Language Policy of Education and National Identity in Ethiopia

Language Policy of Education and National Identity in Ethiopia
Author: Yirgalem Alemu
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Total Pages: 123
Release: 2019-10-17
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3346038262

Academic Paper from the year 2019 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, , language: English, abstract: This work has attempted to give an overview of how the language policy of the different regimes in Ethiopia has contributed to the sense of national identity. Although language is not the only factor that consolidates or weakens national identity, it plays a significant role. It is with this mine that the book is written. Different language-related policies and documents of the imperial, military and EPRDF regimes were closely investigated. Sections and statements in the policy pertaining to language use were considered as units of analysis. Furthermore, empirical and theoretical literature written in areas of language policy and national identity were consulted. The autoher also included his personal experiences as a university instructor and informal meetings held with people in different walks of life. The evidence obtained from the sources mentioned above reflects that the language policy used in Ethiopia is highly polarized: ranging from one language to all to no language to all. That is, the regimes before EPRDF dictate one language to be used as a tool of communication to all Ethiopians. On the other hand, the EPRDF regime emphasized local language and culture without (practically) giving any room for national communication. Both approaches contribute little to national identity formation. This book recommends that Ethiopians need to learn from other multilingual countries about language planning. Ethnocentric thinking that assumes one’s own language as superior to the other’s language should be avoided. Politicians also need to abstain from politicizing language (identity) and using it as a means of mobilizing support. This book recommends that bilingual/ multilingual education contributes a lot to Ethiopian national identity formation.

Language Policy in Ethiopia

Language Policy in Ethiopia
Author: Mekonnen Alemu Gebre Yohannes
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2021-03-22
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3030639045

This book examines the interplay and tensions between hegemonic and counter-hegemonic language policy and processes in Tigray, a regional state of Ethiopia, in the period of pre- and post-1991. Viewing language use and language policy as dynamic social and ideological processes, the book presents Ethiopia as an example of language policy creation and implementation over time, in a highly volatile political context. The case of Ethiopia is unique in that different language policies and practices were put in place as the country’s leaders changed through political takeovers. Declared language policies were not always implemented, and those implemented were often protested. The book starts with an overview and review of language policy and planning, followed by a chapter on the history of such planning in Ethiopia. It then presents the methodology used for the study, and examines the appropriation of hegemonic LPP, patterns of resistance, schools and public sites as centers of resistance, and the emergence and development of specific patterns of language use in different regions of the country. The book ends with recommendations for future research, and draws the overall conclusion that since LPP is a dynamic and multilayered contextual process, official or de facto language policy is often undermined by overt or covert unofficial language policies, ideologies, mechanisms, and agents that result in different patterns of language use.

Languages in Africa

Languages in Africa
Author: Elizabeth C. Zsiga
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2015-03-03
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1626161534

People in many African communities live within a series of concentric circles when it comes to language. In a small group, a speaker uses an often unwritten and endangered mother tongue that is rarely used in school. A national indigenous language—written, widespread, sometimes used in school—surrounds it. An international language like French or English, a vestige of colonialism, carries prestige, is used in higher education, and promises mobility—and yet it will not be well known by its users. The essays in Languages in Africa explore the layers of African multilingualism as they affect language policy and education. Through case studies ranging across the continent, the contributors consider multilingualism in the classroom as well as in domains ranging from music and film to politics and figurative language. The contributors report on the widespread devaluing and even death of indigenous languages. They also investigate how poor teacher training leads to language-related failures in education. At the same time, they demonstrate that education in a mother tongue can work, linguists can use their expertise to provoke changes in language policies, and linguistic creativity thrives in these multilingual communities.

Language and National Identity in Africa

Language and National Identity in Africa
Author: Andrew Simpson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2008-02-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199286744

This book focuses on language, culture, and identity in nineteen countries in Africa. Leading specialists, mainly from Africa, describe national linguistic and political histories, assess the status of majority and minority languages, and consider the role of language in ethnic conflict.

Language and National Identity in Africa

Language and National Identity in Africa
Author: Andrew Simpson
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2008-02-07
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0191536814

This book focuses on language, culture, and national identity in Africa. Leading specialists examine countries in every part of the continent - Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Cameroon, Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanbia, South Africa, and the nations of the Horn, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia. Each chapter describes and examines the country's linguistic and political history and the relation of its languages to national, ethnic, and cultural identities, and assesses the relative status of majority and minority languages and the role of language in ethnic conflict. Of the book's authors, fifteen are from Africa and seven from Europe and the USA. Jargon-free, fully referenced, and illustrated with seventeen maps, this book will be of value to a wide range of readers in linguistics, politics, history, sociology, and anthropology. It will interest everyone wishing to understand the dynamic interactions between language and politics in Africa, in the past and now.

