Language Planning and Policy in Africa, Vol 1: Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique 9781853597268

Citation preview

CILP

Language Planning and Policy in Africa, Vol. 1

LANGUAGE PLANNING AND POLICY Series Editors: Dr Richard B. Baldauf Jr., University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia and Professor Robert B. Kaplan, University of Southern California, USA Other Books of Interest Beyond Boundaries: Language and Identity in Contemporary Europe Paul Gubbins and Mike Holt (eds) Bilingualism: Beyond Basic Principles Jean-Marc Dewaele, Alex Housen and Li Wei (eds) Bilingualism and Social Relations: Turkish Speakers in North Western Europe J. Normann Jorgensen (ed.) Can Threatened Languages be Saved? Joshua Fishman (ed.) A Dynamic Model of Multilingualism Philip Herdina and Ulrike Jessner English in Africa: After the Cold War Alamin M. Mazrui Language and Society in a Changing Italy Arturo Tosi Language Attitudes in Sub-Saharan Africa Efurosibina Adegbija Language Planning in Malawi, Mozambique and the Philippines Robert B. Kaplan and Richard B. Baldauf, Jr. (eds) Language Planning in Nepal, Taiwan and Sweden Richard B. Baldauf, Jr. and Robert B. Kaplan (eds) Language Planning: From Practice to Theory Robert B. Kaplan and Richard B. Baldauf, Jr. (eds) Linguistic Minorities in Central and Eastern Europe Christina Bratt Paulston and Donald Peckham (eds) Medium or Message? Language and Faith in Ethnic Churches Anya Woods Motivation in Language Planning and Language Policy Dennis Ager Multilingualism in Spain M. Teresa Turell (ed.) Negotiating of Identities in Multilingual Contexts Aneta Pavlenko and Adrian Blackledge (eds) New Language Bearings in Africa: A Fresh Quest Margaret Jepkirui Muthwii and Angelina Nduku Kioko (eds) Quebec’s Aboriginal Languages Jacques Maurais (ed.) The Other Languages of Europe Guus Extra and Durk Gorter (eds) Understanding Deaf Culture: In Search of Deafhood Paddy Ladd Where East Looks West: Success in English in Goa and on the Konkan Coast Dennis Kurzon

Please contact us for the latest book information: Multilingual Matters, Frankfurt Lodge, Clevedon Hall, Victoria Road, Clevedon, BS21 7HH, England http://www.multilingual-matters.com

LANGUAGE PLANNING AND POLICY

Language Planning and Policy in Africa, Vol. 1 Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa Edited by

Richard B. Baldauf, Jr and Robert B. Kaplan

MULTILINGUAL MATTERS LTD Clevedon • Buffalo • Toronto

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Language Planning and Policy in Africa. Vol. 1, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa/Edited by Richard B. Baldauf Jr and Robert B. Kaplan. Language Planning and Policy. 1. Language planning–Africa, Southern. I. Baldauf, Richard B. II. Kaplan, Robert B. III. Series. P40.5.L352A3485 2004 306.44'968–dc22 2004012872 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 1-85359-752-2 (hbk) Multilingual Matters Ltd UK: Frankfurt Lodge, Clevedon Hall, Victoria Road, Clevedon BS21 7HH. USA: UTP, 2250 Military Road, Tonawanda, NY 14150, USA. Canada: UTP, 5201 Dufferin Street, North York, Ontario M3H 5T8, Canada. Copyright © 2004 Richard B. Baldauf Jr, Robert B. Kaplan and the authors of individual chapters. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed and bound in Great Britain by the Cromwell Press Ltd.

Contents Series Overview

1

Language Policy and Planning in Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa: Some Common Issues Richard B. Baldauf Jr and Robert B. Kaplan The Language Situation in Botswana Lydia Nyati-Ramahobo The Language Planning Situation in Malawi Edrinnie Kayambazinthu

5 21 79

The Language Situation in Mozambique Armando Jorge Lopes

150

The Language Planning Situation in South Africa Nkonko M. Kamwangamalu

197

Biographical Notes on Contributors

282

v

CILP

Series Overview Since 1998 when the first polity studies on Language Policy and Planning – addressing the language situation in a particular polity – were published in the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 15 studies have been published there and since 1990 in Current Issues in Language Planning. These studies have all addressed, to a greater or lesser extent, 22 common questions or issues (Appendix A), thus giving them some degree of consistency. However, we are keenly aware that these studies have been published in the order in which they were completed. While such an arrangement is reasonable for journal publication, the result does not serve the needs of area specialists nor are the various monographs easily accessible to the wider public. As the number of available polity studies has grown, we have planned to update (where necessary) and republish these studies in coherent areal volumes. The first such volume is concerned with Africa, both because a significant number of studies has become available and because Africa constitutes an area that is significantly under-represented in the language planning literature and yet is marked by extremely interesting language policy and planning issues. In this first areal volume, we are reprinting four polity studies – Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa – as Areal Volume 1: Language Planning in Africa: Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa. We hope that this first areal volume will better serve the needs of specialists. It is our intent to publish other areal volumes subsequently as sufficient studies are completed. We will do so in the hope that such volumes will be of interest to areal scholars and others interested in language policies and language planning in geographically coherent regions. The areas in which we are planning to produce future volumes, and some of the polities which may be included are: • Africa (2), including Burundi and Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Tunisia, Zimbabwe; • Asia, including Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan; • Europe (1), including Finland, Hungary and Sweden (in press); • Europe (2), including the Czech Republic, the European Union, Ireland, Italy, Malta, and Northern Ireland; • Latin America, including Ecuador, Mexico and Paraguay; and • Pacific Basin, including Vanuatu and Fiji; In the mean time, we will continue to bring out Current Issues in Language Planning, adding to the list of polities available for inclusion in areal volumes. At this point, we cannot predict the intervals over which such volumes will appear, since those intervals will be defined by the ability of contributors to complete work on already contracted polity studies.

Assumptions Relating to Polity Studies There are a number of assumptions that we have made about the nature of language policy and planning that have influenced the nature of the studies presented. First, we do not believe that there is, yet, a broader and more coherent 1 Series Overview

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

2

paradigm to address the complex questions of language policy/planning development. On the other hand, we do believe that the collection of a large body of more or less comparable data and the careful analysis of that data will give rise to a better paradigm. Therefore, in soliciting the polity studies, we have asked each of the contributors to address some two dozen questions (to the extent that such questions were pertinent to each particular polity); the questions were offered as suggestions of topics that might be covered. (See Appendix A.) Some contributors have followed the questions rather closely; others have been more independent in approaching the task. It should be obvious that, in framing those questions, we were moving from a perhaps inchoate notion of an underlying theory. The reality that our notion was inchoate becomes clear in each of the polity studies. Second, we have sought to find authors who had an intimate involvement with the language planning and policy decisions made in the polity they were writing about; i.e. we were looking for insider knowledge and perspectives about the polities. However, as insiders are part of the process, they may find it difficult to take the part of the ‘other’ – to be critical of that process. But it is not necessary or even appropriate that they should be – this can be left to others. As Pennycook (1998: 126) argues: One of the lessons we need to draw from this account of colonial language policy (i.e. Hong Kong) is that, in order to make sense of language policies we need to understand both their location historically and their location contextually. What I mean by this is that we can not assume that the promotion of local languages instead of a dominant language, or the promotion of a dominant language at the expense of a local language, are in themselves good or bad. Too often we view these things through the lenses of liberalism, pluralism or anti-imperialism, without understanding the actual location of such policies. While some authors do take a critical stance, or one based on a theoretical approach to the data, many of the studies are primarily descriptive, bringing together and revealing, we hope, the nature of the language development experience in the particular polity. We believe this is a valuable contribution to the theory/paradigm development of the field. As interesting and challenging as it may be to provide a priori descriptions of the nature of the field (e.g. language management, language rights, linguistic imperialism) based on partial data – nor have we been completely immune from this ourselves (e.g. Kaplan & Baldauf, 2003: Chapter 12), we believe the development of a sufficient data base is an important prerequisite for paradigm development.

An Invitation to Contribute We welcome additional polity contributions. Our views on a number of the issues can be found in Kaplan and Baldauf (1997); sample polity monographs have appeared in the extant issues of Current Issues in Language Planning. Interested authors should contact the editors, present a proposal for a monograph, and provide a sample list of references. It is also useful to provide a brief biographical note, indicating any personal involvement in language planning activities in the polity proposed for study as well as any relevant research/publi-

Series Overview

3

cation in LPP. All contributions should, of course, be original, unpublished works. We expect to work with contributors during the preparation of monographs. All monographs will, of course, be reviewed for quality, completeness, accuracy, and style. Experience suggests that co-authored contributions may be very successful, but we want to stress that we are seeking a unified monograph on the polity, not an edited compilation of various authors’ efforts. Questions may be addressed to either of us. Richard B. Baldauf, Jr. ([email protected] Robert B. Kaplan ([email protected]) References Kaplan, R.B. and Baldauf, R.B., Jr. (2003) Language and Language-in-Education Planning in the Pacific Basin. Dordrecht: Kluwer. Kaplan, R.B. and Baldauf, R.B., Jr. (1997) Language Planning from Practice to Theory. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Pennycook, A. (1998) English and the Discourses of Colonialism. London and New York: Routledge.

Appendix A Part I: The Language Profile of ... (1) Name and briefly describe the national/official language(s) (de jure or de facto). (2) Name and describe the major minority language(s). (3) Name and describe the lessor minority language(s) (include ‘dialects’, pidgins, creoles and other important aspects of language variation); the definition of minority language/dialect/pidgin will need to be discussed in terms of the sociolinguistic context. (4) Name and describe the major religious language(s); in some polities religious languages and/or missionary policies have had a major impact on the language situation and provide de facto language planning. In some contexts religion has been a vehicle for introducing exogenous languages while in other cases it has served to promote indigenous languages. (5) Name and describe the major language(s) of literacy, assuming that it is/they are not one of those described above. (6) Provide a table indicating the number of speakers of each of the above languages, what percentage of the population they constitute and whether those speakers are largely urban or rural. (7) Where appropriate, provide a map(s) showing the distribution of speakers, key cities and other features referenced in the text. Part II: Language Spread (8) Specify which languages are taught through the educational system, to whom they are taught, when they are taught and for how long they are taught. (9) Discuss the objectives of language education and the methods of assessment to determine that the objectives are met. (10) To the extent possible, trace the historical development of the policies/practices identified in items 8 and 9 (may be integrated with 8/9).

4

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

(11) Name and discuss the major media language(s) and the distribution of media by socio-economic class, ethnic group, urban/rural distinction (including the historical context where possible). For minority language, note the extent that any literature is (has been) available in the language. (12) How has immigration effected language distribution and what measures are in place to cater for learning the national language(s) and/or to support the use of immigrant languages. Part III: Language Policy and Planning (13) Describe any language planning legislation, policy or implementation that is currently in place. (14) Describe any literacy planning legislation, policy or implementation that is currently in place. (15) To the extent possible, trace the historical development of the policies/practices identified in items 13 and 14 (may be integrated with these items). (16) Describe and discuss any language planning agencies/organisations operating in the polity (both formal and informal). (17) Describe and discuss any regional/international influences affecting language planning and policy in the polity (include any external language promotion efforts). (18) To the extent possible, trace the historical development of the policies/practices identified in items 16 and 17 (may be integrated with these items). Part IV: Language Maintenance and Prospects (19) Describe and discuss intergenerational transmission of the major language(s); (is this changing over time?). (20) Describe and discuss the probabilities of language death among any of the languages/language varieties in the polity, any language revival efforts as well as any emerging pidgins or creoles. (21) Add anything you wish to clarify about the language situation and its probable direction of change over the next generation or two. (22) Add pertinent references/bibliography and any necessary appendices (e.g. a general plan of the educational system to clarify the answers to questions 8, 9 and 14).

