde where progress is not conceived solely in economic terms, but in a perspective of quality of life, justice, equity and respect for human rights, whether linguistic or civic; a Cape Verde with a favorable context for integrated development, for the preservation of identity, for the exercise of citizenship and for intercultural dialogue. (Veiga, 2004, p.92) 1 All translations are mine unless noted otherwise. 2 Throughout this paper, I refer to the Cape Verdean language as Crioulo, Cape Verdean Creole, or, CVC. 9 Veiga clearly adheres to a notion of development that transcends mere economic growth and assigns a key role to the Cape Verdean language. As we shall see, concerns of development come to play an important role in the language debate as well. Minister Veiga is at the forefront of a movement that aims to establish Cape Verdean Creole (CVC) as the co-official language of this West African archipelago. When Cape Verde achieved independence from Portugal in 1975, it retained Portuguese as the official language while honoring Crioulo as the national language. Those that advocate the latter’s officialization argue that maintaining CVC in a subordinate position to Portuguese has led to adverse psychological, educational, and economic outcomes for the country. They hope that the upgrading of Crioulo’s status will resolve what they see as the negative repercussions of the current situation. Veiga assures Cape Verdeans that such a move, which would be accomplished through a constitutional revision or a legal decree, would not threaten the position of Portuguese in Cape Verdean society (Veiga, 2004). On the contrary, Portuguese would maintain