Language Policy and Identity Construction

Language Policy and Identity Construction
Author: Eric A. Anchimbe
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 277
Release: 2013-01-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027218730

The (dis)empowerment of languages through language policy in multilingual postcolonial communities often shapes speakers identification with these languages, their attitude towards other languages in the community, and their choices in interpersonal and intergroup communication. Focusing on the dynamics of Cameroon s multilingualism, this book contributes to current debates on the impact of politic language policy on daily language use in sociocultural and interpersonal interactions, multiple identity construction, indigenous language teaching and empowerment, the use of Cameroon Pidgin English in certain formal institutional domains initially dominated by the official languages, and linguistic patterns of social interaction for politeness, respect, and in-group bonding. Due to the multiple perspectives adopted, the book will be of interest to sociolinguists, applied linguists, pragmaticians, Afrikanists, and scholars of postcolonial linguistics."

Making Citizens in Africa

Making Citizens in Africa
Author: Lahra Smith
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2013-05-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1107035317

This book provides a study of contemporary politics in Ethiopia through an empirical focus on language policy, citizenship, ethnic identity, and gender. It is unique in its focus not only on the political institutions of Ethiopia and the history of the country but in that it studies these subjects at the intersection of both modern and historical time periods. In particular, it argues that meaningful citizenship, which is much more than the legal state of being a citizen, is a process of citizens and the state negotiating the practice of citizenship. Therefore, it puts the citizen back at the forefront of the process of expanding citizenship, suggesting the ways that citizens support, resist, and affect state policy on political rights.

On Results of the Reform in Ethiopia's Language and Education Policies

On Results of the Reform in Ethiopia's Language and Education Policies
Author: Catherine Griefenow-Mewis
Publisher: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2009
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9783447058841

This publication reflects the results of the Ethiopian education reform as well as the exceptional efforts that multiethnic Ethiopia undertakes in order to cope with the challenges arising from the population explosion. More than 55 per cent of the 77 million Ethiopians are under the age of 18 years. The great social and political changes started in Ethiopia at the beginning of the 1990s have resulted in the substitution of the educational system based on Amharic and English by one which uses a multilingual approach. According to the Ministry of Education 22 out of the 84 languages spoken in Ethiopia are now used as media of instruction in primary schools. The book presents the lectures delivered at the workshop "On the Results of the Reform in Ethiopia's Language and Education Policy" held at Addis Ababa University in April 2006 by Ethiopian education experts and a German research team. Their contribution has facilitated a subsumption into the historical context and has given insight into the analyses of the use of 8 Ethiopian languages in primary schools in different regions of the country.

Minority Languages and Multilingual Education

Minority Languages and Multilingual Education
Author: Durk Gorter
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2013-11-04
Genre: Education
ISBN: 940077317X

​This book presents research on the situation minority language schoolchildren face when they need to learn languages of international communication, in particular English. The book takes minority languages as a starting point and it bridges local and global perspectives in the analysis of multilingual education contexts. It examines the interaction of minority languages and cultures, majority languages and lingua franca-s in a variety of settings across different regions and countries on all continents. Even though all chapters in this book involve minority languages, the issues discussed are relevant to any context in which more than language is used in education. The book reveals challenges and opportunities of multilingual education by discussing issues such as Northern and Southern concepts, language education policies, language diversity, interethnic understanding, multimodal language practices, power, conflict, identity and prestige, among many others. “This is the volume that finally accounts for multilingual education from a truly multilingual perspective by involving proposals and research from a variety of multilingual speech communities in the world. The (linguistically) rich Ethiopia and Mexico can teach the poor Europe and other Northern countries about multilingual education. CLIL promoters may learn from Finnish Sámi and Canadian Innu and Mi’gmaq indigenous communities as well as from Basque results. Speakers and teachers of minority and international languages will certainly be glad to hear the news. There is no need for a monolingual bias or tunnel vision in acquiring English in non-English speaking communities. This volume includes new challenging pedagogical perspectives while pointing to interesting conclusions for worldwide educational authorities”. Maria Pilar Safont Jordà, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló, Spain

Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in Morocco

Multilingualism, Cultural Identity, and Education in Morocco
Author: Moha Ennaji
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2005-01-20
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780387239798

In this book, I attempt to show how colonial and postcolonial political forces have endeavoured to reconstruct the national identity of Morocco, on the basis of cultural representations and ideological constructions closely related to nationalist and ethnolinguistic trends. I discuss how the issue of language is at the centre of the current cultural and political debates in Morocco. The present book is an investigation of the ramifications of multilingualism for language choice patterns and attitudes among Moroccans. More importantly, the book assesses the roles played by linguistic and cultural factors in the development and evolution of Moroccan society. It also focuses on the impact of multilingualism on cultural authenticity and national identity. Having been involved in research on language and culture for many years, I am particularly interested in linguistic and cultural assimilation or alienation, and under what conditions it takes place, especially today that more and more Moroccans speak French and are influenced by Western social behaviour more than ever before. In the process, I provide the reader with an updated description of the different facets of language use, language maintenance and shift, and language attitudes, focusing on the linguistic situation whose analysis is often blurred by emotional reactions, ideological discourses, political biases, simplistic assessments, and ethnolinguistic identities.