CILP

Language Policy and Planning in Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa: Some Common Issues Richard B. Baldauf Jr Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Queensland, QLD 4072 Australia ([email protected])

Robert B. Kaplan Professor Emeritus, Applied Linguistics, University of Southern California. Postal address: PO Box 577, Port Angeles, WA 98362, USA ([email protected])

Introduction This volume brings together four language policy and planning studies related to southern Africa1. (See the ‘Series Overview’ at the start of this volume for a more general discussion of the nature of the series, Appendix A for the 22 questions each study set out to address, and Kaplan et al. (2000) for a discussion of our underlying concepts for the studies themselves.) In this paper, rather than trying to provide an introductory summary of the material covered in these studies, we will want to draw out and discuss some of the more general issues raised by these studies. Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa represent a cluster in several senses: • They are geographically proximate roughly along a north–south axis. They share common borders; that is Malawi shares a border with Mozambique, and Mozambique and Botswana share a border with South Africa. • They are members of the Southern African Development Community (which integrates a total of 14 countries). • They share a number of African languages among them. • They share a number of common educational, social and economic problems. • Three of them have English as a colonial language; one has Portuguese, but also uses English as an additional language. • They all have autochthonous languages, some in common with one another, which require planning development. • All are members of the Commonwealth of Nations group. • All of them have a common concern in terms of languages of religion. • All of them recognize the existence of a gap between official policy and actual practice. There is also a major sociolinguistic and language planning and policy divide that separates them: South Africa with its greater population and resources, and the politicalization of language as a marker of ethnicity which began under the previous apartheid regime, has attracted much more scholarly interest and hands-on involvement by the government. As a result, there is a much larger published literature for South Africa than there is for Botswana, Malawi and 5 Some Common Issues

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

6

Mozambique. A search of the relevant literature produced about 20 references each – related to language policy and planning – for the latter countries while more than 300 were found for South Africa. A selected list of recently published further reading – material not cited in the monographs that follow – is provided by country at the end of this paper.

Ideologies and Myths Language policy and planning invariably occur in an environment circumscribed by language ideologies which emerge in specific historical and material circumstances (Blommaert, 1999; Pennycook, 1998); that is, such ideologies emerge out of a wider sociopolitical and historical framework of relationships of power, of forms of discrimination, and of nation building. Issues and debates concerning language commonly dominate discussions in the mass media, in government, and in a variety of other venues of public discourse. Language ideologies, while they are certainly not universal, are reflected in a number of prevalent myths pertaining to language education and, because language education is often the major or even sole mechanism for the instantiation of language policy, it is useful perhaps to state at least some of these myths: • There is one, and only one, ‘correct solution’ to the choice of language(s) in education, and one and only one, ‘correct solution’ to the sequencing of instruction for purposes of initial literacy training and content instruction for all multilingual polities. • Anyone who can speak a given language can successfully teach or teach via that language. • Creoles are not real languages; consequently no Creole can be used as the medium of instruction. • If a major goal is to develop the highest degree of proficiency and subject matter mastery via some language of wider communication, the more time spent educating the child via that language, the better. • While time on task is a major issue, the ideal time to start language instruction is roughly at puberty (at middle school) because starting earlier would suggest that primary school children will not have completed the development of their feeling and sense of value in their first language (based on English text transmitted by letter to Kaplan from Namba Tatsuo referring to Ohno, Susumu, Morimoto Tatsuo and Suzuki Takao (2001) Nippon, Nihongo, Nihon-jin [Japan, Japanese language, Japanese Volkgeist]). • In multilingual polities (and even in those which are not multilingual), it is too expensive to develop materials and to train teachers in a number of different languages (after Tucker, 2001: 333). • There are clear boundaries between each of the autochthonous languages in a polity and each requires separate development so that it can be taught (but see Djité, 2000; Heugh, 2003). • Autochthonous languages are incapable of dealing with modern concepts and it is therefore necessary to use a language of wider communication – English, French, Portuguese – as the primary vehicle for education (Breton, 2003). • In multilingual polities – ones having a large number of autochthonous

Some Common Issues

7

languages – it is necessary to use a language of wider communication for educational purposes to reduce ‘tribalism’ and group conflict (Breton, 2003). • It is important to teach languages of wider communication (especially English) widely in schools as a means of boosting the economy and life chances (Kaplan & Baldauf, 2003, especially Singapore, Chapter 8).

Issues and Problems of Methodology Before looking at some of the explicit issues raised in the monographs themselves, it is important to mention briefly some of the issues and problems that studies developed in this genre raise. While providing a set of framing questions (See ‘Series Overview’, Appendix A) for these polity monographs has its advantages in terms of consistency and coverage, it also creates a number of tensions of which readers should be aware. Issues of resources It is important to point out that, in some of the polity studies, so little sociolinguistic work is actually available, and the economic and social conditions are such (e.g. the civil wars currently raging or recently concluded in a number of African polities), that contributors are significantly constrained. In many polities, Côte d’Ivoire (Djité, 2000) for example, conditions and the state of academic research (i.e. not only the work published about the polity, but access to journals and recent books, computer facilities, time to do research, adequate salaries let alone, funds for travel and research projects, etc.) are such that many of the 22 questions suggested for these studies simply could not be adequately addressed. Moving from research to practice, it is also a matter of reality that, among the enormous number of competing demands on governmental coffers, language policy and planning does not always rank high. In some African states, the costs (monetary, human, and temporal) of civil war, rapidly varying commodity prices, human resources shortages, the AIDS epidemic, etc.) are so great that the relative priority of language planning is necessarily lowered (but, see Kaplan & Baldauf, 2003, especially Chapter 3 (pp. 31–46), for an example of political will overriding fiscal constraints). These factors mean that there are constraints on resources that significantly impact on any notion of an ‘ideal’ monograph that might be produced. Framing context Beyond the 22 questions that authors have been urged to examine, we have urged each of the contributors to frame their study by taking an ecological stance (see, e.g. Kaplan & Baldauf, 1997; Mühlhäusler, 2000), but that turned out not to be entirely satisfactory because each of the contributors is in fact a specialist in the context of linguistic issues in the polity in which s/he worked; that is, the polity specialists were not always extensively cognizant of problems occurring across an ecological perception of language spread, but rather were constrained by the political boundaries within which they worked. It was, perhaps, unrealistic of us to expect a wider perception. However, while the ecological stance did not inevitably materialise across political boundaries, there is evidence in the various

8

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

studies of the ecological perspective within the several polities studied. It is precisely to achieve a broader ecological view that areal volumes of the sort being undertaken here were conceived. We hope the further references at the end of this article will also contribute to providing that ecological view. Perspectives: The Self vs the Other Pennycook (1998) provides a critical analysis of English and the discourses of colonialism, especially the tension between views of ‘the Self’ and ‘the Other’, between the ‘insider’ and the ‘outsider’, the emic and the etic. His primary focus of analysis is on colonialism – both historic and in its Eurocentric neo-colonialist forms – and the positive manner in which Europeans portrayed themselves versus the colonised others. Following from this he points out that there is a need to look ‘more contextually … at the sites and causes of the development of colonial discourses on language…’ as there is a ‘constant negotiation of colonial language policy images of the Self and the Other’ where ‘culture and language were always being produced, developed and redefined’ (1998: 128). While this dichotomy and interaction between the Self and the Other – which Pennycook illustrates with Hong Kong as an example – is evident in the monographs presented in this volume, it is also characteristic of the tension in perspectives that individual authors bring to their studies. Some participating individuals, some of whom we consciously and intentionally invited, had actually worked in the language planning and policy environment in their respective polities. An outcome of our intentional plan (in inviting some contributors) and our unintentional plan (in accepting unsolicited contributions) resulted in an unanticipated problem. One volume of the previously published studies was criticized on the grounds that an author did not take sufficient cognizance of political issues underlying policy and planning (Stroud, 2001). But, when one is involved in putting ‘theory’ onto practice, we think this is an inevitable problem. To the extent that anyone has worked actively in the development and promulgation of policy and in the ensuing plans, s/he has necessarily been captured by the system doing the policy development and the planning; each such individual has been co-opted by the process. We do not, however, wish to create a false dichotomy; not all of our contributors were caught in this ‘insider’ trap. Some contributors have been able to look at the issues from the ‘outside,’ and have been fully cognizant of the political and social problems created by the policy/plans that have been developed. But, had we chosen only individuals more clearly aware of the political and social issues, then those individuals, generally working outside the formal system, would not have known as much about what the system was actually doing; such scholars would have been outsiders to the internal workings of the system. This is not to claim that contributors (and indeed the editors) are unaware that language policy is significantly a political activity (Baldauf & Kaplan, 2003); rather, we simply acknowledge that authors having had differing degrees of direct involvement in the language policy and planning which they describe are caught up in their own images of the Self and the Other. The result is that political and social issues are differently perceived in the various polity studies. In the broader context within which we work (i.e. as editors of Current Issues in Language Planning), we believe, with perfect hindsight, that serendipitously,

Some Common Issues

9

such a selection of contributors will exactly serve our larger intent – to help to develop a basis for theorising the discipline. The specialists, working from the inside, know (and do) report on who did what, to whom, when, and for what purpose in great detail. Given a series of polity monographs such as those presented here, we continue to believe that the other focus of Current Issues in Language Planning – the two ‘issues’ numbers each year focusing on topics like language ecology (CILP, 2000, 1: 3), language revival (CILP, 2001, 2: 2&3), post-colonialism (CILP, 2002, 3: 3), language rights (CILP, 2003, 4: 4) – will serve to bring to bear a leavening influence on the collected data. These numbers will pay greater attention to the political and social problems inevitably apparent in the policy studies themselves.

Discrepant Policy and Reality Given the lack of resources and other difficulties described in the previous section, and the myths about language that still persist in the communities, it does not come as any surprise that all four of the studies in this volume show a significant discrepancy between the playing out of language matters in the polity and the policy/plan that has been put in place in that polity. In several instances, the ‘official’ policy/plan is diametrically opposed to reality; languages are mandated that are barely spoken in the polity, and the evidence strongly suggests that ‘official’ policy/planning is driven by political rather than by linguistic forces. It is possible, for example, that a language is ‘officialised’ in the hope that aid funding from the European (often former colonial) power would come into play. Examples of these discrepancies are particularly evident in the relationship between the ‘colonial’ languages of wider communication and the autochthonous languages. English In Malawi, English is the official language; Chichewa in some form (spoken by about fifty per cent of the population) is the national language, and twelve other indigenous languages (and their varieties) are spoken. As Kayambazinthu points out, ‘…language planning practices (past and present) present an interesting case study of pervasive ad hoc and reactive planning, based more on self-interest and political whim than research.’ In Botswana, English is the ‘officialized’ language together with Setswana which (in some form) is spoken as a first language by some 80 per cent of the population. The Constitution is essentially silent on language issues, except that two sections specifically state that the ability to speak and read English is required to serve in the House of Chiefs and in the National Assembly. (In 1998, Setswana was formally authorized to be spoken in the House of Chiefs and in the National Assembly.) However, Setswana is not so much a language as a language-complex; the eight ‘major tribes’ use eight mutually-intelligible varieties of Seswana. In addition, there are eleven other tribes that speak varieties close to Setswana, and eight tribes that speak languages unrelated to Setswana. As Nyati-Ramahobo notes, ‘There is tension between policy formulation and implementation, and an imbalance in social justice….While pressure from civil-society has

10

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

led government to make progressive policy decisions, there is no intrinsic motivation for their implementation….’ In South Africa, recently shrugging off apartheid, eleven of its estimated 25 languages have now been ‘officialized’ in the Constitution. Nine of those eleven languages are African languages; the remaining two are Afrikaans and English. The government has compiled a liberal language policy. Kamwangamalu shows that there is a mismatch between the language policy and language practices – the former promoting multilingualism, the latter demonstrating a trend toward English monolingualism at least in virtually all of the higher domains. Portuguese In Mozambique, Portuguese is the ‘officialized’ language, mandated in the Constitution; the remaining twenty languages are all Bantu languages. The nation is only ten years removed from a devastating 16-year civil war. Its current language policy (in the 1990 revised Constitution) requires that ‘the state shall value the national languages and promote their development and their growing usage as vehicular languages and in the education of citizens.’ Lopes points out that ‘…the status of Bantu languages [in comparison with Portuguese] and the present efforts to develop and promote them in society have a long way to go.’ In sum, there is a substantial gap between official policy and linguistic reality. Discrepancy analysis This brief summary distorts the situation because it ignores the effects of the presence of other languages in each of the polities as well as the ecological issues. In all of the polities discussed, the role of English needs to be considered; there is popular pressure to learn it in Mozambique, and a comparable popular pressure to diminish its influence in Botswana, Malawi and South Africa. In South Africa and Mozambique, there is a recognized need to consider Asian languages present in the immigrant population. And there is a growing need for a pan-African means of communication for economic and political purposes. Consequently, a ‘standard’ language constitutes a purely ideological construct. The existence of such a construct creates the impression that linguistic unity exists, when reality reflects great linguistic diversity. The notion of the existence and dispersion of a ‘standard’ variety through a community suggests that linguistic unity is the societal norm; it also suggests a level of socio-economic and socio-political unity that in the African states is contrary to the reality of linguistic diversity (often reflected in socio-economic and political diversity). The (often legal) obligation to use a codified standard is likely to cause frustration among minority-language and dialect speakers, since the standardised language is for them non-dominant; minority-language and dialect speakers probably use a contact variety, likely to be at considerable variance from the ‘standard’ variety (e.g. Popular French vs. Standard French in Côte d’Ivoire). Language-in-education planning efforts in many polities … reflect the cultural views of the West. These views are collectively known as the 'plumbing' or 'conduit' or 'telegraphic' conception of communication – i.e., the translation of messages that exist in the sender's mind into speech signals (coded in linguistic form) which are converted back into the original

Some Common Issues

11

message by the receiver. Thus, there is a perceived need to identify a single, ‘standard’ code, to assure that this single code is optimally regular, simple, and 'modern' and to assure that there are optimal channels (postal services, road networks, rail networks, air services, telegraphs, telephones, newspapers, radio, television, the world-wide web, etc.) along which the signal can flow. The problem is that this metaphor is not a reliable description of how human beings communicate (Mühlhäusler, 1996: 207–208). Furthermore, some confusion has developed between the meaning of the term standard (language) and the notion of standardised (education). As noted, a standard language is believed to be necessary for national unity. (The evidence for such a belief is, by the way, far from conclusive.) However, if the existence of a standard language presses the educational system to standardise educational practices, another discontinuity is created; educational systems are supposed to enhance independent thinking and creativity – necessary to social and economic development. It is undesirable to evolve an educational system that turns out students who are identical in their knowledge, skills, and thought processes. This problem is also evident in the polities studied.

Conclusions In sum, while language-in-education planning is widespread across the polities discussed here, it seems clear: • That language-in-education policies are rarely anchored in national language policies; • that language-in-education policies are frequently ad hoc and sometimes driven by market forces; • that language-in-education policies are subject to sudden and radical changes in direction in accord with unstable political agendas, and • that the general condition of language-in-education policy is often fragmented and frequently simply ineffective – even wasteful of resources. We hope that this first areal volume will better serve the needs of specialists. It is our intent to publish other areal volumes subsequently. We will do so in the hope that such volumes will be of interest to areal scholars and others interested in language policies and language planning in geographically coherent regions. (See the Series Overview elsewhere in this volume for more detail on our future plans.) Note 1. The studies in this volume were previously published as follows: Botswana Current Issues in Language Planning (2000) 1, 243–300; Malawi Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (1998) 19, 369–439; Mozambique Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (1998) 19, 440–486 and South Africa Current Issues in Language Planning (2001) 2, 361–445. Authors were offered the opportunity to update their studies – to take into account major changes – with an addendum, but none thought it necessary to do so.

References Baldauf, R.B., Jr. and Kaplan, R.B. (2003) Language policy decisions and power: Who are the actors? In P.M. Ryan and R. Terborg (eds) Language: Issues of Inequality (pp. 19–40).

12

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

Mexico City: Centro de Enseñanza de Leguas Extranjeras, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Blommaert, J. (1999) Language Ideological Debates. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Breton, R. (2003) Sub-Saharian Africa. In J. Maurais and M.A. Morris (eds) Languages in a Globalising World (pp. 203–216). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Djité, P.G. (2000) Language planning in Côte d’Ivoire. Current Issues in Language Planning 1, 11–46. Heugh, K. (2003) Can authoritarian segregation give way to linguistic rights? The case of the Pan South African Language Board. Current Issues in Language Planning 4. Kaplan, R.B. and Baldauf, Jr., R.B. (1997) Language Planning from Practice to Theory. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Kaplan, R.B. and Baldauf, Jr., R.B. (2003) Language and Language-in-Education Planning in the Pacific Basin. Dordrecht :Kluwer. Kaplan, R.B., Baldauf, Jr., R.B., Liddicoat, A.J., Bryant, P., Barbaux, M.-T. and Pütz, M. (2000) Current issues in language planning. Current Issues in Language Planning 1, 135–144. Mühlhäusler, P. (1996) Ecological and non-ecological aproaches to language planning. In M. Hellinger and U. Ammon (eds) Contrastive Sociolinguistics (pp. 205–212). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Mühlhäusler, P. (2000) Language planning and language ecology. Current Issues in Language Planning 1, 306–367. Pennycook, A. (1998) English and the Discourses of Colonialism. London and New York: Routledge. Stroud, C. (2001) Review of R.B. Kaplan and R.B. Baldauf, Jr. (1999) Language Planning in Malawi, Mozambique and the Philippines. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Language and Education 15, 306–309. Tucker, G.R. (2001) A global perspective on bilingualism and bilingual education. In. J. Alatis and A.-H. Tan (eds) Language in our Time: Bilingual Education and Official English, Ebonics and Standard English, Immigration and the Unz Initiative (pp. 332–340). Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. [Georgetown University Round Table on Language and Linguistics, 1999.]

Further Reading Botswana Arthur, J. (1996) Code switching and collusion: Classroom interaction in Botswana primary schools. Linguistics and Education: An International Research Journal 8 (1), 17–33. Arthur, J. (1997) ‘There must be something undiscovered which prevents us from doing our work well’: Botswana primary teachers’ views on educational language policy. Language and Education 11, 225–241. Arthur, J. (2001) Perspectives on educational language policy and its implementation in African classrooms: A comparative study of Botswana and Tanzania. Compare 31, 347–362. Batibo, H.M. (1997) Double allegiance between nationalism and Western modernization in language choice: The case of Botswana and Tanzania. In M. Putz (ed.) Language Choices: Conditions, Constraints, and Consequences (pp. 195–205). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Batibo, H.M. and Smieja, B. (eds) (2000) Botswana: The Future of Minority Languages. Peter Lang. Beitz, S. and Vossen, R. (1994) A trilingual model as an answer to educational problems? In search for adequate media of instruction for the pupils of Botswana. Frankfurter Afrikanistische Blatter 6, 1–8. Herbert, R.K. (1999) Review of L.-G. Andersson and T. Janson (eds) (1997) Languages in Botswana: Language Ecology in Southern Africa. Anthropological Linguistics 41, 561–563. Maruatona, T.L. (2002) A critique of centralized curricula in literacy programs: The case of Botswana. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 45, 736–745. Mpofu, S.T. and Youngman, F. (2001) The dominant tradition in adult literacy – A

Some Common Issues

13

comparative study of national literacy programmes in Botswana and Zimbabwe. International Review of Education 47, 573–595. Mundy, K. (1993) Toward a critical analysis of literacy in southern Africa. Comparative Education Review 37, 389–411. Nyati-Ramahobo, L. (1999) The National Language: A Resource or a Problem? The Implementation of the Language Policy of Botswana. Gaborone, Botswana: Pula Press. Smieja, B. (1999) Codeswitching and language shift in Botswana: Indicators for language change and language death? A progress report. ITL: Review of Applied Linguistics 123–124, 125–160. Sommer, G. (1991) Gradual language shift in Egypt and Botswana: Two case examples. [Gradueller Sprachwechsel in Agypten und Botswana: Zwei Fallbeispiele.] Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere [African Studies Working Papers] special issue, 351–368.

Malawi Chimombo, M. (1994) The language of politics in Malawi: Influences on the Chichewa vocabulary of democracy. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere [African Studies Working Papers] 38(June), 197–208. Chimombo, S. and Chimombo, M. (1996) The Culture of Democracy: Language, Literature, the Arts and Politics in Malawi, 1992–1994. Zomba, Malawi: WASI Publications. Kamwendo, G.H. (1997a) Language policy in Malawi. Zimbabwe Journal of Educational Research 9(2), 203–215. Kamwendo, G.H. (1997b) Language rights in the dictatorship: The case of Malawi during Dr Banda’s rule. Language Matters 28, 36–50. Kishindo, P.J. (1996) Dr H. Kamuzu Banda’s language policy: A study in contradictions. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere [African Studies Working Papers] 48(Dec), 55–79. Kishindo, P.J. (1998) On the standardization of Citumbuka and Ciyao orthographies: Some observations. South African Journal of African Languages 18 (4), 85–91. Matiki, A.J. (2001) The social significance of English in Malawi. World Englishes 20 (2), 201–218. Schmied, J. (1996) English in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. In V. de Klerk (ed.) Focus on South Africa (pp. 301–321). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Williams, E. (1996) Reading in two languages at year five in African primary schools. Applied Linguistics 17, 182–209.

Mozambique Alves, J. and Hoisnard, J.Y. (1997) Mozambique: French in full renaissance. [Mozambique: Le francais en pleine renaissance]. Diagonales 41(Feb), 41–44. Cahen, M. (1990) Mozambique: An African nation with Portuguese as an official language? [Le Mozambique: une nation africaine de langue officielle portugaise?] Revue canadienne des etudes africaines [Canadian Journal of African Studies] 24(3), 315–347. Faulstich, E. (1995) Toward language planning of Portuguese: Portugal, Brazil, and Africa: Some reflections. [Vers la planification linguistique du portugais: Portugal, Br e s i l , A f r i q u e , q u e l q u e s r e f l e x i o n s . ] T e r m i n o l o g i e s N o u v e l l e s [ N e w Terminologies]14(Dec), 66–76. Firmino, G.D. (1996) Revisiting the ‘language question’ in postcolonial Africa: The case of Portuguese and indigenous languages in Mozambique. Dissertation Abstracts International 57(3), 1199A. Garcez, P.M. (1995) The debatable 1990 Luso-Brazilian orthographic accord. Language Problems & Language Planning 19, 151–178. Lopes, A.J. (2001) Language revitalisation and reversal in Mozambique: The case of Xironga in Maputo. Current Issues in Language Planning 2, 259–267. Lopes, A.J., Sitoe, S.J. and Nhamuende, P. J. (2002) Moçambicanismos para um Léxico de Usos do Português Moçambicano. [Mozambicanisms in the use vocabulary of Mozambican Portuguese]. Maputo, Mozambique: Livraria Universitária, Universadade Eduardo Mondlane. Louzada, N.C.M. (1987) Mocambique: O portugues como segunda lingua no sistema

14

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

nacional de educacao [Mozambique: Portuguese as a Second Language in the National System of Education]. Trabalhos em Linguistica Aplicada [Studies in Applied Linguistics] 10, 87–96. Matsinhe, S.F. (1993) The use of African languages as medium of instruction in Mozambique: Problems and possibilities. South African Journal of African Languages/Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Afrikatale 13(supp. 2), 5–13. Mkuti, L.D. (1997) Language and education in Mozambique since 1940: Policy, implementation, and future perspectives. Dissertation Abstracts International, A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 58 (1), 65-A-66-A. Muller Bochat, E. (1996) German in the Portuguese-speaking African states, especially Mozambique. [Das Deutsche in den portugiesischsprachigen Staaten Afrikas, insbesondere Mosambik.] Etudes Germano Africaines [German-African Studies] 14, 65–69. Ngunga, A. (1999) Literacy campaigns in Mozambique: Why did they fail? Language Matters 30, 147–156. Passanisi, D.J. and Wolf, W.C., Jr. (1991) The social and political consequences of language planning in Mozambique. Knowledge: Creation, Diffusion, Utilization 13 (1), 17–35. Rothwell, P. (2001) The phylomorphic linguistic tradition: Or, the siege of (the) Portuguese in Mozambique. Hispanic Research Journal 2 (2), 165–176. Schmitz, J.R. (1998) Orthographic reform, planning, and linguistic diffusion: The example of Portuguese. [Reforma ortografica, planejamento e difusao linguistica: o caso da lingua portuguesa]. Language Problems & Language Planning 22, 254–266. Stroud, C. (1999) Portuguese as ideology and politics in Mozambique: Semiotic (re)constructions of a postcolony. In J. Blommaert (ed.) Language Ideological Debates (pp. 343–380). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

South Africa Alexander, N. (1992) Language planning from below. In R. Herbert (ed.) Language and Society in Africa: The Theory and Practice of Sociolinguistics (pp. 56–68). Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press. Alexander, N. (1995) Nation building and language in the new South Africa. In M. Pütz (ed.) Discrimination Through Language in Africa? Perspectives on the Nambian Experience (pp. 29–43). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Alexander, N. (2002) Linguistic rights, language planning and democracy in post-apartheid South Africa. In S.J. Baker (ed.) Language Policy: Lessons from Global Models (pp. 116–129). California: Monterey Institute. Balfour, R.J. (1999) Naming the father: Re-examining the role of English as a medium of instruction in South African education. Changing English 6 (1), 103–113. Banda, F. (2000) The dilemma of the mother tongue: Prospects for bilingual education in South Africa. Language, Culture and Curriculum 13, 51–66. Barkhuizen, G.P. (2002) Language-in-education policy: Students’ perceptions of the status and role of Xhosa and English. System 30, 499–515. Barkhuizen, G.P. and de Klerk, V. (2000) The Role of Xhosa in an Eastern Cape army camp. South African Journal of African Languages 20(2), 186–193. Bernsten, J. (2001) English in South Africa: Expansion and nativization in concert. Language Problems and Language Planning 25, 219–235. Beukes, A.M. (1996) New language council protects many South African languages. [Nuwe taalraad bewaak vele tale van SA.] Taalgenoot [Language Companion] 65 (3), 10–11. Bhola, H.S. (1992) Literacy in Southern Africa. In W. Grabe et al. (eds) Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 12: Literacy (pp. 243–259). New York: Cambridge University Press. Bodenstein, E.W. (1993) German as mother tongue and language of instruction in South Africa. [Deutsch als Mutter- und Unterrichtssprache in Sudafrika.] Germanistische Mitteilungen [Germanic Studies Communications] 38, 115–130. Bosch, B. (1996) Afrikaans and Afrikaans linguistics: A balancing perspective. [Afrikaans en die Afrikaanse taalkunde: ‘n gebalanseerde perspektiej.] Tydskrift vir Geesteswetenskappe [Journal of Mental Science] 36 (4), 247–257. Chick, J.K. and Wade, R. (1997) Restandardisation in the direction of a New English:

Some Common Issues

15

Implications for access and equity. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 18, 271–284. Chick, K. and McKay, S. (2001) Teaching English in multiethnic schools in the Durban area: The promotion of multilingualism or monolingualism? Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 19 (3–4), 163–178. Coetzee, A.E. (1993) The maintenance of Afrikaans in a New South Africa. AILA Review 10, 37–51. Culver, A.D. de V. (1992) Language planning models for a post-apartheid South Africa. Language Problems and Language Planning 16, 105–136. Dangor, A. (1995) South Africa after apartheid: Reclaiming Afrikaans as a language of the people. Van Taal tot Taal [From Language to Language] 39 (3), 125–127. De Kadt, E. (1993) Language, power, and emancipation in South Africa. World Englishes 12, 157–168. De Kadt, E. (1996) Language and apartheid: On the power of minorities. [Sprache und Apartheid: Zur Macht von Minderheiten.] Etudes Germano Africaines [German-African Studies]14, 25–32. De Kadt, E. (1997) McWorld versus local cultures: English in South Africa at the turn of the millennium. In L.E. Smith, M.L. Forman and S. Romaine (eds) World Englishes 2000 (pp. 146–168). Honolulu, HI: College of Languages, Linguistics and Literature University of Hawaii with East–West Center. De Kadt, E. (1998a) German as a native language in South Africa – Present state and future prospects. [Die deutsche Muttersprache in Sudafrika-Gegenwartiger Bestand und Zukunftsperspektiven.] Muttersprache [Native Language] 108 (1), 1–14. De Kadt, E. (1998b) Keeping the kitchen clean: Towards an analysis of English-medium interactions between Black people and White people in post-apartheid South Africa. Multilingua 17 (2–3), 249–276. De Klerk, G. (2002) Mother-tongue education in South Africa: The weight of history. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 154, 29–46. de Klerk, V. (ed.). (1996) Focus on South Africa Varieties of English Around the World, Volume 15. Philadelphia: John Benjamins. de Klerk, V. (1999) Black South African English: Where to from here? World Englishes 18 (3), 311–324. de Klerk, V. (2002) Changing names in the ‘new’ South Africa: A diachronic survey. Names 50 (3), 201–221. de Klerk, V. and Barkhuizen, G.P. (1998a) English in the South African defence force: A case study of 6SAI. English World Wide 19, 33–60. de Klerk, V. and Barkhuizen, G.P. (1998b) Language policy in the SANDF: A case for biting the bullet. Language Problems and Language Planning 22, 215–236. de Klerk, V. and Barkhuizen, G.P. (2001) Language usage and attitudes in a South African prison: Who calls the shots? International Journal of the Sociology of Language 152, 97–115. de Klerk, V. and Barkhuizen, G.P. (2002) English in the prison services: A case of breaking the law? World Englishes 21, 9–22. de Klerk, V. and Bosch, B. (1995) Linguistic stereotypes: Nice accent-nice person? International Journal of the Sociology of Language 116, 17–37. de Klerk, V. and Bosch, B. (1998) Afrikaans to English: A case study of language shift. South African Journal of Linguistics 16 (2), 43–51. Desai, Z. (1994) Praat or speak but don’t thetha: On language rights in South Africa. Language and Education 8, 19–29. Desai, Z. (1995) The evolution of a post-apartheid language policy in South Africa: An on-going site of struggle. European Journal of Intercultural Studies 5 (3), 18–25. Desai, Z. (2001) Multilingualism in South Africa with particular reference to the role of African languages in education. International Review of Education 47 (3–4), 323–339. Dirven, R. (1992) Attitudes of Southern African linguists toward languages and language policies. In A. Van Essen and E.I. Burkart (eds) Homage to W.R. Lee: Essays in English as a Foreign or Second Language (pp. 213–220). Berlin: Foris Publications.

16

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

Dyers, C. (1999) Xhosa students’ attitudes towards Black South African languages at the University of the Western Cape. South African Journal of African Languages 19 (2), 73–82. Engelbrecht, J.T. (1978) The teaching of Bantu languages to White children in primary schools. In L.W. Lanham, K.P. Prinsloo (eds) Language and Communication Studies in South Africa: Current Issues and Directions in Research and Inquiry (pp. 219–232). Cape Town: Oxford University Press. Erasmus, G. (1998) How does the constitution protect your linguistic and cultural rights? [Hoe beskerm die Grondwet jou taal- en kultuurregte?] Taalgenoot [Language Companion] 67 (7), 6–7,31. Esterhuyse, C.J. and Groenewald, P.S. (1999) The history of the development of written Sepedi. [Die geskiedenis van die Sepediskryfwyse.] Tydskrif vir Taalonderrig [Journal for Language Teaching] 33 (4), 316–330. Finchilescu, G. and Nyawose, G. (1998) Talking about language: Zulu students’ views on language in the new South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology 28 (2), 53–61. Finlayson, R. and Madiba, M. (2002) The intellectualization of indigenous languages of South Africa: Challenges and prospects. Current Issues in Language Planning 3, 40–61. Granville, S., Janks, H., Mphahlele, M., Reed, Y., Watson, P., Joseph, M. and Ramoni, E. (1998) English with or without g(u)ilt: A position paper on language in education policy for South Africa. Language and Education 12, 254–272. Grobler, G.M.M. (1995) Creative African-language writing in South Africa: Writers unshackled after apartheid? South African Journal of African Languages 15 (2), 56–59. Hamersma, E. (1997) Afrikaans as a foreign language in South African schools: Problems and challenges. [Afrikaans as ‘n vreemde taal in Suid-Afrikaanse skole: slaggate en uitdagings.] Tydskrif vir Taalonderrig [Journal for Language Teaching] 31 (4), 284–291. Henning, E., Gravett, S. and Daniels, D. (1998) ‘Rules for another language game’ in a teacher development programme for initial reading pedagogy. Tydskrif vir Taalonderrig [Journal for Language Teaching] 32 (3), 191–199. Heugh, K. (2002) Recovering multilingualism: Recent language policy developments. In R. Mesthrie (ed.) Language in South Africa (pp. 449–475). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Heugh, K. (2003a) Can authoritarian segregation give way to linguistic rights? The case of the Pan South African Language Board. Current Issues in Language Planning 4. Heugh, K. (2003b) Language Policy and Democracy in South +Africa: The Prospects of Equality within Rights-based Policy and Planning. Stockholm: Stockholm University: Centre for Research on Bilingualism. Hibbert, L. and Makoni, S. (1997) The plain English campaign and South Africa. English Today 13 (2), 3–7. Holliday, L. (1993) The first language congress for Afrikaans. In J. A. Fishman (ed.) The Earliest Stage of Language Planning: The ‘First Congress’ Phenomenon (pp. 11–30). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Hornberger, N.H. (2001) Ideological paradox and intercultural possibility: Andean language-in-education policy and practice and its relevance for South Africa. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 19 (3–4), 215–230. Janks, H. (2001) Critical language awareness: Curriculum 2005 meets the TRC. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 19 (3–4), 241–252. Kamwangamalu, N.M. (2000) The new South Africa, language, and ethnicity: Prognoses. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 144, 137–138. Kamwangamalu, N.M. (2002a) English in South Africa at the millennium: Challenges and prospects. World Englishes 21 (1), 161–163. Kamwangamalu, N.M. (2002b) Multilingualism, the judiciary and security services: Belgium, Europe, South Africa, Southern Africa. World Englishes 21, 165–174. Kamwangamalu, N.M. (2002c) The social history of English in South Africa. World Englishes 21, 1–8. Kaschula, R.H. (1999) South Africa’s language policy in relation to the OAU’s language plan of action for Africa. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 136, 63–75. Kriel, M. (1997) Language and morals: The nationalist and religious moral values underlying linguistic purism. [Taal en sedes: die nasionalistiese en religieus-morele

Some Common Issues

17

waardes onderliggend aan taalpurisme.] South African Journal of Linguistics 15 (3), 75–85. Lubbe, J. and Du Plessis, T. (2001) Debate around the interpretation of the official language policy principles of the interim constitution in the printed media: A content analysis. [Die debat rondom die vertolking van die amptelike taalbeleidsbeginsels van die oorgangsgrondwet in die gedrukte media: ‘n inhoudsontleding.] Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 19 (1–2), 23–41. Maake, N.P. (1991) Language and politics in South Africa with reference to the dominance of the Nguni languages. English Studies in Africa 34 (2), 55–64. Madiba, M. (1999) Multilingualism and nation-building in the ‘New’ South Africa: Problems and issues. Language Matters 30, 59–81. Madiba, M. (2001) Towards a model for terminology modernisation in the African languages of South Africa. Language Matters 32, 53–77. Maher, G. (1998) ‘We should not have to keep correcting the record’. English Today 14 (1), 35–36. Makoni, S.B. (1993) Mother-tongue education: A literature review and proposed research design. South African Journal of African Languages/Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Afrikatale 13 (3), 89–94. Makoni, S.B. (1995) Deconstructing the discourses about language in language planning in South Africa. South African Journal of African Languages 15 (2), 84–88. Manie, F. (1998) The dominant role of English in multi-language South Africa. Modern English Teacher 7 (1), 67–70. Martin, D. (1997) Towards a new multilingual language policy in education in South Africa: Different approaches to meet different needs. Educational Review 49 (2), 129–139. Matsela, Z.A. (1995) Empowerment of the masses through the use of African languages. In M. Pütz (ed.), Discrimination Through Language in Africa? Perspectives on the Nambian Experience (pp. 45–56). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Mawasha, A.L. (1996) Teaching African languages to speakers of other South African languages: Operationalising the new democratic language policy in South Africa. Tydskrif vir Taalonderrig/Journal for Language Teaching 30 (1), 35–41. McArthur, T. (1999) English in the world, in Africa, and in South Africa. English Today 15 (1), 11–16. McCormick, K. (1994) Language policy issues in South Africa. ERIC Document Reproduction Service, ED391354, 13 pp. McKay, S. and Chick, K. (2001) Positioning learners in post-apartheid South African schools: A case study of selected multicultural Durban schools. Linguistics and Education 12, 393–408. Mda, T.V. (1997) Issues in the making of South Africa’s language in education policy. Journal of Negro Education 66, 366–375. Mesthrie, R. (1999) A new English for a new South Africa? Language attitudes, language planning and education. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 136, 142–143. Mesthrie, R. and McCormick, K. (1999) Introduction. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 136, 1–6. Meyer, D. (1997) The languages of learning: Current practice and its implications for language policy implementation. Tydskrif vir Taalonderrig [Journal for Language Teaching] 31 (3), 226–237. Meyer, D. (1998) What teachers say they want, what they actually do and its implications for language in education policy. Tydskrif vir Taalonderrig [Journal for Language Teaching] 32 (1), 1–17. Mfusi, M.J.H. (1992) Soweto Zulu slang: A sociolinguistic study of an urban vernacular in Soweto. English Usage in Southern Africa 23, 39–83. Miller-Ockhuizen, A. and Sands, B.E. (1999) !Kung as a linguistic construct. Language & Communication 19 (4), 401–413. Mkonto, B.B. (1996) The positive side of obscene language usage in Xhosa literature: A libertarian view. South African Journal of African Languages 16 (3), 93–96. Mmusi, S. (1998a) On the eleven-official languages policy of the new South Africa. In D.A.

18

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

Kibbee (ed.) Language Legislation and Linguistic Rights: Selected Proceedings of the Language Legislation and Linguistic Rights Conference, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, March, 1996 (pp. 225–239). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Moller, L.A. (1995) Criteria for proposed names changes. Nomina Africana 9 (1), 86–106. Morphet, T. (1996) Afterword. In M. Prinsloo and M. Breier (eds) The Social Uses of Literacy: Theory and Practice in Contemporary South Africa (pp. 257–264). Bertsham, South Africa: Sached Books. Moyo, T. (2001) Problems in implementing instructional languages: Why the language-in-education policy will fail. Language Matters 32, 97–114. Mtuze, P.T. (1993) The language practitioner in a multilingual South Africa. South African Journal of African Languages [Suid-Afrikaanse Tydskrif vir Afrikatale] 13 (2), 47–52. Mundy, K. (1993) Toward a critical analysis of literacy in southern Africa. Comparative Education Review 37 (4), 389–411. Mutasa, D.E. (1996) The problems of standardizing spoken dialects: The Shona experience. Language Matters 27, 79–93. Mutasa, D.E. (1999) Language policy and language practice in South Africa: An uneasy marriage. Language Matters 30, 83–98. Mutasa, D.E. (2000) Language policy and language use in South Africa: An uneasy marriage. South African Journal of African Languages 20 (3), 217–224. Napier, D.B. (2003) Language issues in South African education, identity and democratization. In P.M. Ryan and R. Terborg (eds) Language: Issues of Inequality (pp. 41–75). Mexico City: Centro de Enseñanza de Leguas Extranjeras, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Nkabinde, A.C. (1998) The designation of official languages in the South African constitution. South African Journal of African Languages 18 (3), 78–79. Ntlhakana, P. (2000) People’s English: Language policy in South Africa and its impact on English in education. English Today 16 (2), 11–17. Oberprieler, G. (1994) Language policy for a post-apartheid South Africa: Models and questions. In C.A. Blackshire-Belay (ed.) The Germanic Mosaic: Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Society (pp. 181–194). Westport, CT: Greenwood. Ormeling, F. (1997) Cartographic problems in a multilingual society: Mapping the new South Africa’s placenames. Nomina Africana 11 (1), 37–49. Peirce, B.N. (1992) English, difference, and democracy in South Africa. TESOL Matters 2 (3), 19. Peirce, B.N. and Ridge, S.G.M. (1997) Multilingualism in Southern Africa. In W. Grabe et al. (eds) Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 17: Multilingualism (pp. 170–190). New York: Cambridge University Press. Penn, C. and Reagan, T. (1990) How do you sign ‘apartheid’? The politics of South African Sign Language. Language Problems and Language Planning 14, 91–103. Penn, C. and Reagan, T. (1994) The properties of South African Sign Language: Lexical diversity and syntactic unity. Sign Language Studies, 319–327. Phillipson, R. (1996) Linguistic imperialism: African perspectives. English Language Teaching Journal 50 (2), 160–167. Pieterse, H. (1995) Alternative Afrikaans. Language Matters 26, 59–84. Prabhakaran, V. (1997) The parameters of maintenance of the Telugu language in South Africa. Language Matters 28, 51–80. Raidt, E.H. (1996) Afrikaans as a scientific language [Afrikaans as wetenskapstaal]. Tydskrift vir Geesteswetenskappe [Journal of Mental Science] 36 (4), 239–242. Reagan, T. (1986) The role of language policy in South African education. Language Problems and Language Planning 10, 1–13. Reagan, T. (2000) A South African perspective: Second language teaching and learning in the university. In J.W. Rosenthal (ed.) Handbook of Undergraduate Second Language Education (pp. 253–275). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Reagan, T. (2001) The promotion of linguistic diversity in multilingual settings: Policy and reality in post-apartheid South Africa. Language Problems and Language Planning 25, 51–72.

Some Common Issues

19

Reed, Y. (2002) Language(s) of reflection in teacher development programmes in South Africa. World Englishes 21 (1), 37–48. Ridge, S.G.M. (2000) Mixed motives: Ideological elements in the support for English in South Africa. In T. Ricento (ed.) Ideology Politics and Language Policies: Focus on English. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Sacks, V. (2000) Can law protect language? Law, language and human rights in the South African constitution. International Journal of Discrimination and the Law 4 (4), 343–368. Setati, M., Adler, J., Reed, Y. and Bapoo, A. (2002) Incomplete journeys: Code-switching and other language practices in mathematics, science and English language classrooms in South Africa. Language and Education 16, 128–149. Smit, B. (1994) German as a foreign language in a post-apartheid education system. Deutschunterricht im Sudlichen Afrika [German Instruction in Southern Africa] 25 (1), 51–58. Smit, U. (1996) South African English in the 1990s: A field study on status, roles and attitudes. English World Wide 17 (1), 77–109. Steyn, J.C. (1996a) Afrikaner nationalism and choosing between Afrikaans and Dutch as cultural language [Afrikanernasionalisme en die keuse tussen Afrikaans en Nederlands as kultuurtaal]. South African Journal of Linguistics 14 (1), 7–24. Steyn, J.C. (1997) The position of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction and the subject Afrikaans and Dutch at Universities [Die posisie van Afrikaans as voertaal en die vak Afrikaans en Nederlands aan universiteite]. Tydskrift vir Geesteswetenskappe [Journal of Mental Science] 37 (4), 236–247. Steyn, J.C. (1998) Review article: Afrikaans as heard by the Dutch. Our Afrikaans language shame. [Resensie-artikel: Afrikaans hoort by Nederlands. Ons Afrikaanse taalverdriet.] Tydskrif vir Taalonderrig [Journal for Language Teaching] 32 (2), 142–147. Steyn, J.C. (2001) Afrikaans 2000: New success stories and set-backs [Afrikaans 2000: nuwe suksesverhale en terugslae]. Tydskrift vir Geesteswetenskappe [Journal of Mental Science] 41 (2), 118–132. Strike, N. (1996) Talking our way out of the laager: Foreign languages in South African education. Language Matters 27, 253–264. Sukumane, J.B. (1998) Language policy in education and the future of indigenous languages in post-apartheid South Africa. In D.A. Kibbee (ed.) Language Legislation and Linguistic Rights: Selected Proceedings of the Language Legislation and Linguistic Rights Conference, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, March, 1996 (pp. 248–260). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Thornycroft, P. (2000) Another revolution? The South African languages conundrum. Linguist 39 (1), 16–18. Titlestad, P.J.H. (1996) English, the constitution and South Africa’s language future. In V. de Klerk (ed.), Focus on South Africa (pp. 163–173). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Titlestad, P.J.H. (1998) South Africa’s language ghosts. English Today 14 (2), 33–39. Van der Walt, C. (1997) English as a language of learning in South Africa: Whose English? Whose culture? Language Awareness 6 (2–3), 183–197. Van der Walt, J.L. and Van Rooy, B. (2002) Towards a norm in South African Englishes. World Englishes 21 (1), 113–128. Van Huyssteen, L. (1999) Problems regarding term creation in the South African African languages, with special reference to Zulu. South African Journal of African Languages 19 (3), 179–187. Venter, D. (1998) Silencing babel? Language preference in voluntary associations – Evidence from multi-cultural congregations. Society in Transition 29 (1–2), 22–39. Verhoef, M. (1996a) The influence of political determinants on the recent language debate concerning Afrikaans [Politieke determinante in die hedendaagse gesprek oor Afrikaans]. Literator 17 (3), 29–43. Verhoef, M. (1997) The transformation of Afrikaans – A review of the media debate of the last decade [Die transformasie van Afrikaans-die afgelope dekade se mediadebat in oenskou]. Literator 18 (1), 1–19. Verhoef, M. (1998a) Functional multilingualism in South Africa: An unattainable ideal?

20

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

[Funksionele meertaligheid in Suid-Afrika: ‘n onbereikbare ideaal?] Literator 19 (1), 35–50. Verhoef, M. (1998b) In pursuit of multilingualism in South Africa. Multilingua 17 (2–3), 181–196. Verhoef, M. (1998c) Toward a theory of language attitude planning in South Africa [‘n Teoretiese aanloop tot taalgesindheidsbeplanning in Suid-Afrika]. South African Journal of Linguistics 16 (1), 27–33. Visser, H. (1998) The right to go to your native language school [Die reg om in jou moedertaal skool te gaan.] Taalgenoot [Language Companion] 67 (3), 6–7. Watermeyer, S. (1996) Afrikaans English. In V. de Klerk (ed.) Focus on South Africa (pp. 99–124). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Webb, V. (1992a) Language attitudes in South Africa: Implications for a post-apartheid democracy. In M. Pütz (ed.) Thirty Years of Linguistic Evolution: Studies in Honour of Rene Dirven on the Occasion of his Sixtieth Birthday (pp. 429–460). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Webb, V. (1994a) Language policy and planning in South Africa. In W. Grabe et al. (eds) Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 14: Language Policy and Planning (pp. 254–273). New York: Cambridge University Press. Webb, V. (1994b) Revalorizing the autochthonous languages of Africa, In M, Pütz (ed.) Language Contact and Language Conflict (pp. 181–203). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Webb, V. (1995) The technicalization of the autochthonous languages of South Africa: Constraints from a present day perspective. In M. Pütz (ed.) Discrimination Through Language in Africa? Perspectives on the Nambian Experience (pp. 83–100). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. Webb, V. (1996a) English and language planning in South Africa: The flip-side. In V. de Klerk (ed.) Focus on South Africa (pp. 175–190). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Webb, V. (1996b) Language planning and politics in South Africa. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 118, 139–162. Webb, V. (2002) English as a Second Language in South Africa’s Tertiary institutions: A case study at the University of Pretoria. World Englishes 21 (1), 49–61. Webb, V.N. (2002) Language in South Africa: The Role of Language in National Transformation, Reconstruction and Development. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Webb, V. and Kriel, M. (2000) Afrikaans and Afrikaner Nationalism. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 144, 19–49. Wessels, M. (1996) Language of learning in South African State Schools and educational publishing: The current crisis. Language Matters 27, 159–196. Wright, L. (1996) The standardisation question in Black South African English. In V. de Klerk (ed.) Focus on South Africa (pp. 149–162). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana Lydia Nyati-Ramahobo Faculty of Education, University of Botswana, Private Bag 0022, Gaborone, Botswana This monograph provides an overview of the language situation in Botswana.1 It describes the language profile of the country, including the number of languages and dialects spoken, the number of speakers of each language and the various roles each language plays in society. The paper provides a historical development of languagein-education policies. The objectives of learning, methods of assessment and language use in the media also are examined. The third part of the monograph describes language planning and implementation efforts and the agencies involved in the planning process and the development of legislation. There is tension between policy formulation and implementation, and an imbalance in social justice. Majority communities are treated as minority communities based on the language(s) they speak. While pressure from the civil society has led government to make progressive policy decisions, there is no intrinsic motivation for their implementation. Non-governmental organisations are encouraged by these positive policy decisions but their efforts are frustrated by covertly negative attitudes to change from the leadership. There is a need for commitment from the leadership to support the preservation of all languages spoken in Botswana. Currently an assimilationist model permeates the social, economic, political and cultural aspects of life in Botswana.

Introduction The monograph has elements of a descriptive study and a case study, in that it describes the language situation in Botswana. Specifically, it describes the language profile of Botswana, the spread of Setswana, language planning and policy activities and both formal and informal efforts to promote and preserve the languages of the country. Data utilised for this work were collected from January 1989 to September 1990. This data collection process covered language planning activities since independence, mainly in the period between 1977 to 1990, when government was in the process of implementing the recommendations of the first National Commission on Education (NCE 1). The Commission had reviewed the education system from independence until 1976. It completed its work in 1977 and its recommendations, contained in the Government White Paper No.1 of 1977: National Policy on Education, were endorsed by Parliament in August of the same year (Republic of Botswana, 1977). Data for this monograph were further updated between June 1996 and May 1998. This was after the completion of the work of the Second National Commission on Education (NCE 2). This Commission reviewed the education system between 1978 and 1991. The subsequent endorsement of its recommendations, contained in the Government White Paper No.2 of 1994: The Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE), came out in 1994 (Republic of Botswana, 1994). These two documents provide language policy directions as part of the overall education policy. The study also has utilised data that were collected for the Directory of Language Bodies in Eastern and Southern Africa coordinated by Kamanakao Association on behalf of the International Development Research Center, Nairobi office, from January to 21 The Language Situation in Botswana

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:53:10

CILP004

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

22

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

September 1999. The study therefore presents the language situation in Botswana as it was up to October 1999. Formal interviews with policy makers and practitioners in the schools provided the data for the formulation and implementation of the language policies in education and society. Observations from social domains, social services, the media and the Government Printer’s Department provided data for the implementation of the language policy in society and the use of Setswana and English by the government. An analysis of policy documents and literature in the areas of language planning, bilingual education, literacy, religion, the media and historical accounts has provided baseline data on language policy formulation and implementation by both government and non-governmental organisations. The editors of Current Issues in Language Planning have provided a format for the presentation of this data to facilitate comparability with other polities.

Background Botswana is situated in the centre of Southern Africa. It shares borders with Zimbabwe, to the east, Namibia to the west and part of the north, South Africa to the south and Zambia to the north (Map 1). It is landlocked and most of its goods come through South African seaports. It straddles the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern African plateau (Republic of Botswana, 1997: 8:3). Botswana is about 1000 m above sea level and the land area is 582,000 km2 (222,000 sq. miles), about the size of Kenya or France. Most of Botswana is flat with a few rocky outcrops and undulations (Republic of Botswana, 1997: 8:3). In the north-west district is the Okavango Delta, an area of wetlands measuring 16,000 km2 (6106 sq. miles) (Tlou, 1985), with a variety of wildlife and birds. To the west is the Kalahari desert also blessed with wildlife. In the central part of the country are the Makgadikgadi saltpans. All of these areas attract tourists. The climate is often described as arid or semi-arid as the country is situated close to the high-pressure belt of the southern hemisphere. The minimum rainfall ranges between 250 mm in the south-west and 650 mm in the north-east. Most rains come between December and March. There are mainly two seasons: winter (May to July) and summer (August to April). Minimum temperatures range between 33 degrees Celsius in January and 22 degrees in July (96–74º F). Maximum temperatures range between 43 degrees and 32 degrees Celsius (116–74º F). Botswana’s economy is largely supported by the mining industry. At independence, Botswana was considered one of the poorest countries of the world. However, in 1967, diamonds were discovered at Orapa, one of the largest known kimberlites in the world, and later at Letlhakane and Jwaneng. Copper and nickel were also discovered at Selibe-Phikwe. Currently Botswana has three diamond mines, two copper and nickel smelters, a coal mine, soda ash and a salt extraction plant. Mining has transformed the economy to one of the fastest growing in Africa. Available data indicates that in 1994/95 mineral resources contributed 34% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 74. 9% of the country’s export earnings. It also contributed over 50% of government revenues (Republic of Botswana, 1997). The beef industry has contributed to the economy as well. For

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:53:28

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

23

Map 1 Botswana’s location in Southern Africa and other features (Wayeyi areas, mining towns)

instance, in 1994/95, it contributed 3.7% of the GDP, a decline from the record 40% before the mining era. Most of the beef is sold to the European Union. The population of Botswana remains rural and a large part of it depends on agriculture for its living, mainly subsistence farming, crop production and cattle rearing. Agriculture also contributes about two per cent of formal employment. Other sources of revenue are manufacturing, tourism, transport and construction. There are efforts to diversify the economy to reduce dependency on diamonds. These efforts include encouraging foreign investments in areas such as manufacturing and tourism. Before the advent of the British to Botswana, the system of governance was through chieftainship. Each tribe had a chief with absolute powers (Somolekae & Lekorwe, 1998). Some tribes, which lived in smaller groups, would have a leader for each group with absolute powers, whom they would refer to as chief or elder. Chieftainship is hereditary from the male line in most Setswana speaking tribes. The chief’s eldest son would inherit the position. In matrilineal tribes, such as the

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 16:13:06

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

24

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

Wayeyi, chieftainship was hereditary from the female line. In other words, the chieftainship would pass to the chief’s sister’s eldest son. Chiefs command a lot of respect amongst their people and other tribes. A chief had responsibilities for his people as well. He had to protect his people from war, hunger and other natural disasters. He was to perform ceremonies to launch the hunting and the ploughing seasons. He was a medicine man who would perform certain religious practices for his people to protect them from disease and mishap. He would also marry people, distribute land, and mediate disputes (Mgadla & Campbell, 1989; Mgadla, 1998). Naturally, a chief would have assistants in the form of sub-chiefs. In most cases, these would be close relatives. He would also have his mophato (a team of his age peers). The chief had to be generous, sensitive to the rule of law and had to live up to the expectations of his people. The expression kgosi ke kgosi ka batho (a chief is only a chief because of his people) was the fundamental principle. Without the support of his people, he was nothing, and so it was critical for him not to abuse his powers. In January 1885, the British enforced an Order in Council that declared their intention to occupy southern Botswana. In 1890, this order was extended to the northern part of the country, and actual colonial rule began. The motive behind the order was to keep the Germans from occupying the area as had already occurred in South-West Africa in 1884 (Ramsay, 1998). Through this order, Britain informed Botswana chiefs that the British were coming to protect them from the Germans. This meant that the protectorate was actually imposed on the chiefs; it was not requested as has been stated in some historical accounts (Ramsay, 1998). Three of the chiefs were summoned to England for consultations on the acceptance of the protectorate. These were Kgosi (Chief) Khama III of the Bamangwato tribe in the Central District, Chief Gaseitsiwe I of the Bangwaketse tribe in the south-western part of the country and Chief Sechele I of the Bakwena tribe. While Khama III embraced the idea, the others accepted it with some degree of reluctance (Ramsay, 1998). During the period between 1885 and 1965 the country was known as the Bechuanaland Protectorate. The British divided it into nine reserves each led by its chief. While traditionally the chiefs had had complete legislative, executive and judicial powers, the Order in Council of 1890 transferred those powers to the British High Commissioner. The chiefs were no longer recognised as the ‘sovereigns of the soil’. Land concessions were awarded to the British South African Company, which came in and forced out other companies. Queen Victoria was regarded as the ‘sovereign of the soil’. Another Order in Council of 1891 gave more legislative powers to the High Commissioner to enact laws for the administration of justice. However, he was cautioned to be sensitive to native laws as long as they were not in conflict with the interests of the British. In 1895, the three chiefs previously mentioned sent a petition to London, resisting the erosion of their powers on their own lands, but this was ignored. By this time, their role had been reduced to the collection of a hut tax to raise funds for the running of the colony. In 1934 the most direct piece of legislation, the Native Administration Proclamation, was introduced; it reduced the powers of chiefs and changed Tswana custom and law. It required the chief’s successor to be appointed by the whole tribe and to be recognised by the High Commissioner (Somolekae & Lekorwe, 1998). This eroded the hereditary aspect of chieftainship and subjected the appointment of the chief to the

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:53:47

CILP004

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

The Language Situation in Botswana

25

THE CONSTITUTION

The Legislature

The Executive

H.E. The President National Assembly

H.E. The President Cabinet

House of Chiefs

VP

The Judiciary

Court of Appeal

High Court

Magistrates Courts Permanent Secretary to the President

Clerk of National Assembly

Office of the President

Attorney General’s Chamber

Administrator of Justice

Ministries

Figure 1 Top central government in Botswana

approval of the High Commissioner. It enabled the British to select chiefs who were sympathetic to their interests and not necessarily to those of their people. Consequently, the High Commissioner could hire and fire chiefs. The Native Tribunal Proclamation No. 75 of 1934 further eroded the legislative and judicial powers of chiefs. Chiefs’ responsibility to hear cases of rape, murder and homicide was removed. These powers were maintained after independence and the essence of all these pieces of legislation are still alive within the current regulations. Chiefs and sub-chiefs are employees of the Ministry of Local Government which has the power to dismiss them. The constitution of Botswana provides every citizen with fundamental rights and freedoms. It is based on the four national principles of democracy, unity, development, and self-reliance. Elections are held every five years. It provides for the legislative, executive and judicial structure (Figure 1). The legislative 25

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:53:59

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

26

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

Map 2 Botswana tribal distribution by district (Source: Nyati-Ramahobo, 1999a: 83)

structure consists of the national assembly, composed of 40 members of Parliament, one from each constituency. In addition to elected members of Parliament, four are especially elected by Parliament to provide for special skills and expertise critical to the proceedings of Parliament. This was the situation in Parliament after the October 1999 elections. The number of women increased from two to eight, four of whom are ministers, two are assistant ministers and two were especially elected. The legislative branch also contains the House of Chiefs. Currently there are 15 members of the House. Eight of them are Paramount Chiefs of the eight Setswana speaking tribes (see Table 1 in Note 1), meaning that they are chiefs by birth. Four are elected sub-chiefs from areas where languages other than

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 16:09:22

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

27

Setswana are spoken that do not fall under any of the eight Paramount Chiefs; these include the North-east, Kgalagadi, Gantsi and Chobe districts (Map 2). Those tribes in the North-west, including the Hambukushu, Herero, Subia, Wayeyi, Baciriku (Baqcereku), and Basarwa are represented and ruled by the Batawana and are regarded as such (Map 2). The House elects three additional members by special election. Tribes, whose members do not speak Setswana as mother tongue, are not allowed to be represented by their Paramount Chiefs. They have to be represented by someone who speaks Setswana as a first language. This is an attempt to assimilate everyone into the Setswana language and culture. The House of Chiefs is highly symbolic, as its role is to express the total culture of the country and to influence policy from a cultural point of view. The current composition of the House has been challenged since independence as it denies other ethnic groups the opportunity to contribute to the decision-making process. Furthermore, it violates the democratic principle of representation. The continued imposition of chiefs and sub-chiefs from one tribe on another has been a matter of contention since independence. In some areas of the country, even for some of the eight so-called major tribes, tribe members are ruled by others. This has provoked some resistance; for example, the Bakgatla living in the Bakwena area are resisting the Bakwena rule and the Barolong in the Bangwaketsi area are also resisting Bangwaketsi rule. Many observers have called for an increase in the numbers in the House of Chiefs to make it more inclusive (Molutsi, 1998a). The issue of chieftainship has also been highly politicised. Since most people in the country still hold their chiefs in respect, they tend to vote for the party to which their chief is sympathetic. As chiefs are government employees, they naturally pay allegiance to the government. This is one of the factors that has led Botswana to be described as a one party state (Molutsi, 1994). Under these circumstances, there is little prospect for other parties to gain widespread support. As long as people respect their chiefs as the custodians of their cultures, and as long as the ruling party ensures the loyalty of all civil servants, the status quo is likely to remain (Molutsi, 1998b). Chiefs who have not showed sympathy for the ruling party have been intimidated. For instance, the paramount chief of the Bangwaketsi, Chief Seepapitso IV, has been a supporter of the opposition Botswana National Front (BNF), and that area supports the BNF. Having supported the opposition for a long time, the Minister for Local Government suspended him in 1994 (Somolekae & Lekorwe, 1998). It was only after a court battle that he was returned to a position of power. As chieftainship is related to ethnicity and language, it is against the above background that government continues to promote an assimilationist policy. If everyone were Tswana speaking, then everybody would be loyal to the ruling party, as long as it is led by a Mongwato (Table 1, see Note 1). After the death of Seretse Khama, the first president of Botswana, who was the chief of the Bamangwato tribe, President Masire who is a Mongwaketsi had to appease the Bamangwato by appointing Seretse’s cousin, Lenyeletsi Seretse to the Vice-Presidency. Equally, in 1999 President Mogae had to appease the Bamangwato by appointing Seretse Khama’s son, Ian Khama to the Vice-Presidency. Ian Khama was also expected to use his chieftainship to the Bamangwato throne and his father’s charisma to win the elections for the ruling party, which had lost face in

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:54:16

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

28

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

the 1994 general elections. Issues of ethnicity, language and chieftainship will continue to dominate the political debate in the country. The modernist assimilationist model enshrined within Sections 77 to 79 of the constitution, the Chieftainship Act and the Tribal Land Territories Act fosters their continued prominence. The legislative wing of government is therefore made up of the National Assembly and the House of Chiefs (Figure 1). There is also the Speaker of the National Assembly who is elected by the assembly. The Attorney General is also selected from the National Assembly to advise Parliament on legal matters. The second wing of the Government is the Executive. It is made up of the President and his cabinet ministers and the Permanent Secretary to the President who is in charge of the civil service. Finally, there is the Judiciary, which includes the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Magistrate Courts and the Administrator of Justice (Figure 1).

Part I: The Language Profile of Botswana Theoretical Framework Skutnabb-Kangas & Phillipson (1989) describe language rights as existing on a continuum from assimilation to maintenance. On this continuum, there are laws and regulations, which may prohibit, tolerate, prescribe non-discrimination, permit or promote the use of minority languages, either overtly or covertly. They give the United States as an example of a covert assimilation-prohibition situation based on Senator Huddleston’s draft English language amendment which reads ‘The English language shall be the official language of the United States’ (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1990: 27). This proposed legislation was meant to assimilate all other groups to English and prohibit them from using their own languages. Other languages are not mentioned and that means that they are indirectly or covertly prohibited.2 An assimilation-tolerance model exists when the law prescribes one language but provides room for other languages without any commitment to them. An example of this model is Zimbabwe where minority languages such as Karanga are used on the radio without any commitment to their development for use in other social domains. An example of a maintenance-permission continuum on the other hand, is South Africa. The Freedom Charter of 1955, also upheld in the current legislation, stated that ‘All people shall have equal rights to use their own languages, and to develop their own folk culture and customs’. The intention is to maintain as many languages as possible, hence permitting their development. In the discussion in Part III of this monograph, I note that the constitution of Botswana is silent on language policy. However, Sections 61(d) and 79(c) of the constitution state that the ability to speak and read English are requirements for one to be a member of the House of Chiefs or the National Assembly. This indicates that English is the only language that is permitted for use in Parliament and the House of Chiefs. The constitution therefore covertly prohibits the use of other languages. In 1998, Setswana was permitted to be used in Parliament; this was a

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:54:29

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

29

move from prohibition to tolerance for Setswana on the assimilation continuum. However, the use of other languages is still prohibited. The Botswana case, therefore, can best be described as assimilation prohibition, in which speakers of other languages are prohibited from using their languages while having to assimilate to Setswana and English. Practice over the past 33 years further indicates that only Setswana and English are permitted for use in social domains including education. Le Roux (1997) has described three types of assimilation. The first he calls assimilation, a one-way process in which minority groups give up their languages, cultures and traditions and assume those of the dominant group. He calls this model the ‘ice-cream plus salt theory’. The second is, amalgamation, also called the melting pot, another type of assimilation in which minority and majority cultures mix to form a new and unique culture, with characteristics distinct from the original cultures. Finally, he describes structural assimilation or the ‘blender’ approach in which there is total rejection of any kind of grouping on the basis of religion, language, ethnicity and so on. This is also called the ‘open community’ ideology. Under this approach, groups have no rights and individual rights are regarded as the core of social order. Proponents of this approach believe that group rights restrict individual rights to some extent, and they regard assimilation and amalgamation as anti-pluralistic. As this monograph demonstrates, the Botswana government has adopted the assimilation approach in which speakers of languages other than Setswana must assimilate into the culture of Setswana speaking groups. Ruiz (1984) proposed three orientations towards language planning. These are: language as a problem, a resource or a right. He believes that ‘basic orientations toward language and its role in society influence the nature of language planning efforts in any particular context’ (Ruiz, 1984: 15). He defines orientations as a ‘complex of dispositions toward language and its role – which are related to language attitudes in that they constitute the framework in which attitudes are formed’ (Ruiz, 1984: 16). Orientations are largely at the subconscious level but could be inferred from existing policies and practices. As Table 2 indicates, how language planners view language determines the strategies they employ to address language problems.
When language planners view language diversity as a problem, they adopt the assimilation model. In status planning their goal would be to eradicate minority languages and corpus planning activities would be characterised by the development of the national language only and neglect of minority languages. Under the influence of this orientation, acquisition planning activities would involve teaching and developing materials in the national language only.
When planners or policy makers view language as a right, their status planning activities would include the recognition of minority languages and give overt permission to speakers of those languages to use them. In corpus planning, efforts would be made to develop and standardise minority languages to facilitate acquisition planning. Children speaking minority languages would be allowed to learn in their mother tongue.
When linguistic diversity is viewed as a resource, policy statements in status planning would be geared towards the development, preservation

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:54:44

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

30

Table 2 Language planning types, orientations and goals (Nyati-Ramahobo, 1998b: 55) Orientations Problem

Right

Resource

Assimilation

Linguistic affirmation

Linguistic pluralism

Status planning (Language functions)

Minority eradication

Recognise minority Preserve and develop as many languages as possible

Corpus planning (Language structure)

Standardisation of the national language only and neglect of minority language

Extension of Graphisation and minority languages standardisation of minority languages lexically and sociolinguistically

Acquisition planning (Language learning)

Curriculum development and teaching of the national language only; learning in minority languages

Curriculum development and teaching and learning in minority languages

Goals: Types

Human resource development, material production, literacy skills

and use of as many languages as possible. More languages would be given functions within the life of the nation, such as for use in churches, voting, the media and many other social domains, as is the case in South Africa. Corpus planners would then develop written forms of as many languages as possible. Acquisition planning process would produce teaching materials to facilitate learning of these various languages. Table 2 indicates the relationship between language planning orientations, goals and types of planning. Nyati-Ramahobo (1999a) maintains that language planning in Botswana has been influenced by the orientation of language diversity being viewed as problem, in which minority languages, cultures and identities must be eradicated. All children must learn Setswana and use it as medium of instruction. They must assimilate to the Setswana language and culture. Democracy demands that group rights be granted and, consequently, groups such the youth, women and the disabled are supported. Similarly minority group rights have to be tolerated and groups should be allowed to form registered organisations along ethnic and linguistic lines. Such rights would create tensions between an assimilationist model and democracy. One of the reasons why ethnic identities have not disappeared is that within a democracy people can no longer be imprisoned for developing and using their languages. This issue is discussed further in the role of non-governmental organisations in language maintenance in Part Four of this monograph. Major and minor languages English is the official language of Botswana. It permeates the social, economic and cultural lives of all educated Batswana and the government prefers the use of

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:55:02

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

31

English to any other language in the country. Setswana is the main language of Botswana. Some scholars estimate that it is spoken by about 80% of the population as a first language (Obondo-Okoyo & Sabone, 1986, also refer to Map 1). Others maintain that, taken individually, most Tswana speaking tribes are minorities in Botswana, while collectively they may or may not form a majority over non-Tswana tribes taken together (Mpho, 1987). For instance, Parsons (1985: 27) maintains that the concept of Tswanadom that is both philosophical and territorial has led many observers to assume that Botswana is a mono-ethnic state . . . [but] only in so far as the Tswana minority has successfully imposed its culture on the majority population of the extreme diverse origins…[and even then] ethnic identities have not disappeared. However, because of this imposition, speakers of the eight dialects, which make up the Setswana language, are regarded as the majority tribes in the country. The Chieftainship Act, Cap.41: 01 (Republic of Botswana, 1965) states that ‘tribe means, the Bamangwato Tribe, the Batawana Tribe, the Bakgatla Tribe, the Bakwena Tribe, the Bangwaketse Tribe, the Bamalete Tribe, the Barolong Tribe and the Batlokwa Tribe’ (41:3) (refer to Table 1, Category one). The Tribal Territories Act (Cap.32: 03 (Republic of Botswana, 1965) also defines tribal territory with respect to these tribes meaning that only those tribes are sovereigns of the land. Most of these tribes originated from South Africa during the Difaqane wars in the 1820s and 1830s (Tlou & Campbell, 1984: 101; Ncqocqo, 1979; Ramsay et al., 1996: 61). The Bakwena, Bangwato and Bangwaketsi are the descendants of Malope (Tlou, 1998), which in the 1800s became separate tribes by the Difaqane wars. Currently, the Bangwaketsi live in the south-western part of Botswana while the Bangwato (or the Bamangwato) live in the central and the Bakwena in the southern part (Map 2). About 10% of the population now speak Setswana as a second language (Obondo-Okoyo & Sabone, 1986). Other tribes speak languages that are regarded as sub-dialects of Setswana. However, the speakers regard themselves as autonomous tribes. These are the Babirwa, Batswapong, Bahurutshe, Bakhurutshe and Bapedi. Most of these tribes also originated from South Africa and live on the eastern border of Botswana with South Africa. By 1800, the Bapedi had settled throughout the Central District, and in 1913 the Bakhurutshe moved to the interior of the Central District (Ramsay et al., 1996: 15). The Bahurutshe live in the Kweneng District closer to the Southern border of the two countries (Table 1, Category 2 and 3). Other language groups include Bakalaka, Basarwa, Wayeyi, Hambukushu, Baherero, Basubiya, Baciriku, Bakgalagadi, Bakgothu, Bashaga and Banabjwa (Map 2, also Table 1, Category 3). It is estimated that these groups make up about 15 to 20% of the population (Obondo-Okoyo & Sabone, 1986; Janson & Tsonope, 1991: 86–7). They speak different languages that are neither related to Setswana nor mutually intelligible. The Basarwa group is made up of about seventeen San ethnic groups who speak different languages (Appendix 1). All the tribes described in the previous paragraph are regarded as minority tribes. The terms minority and majority have, by definition, no numerical significance in Botswana. What determines whether a tribe is major or minor is whether it belongs to one of the eight Setswana tribes and speak one of the eight Setswana

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:55:50

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

32

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

dialects. For instance, the Bakalaka are believed to be the largest tribe in the Central District, and yet they are regarded as a minority tribe because they speak Ikalanga, which is not related to Setswana. The Wayeyi constitute about 40% of the population of the Ngamiland district (Anderson & Janson, 1997; also refer to Kamanakao web-site in the reference section). By contrast, the Batawana constitute one per cent of the population and yet the former are regarded as a minority tribe and the latter as a majority tribe. The Batawana rule over the Wayeyi, and the Batawana Paramount Chief represents the Wayeyi in the House of Chiefs. The government does not recognise the Wayeyi Paramount Chief and this matter is presently before the High Court. The Balete and Batlokwa have small populations occupying one village, and yet they are regarded as majority tribes and are represented by their Paramount Chiefs in the House of Chiefs. The general pattern is that Setswana speaking groups rule over all the non-Setswana tribes. The village capital of the major tribe is the capital of all the other tribes nearest to it. It is the place where government services are provided irrespective of the distance to be travelled. This is the way in which linguistic imperialism has penetrated the social and economic lives of those tribes which do not speak Setswana as a first language. In all national events, the major culture portrayed is that of the eight major tribes. Minority languages and cultures are suppressed and their use in public domains is discouraged. These policies are meant to foster national unity and a national cultural identity. They are congruent with an assimilationist model and are underpinned by an orientation that views linguistic and cultural diversity as a problem and a threat to national unity. Language of religion Amanze (1998: 1) maintains that ‘traditional religion is a living faith among Batswana today’. This is so because ‘they have revived and continued to observe a great number of their religious beliefs and practices some of which were attacked by the early missionaries as evil and detrimental to the spiritual life of Batswana’. He further observes that people in Africa are ‘born, live and die in their traditional religions’ (1998: 2). A recent newspaper report has indicated most Batswana, including the highly educated, still rely on traditional medicine (The Voice, Friday, 21 May 1998). Traditional medicine is closely related to traditional religion. It is this religion that protects the people from witchcraft, sorcery, drought, uncertainty, disease, misfortune and other physical, spiritual, economic and social phenomena (Amanze, 1998: 3). Like most Africans, Batswana believe in one supreme being (Modimo in Setswana, Urezha in Shiyeyi (Tlou, 1985), or Nyambe in Thimbukushu or Nzimu in Ikalanga. For all ethnic groups in Botswana this one God is always described in anthropomorphic terms. He can see, hear, get angry, forgive, answer and so on. This is reflected in given names of people such as Oarabile (He has answered). They also believe in ancestral spirits (Badimo) in Setswana, or Wazumu in Shiyeyi. The dead are considered to continue to exist in a spiritual form, and they serve as the mediator between the living and God. The spirits can also neglect or punish the living; they can forgive, protect and come closer to them in times of need. When they are angry they may bring disease, misfortune, or death. Certain practices need to be followed to make them happy. These practices have stood the test of time and people in towns go to villages on weekends to perform such rites.

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:56:13

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

33

This phenomenon has maintained a strong bond between the working class in towns and their traditional villages. While some practices such as initiation ceremonies have ceased, those practices related to health and fortune continue despite attempts by the missionaries to abolish them. Some of the practices include birth rites to protect the child from disease and bad spirits and marriage rites to ensure that the couples do not divorce. The priesthood in the African religion includes diviners, medicine men and rainmakers. Chiefs also hold religious powers. During colonial rule, the British overtly banned some religious practices. They felt that practices such as bogwera (male initiation) took a lot of the chiefs’ time from their work for the colony. For instance, in 1931 Kgosi Sebele II of the Bakwena tribe, a traditionalist, wanted to follow the bogwera which one was required in order to be a chief or a respected male adult (Ramsay, 1987). The British collaborated with his relatives who were against his policy of promoting commoners to chieftainship duties. They used their complaints to make Sebele II a political prisoner. The real reason was that he insisted on practising bogwera. Currently, only the Kgosi Linchwe II Kgafela of the Bakgatla still practises bogwera. As chiefs are now elected and not necessarily born into ruling positions, their religious powers have been reduced. They act only as clients to medicine men who strengthen them and protect them from evil and opposition. In 1998 the Wayeyi informed Kgosi Tawana that they would like to have their own chief. He said in a kgotla3 meeting ‘I am not afraid that you will take my chair [meaning chieftainship seat] because I have put some powerful charms under it and no one can take it away’ (Davies, 1998). It was not Kgosi Tawana but the medicine men who provided the charms, and that was understood by the Wayeyi. Chiefs no longer have powers to bring rain and provide good harvest for their people. They have lost their religious powers. Missionaries from the London Missionary Society (LMS) came to Bechuanaland (Botswana) in the first half of the 18th century to spread Christianity. The missionaries’ first task was to convert each of the Paramount Chiefs of the eight major tribes to Christianity. This practice resulted in the LMS playing a major role in the development of Setswana both in Botswana and in South Africa. It was the first language south of Ethiopia to have a translation of the Bible, a task that was completed by the 1850s (Parsons, 1998). The LMS built three senior secondary schools in Botswana that still operate today: Moeding and Moeng Colleges and Maun Secondary School. They also built hospitals, which continue to provide medical care. During this period the use of Setswana in religion was obvious, as morning prayers in schools and hospitals were conducted in Setswana. When deacons and other church leaders visited hospitals to pray for the sick, the services were conducted in Setswana. After independence, morning prayers in schools began to be conducted in English. Christianity has therefore played a major role in the promotion of Setswana and English in the church and in the exclusion of other languages in accordance with the assimilationist model. Chiefs were often tutored by missionaries or local priests who were trained by and worked for missionaries. For instance, Kgosi Seepapitso II of the Bangwaketsi was tutored as a child by Moruti (Preacher) Mothowagae Motlogelwa of the LMS and later went to Lovedale Institute, a missionary school in South Africa. Religion therefore played a significant role, not only in building schools but also in schooling the chiefs and teaching them English. This was helpful in

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:56:27

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

34

Table 3 Religions and their membership Religion Christians

Membership

%

392, 035

30.00

Bahai

5,000

0.38

Muslims

3,848

0.23

Hindus

2,000

0.15

Buddhists

150

0.01

Sikhs

144

0.01

Source: Amanze (1988: x)

maintaining traditional ways, as some dikgosi (chiefs) like Seepapitso used their education to resist some of the changes the British wanted to implement. Like Sebele, he was a traditionalist who believed in Christianity without abandoning Tswana law and custom (Ramsay, 1987). He spoke English very well and consequently was able to put his point of view to the British. As he himself was fluent in English, he did not oppose its use in the church along with translations into Setswana. While the majority of the people in Botswana believe in their ancestral sprits, Christianity is the official religion in the country. About 176 Christian denominations are represented in Botswana (Amanze, 1994). Other religions such as Bahai, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism are also present (Table 3). Amongst the Christian churches there are three types (Amanze, 1998: ix): the mission churches (30.5%), which came because of missionary work in Africa, the Pentecostal churches (6.58%) and independent churches (64.93%), mainly of African or specifically Tswana origin (Sic, percentages add to more than 100% in the original). The latter are mostly a blend of Western and African philosophies of religion. The independent churches have upheld the African religions and traditions. Within the mission churches, the largest is the Roman Catholic Church with 47,000 members followed by the Lutheran church with 24,000 members (Amanze, 1994). A denominational classification of Christian churches in Botswana includes: Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Congregational, Methodist, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Pentecostal and Independent churches (Amanze, 1999). Their approaches to religion include the apostolic, the prophetic, the evangelical and the spiritual. While traditional religious acts such as drinking, concubinage, pre-marital sex, polygamy, and smoking were not banned, most churches, including independent churches, discourage such practices, of course with varying degrees of success. The methods of worship, more especially in independent churches, have blended both Western and African styles. Dress is formal as it is in the West but the proceedings include African styles such as hand clapping, drumming, dancing and the use of African music. Religion has increased the use of Setswana and English. A study conducted by Nyati-Ramahobo (1991) concluded that most churches use English and Setswana, with the former playing a major role in the proceedings of the church. For instance, in the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA), the main message of the sermon is delivered in English with translations into

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:56:39

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

35

Setswana. Batswana ministers in urban areas use English to deliver their messages. In making announcements, the secretary may use his/her discretion as to which announcements are to be in both Setswana and English and which ones are to be monolingual in Setswana. The church choir sings hymns both in Setswana and English, while the congregation sings hymns in Setswana. The Scripture may be read in Setswana or English, but not necessarily the same text in both languages. The increase in the use of English in urban churches is a result of an increase in the number of younger church leaders and of a greater participation of younger parishioners in church activities. However, Setswana is dominant in rural churches. In the spirit of the assimilationist model in which language diversity is viewed as a threat to peace, minority languages are rarely used in church. However, in the 1980s the Lutheran Bible Translators based at Aurora, Illinois and the Botswana Christian Council have played a significant role in the development of minority languages such as Ikalanga as discussed below. The translation of the New Testament into Hambukushu and Ikalanga has led to the informal use of these languages in some churches in the north-east and north-west of the country. The development of the Shiyeyi orthography has resulted in the translation of some hymns into Shiyeyi. These hymns are sung at some funeral services. Increasingly religion is playing a crucial role in the development of minority languages and their gradual introduction into rural churches which otherwise use Setswana in their proceedings. Membership of other religions is essentially composed of foreigners who use mainly English except for Islam and Hinduism, which use Arabic or Indian languages.

Socio-linguistic Complexity of the Country Since independence, the national population and housing census has not included data on the ethnic and/or linguistic composition of the country. Since linguistic diversity is regarded as a problem, such data might promote ethnic awareness and disrupt the assimilation process. Implied in this practice is the promotion of national identity over ethnic identity. Another reason is that, with the definition of majority and minority being non-numerically determined, such data would quickly bring to the attention of the people the fact that what the government regards as major ethnic groups are actually a numerical minority. This absence of ethnic and/or linguistic information in the census has hampered easy access to empirical and scientific data that would provide an accurate description of the socio-linguistic complexity of the country. Because of this problem, scholars who have worked on the various languages and ethnic groups of Botswana have based their information on estimates. Table 4 presents census data from pre-independence in one district, Ngamiland (Map 2). The 1936 and 1946 censuses were the last to include ethnicity (Tlou, 1985, from Shapera, 1959). These figures can only serve as a rough guide as these ethnic groups are also represented in other parts of the country, while other ethnic groups are not represented in this district. Table 4 indicates that the Wayeyi were the most numerous group in both periods, and yet by government definition they are considered a minority tribe. Tlou (1985) cautions against the use of census figures during that period since

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:56:51

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

36

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

Table 4 Population in Ngamiland by ethnic group in 1936 and 1946 Bantu

1936 (census)

1946 (census)

BaGcereku

–

1,513

BaHerero

2,933

5,798

BaKalaka BaKgalagadi

– 2,270

728 1,918

BaRotsi

–

BaSarwa

3,067

BaSotho

–

42

BaSubiya

–

486

BaTawana Bayei/Wayeyi/Bayeyi Hambukushu Matebele Others Total

744 3,704

7072

8,124

16,496

13,261

5,919

5,286

–

103

4,402

–

42,158

41,707

Source: Tlou (1985: 9)

only major villages were included. The census for 1946 may have been done during the ploughing season when most people were away in the fields. Another possible explanation for the decrease between 1936 and 1946 was that the count was conducted at the height of the conflict between the Bayei (Wayeyi) and Batawana, just before the 1948 court case. During that period most minority groups were intimidated and were forced to identify themselves as the Batawana. This seems to make sense in that the Batawana population was seen to have increased but others (like BaYei, Hambukushu and BaKgalagadi) had decreased. Mpho (1987) presents figures for the 1946 census in the Central District (see Table 5). The Kalanga were the most numerous in this reserve, and yet at independence they were declared a minority and their language was banned from use in school since it was not Setswana, and recognising it would not promote the concept of Tswanadom. Table 6 provides post-independence figures along with the most recent estimates by scholars. The compilation in Batibo et al. (1997) has relied on Anderson and Janson’s estimates. The figures for Wayeyi could be higher due to denial of Shiyeyi identity by many Wayeyi at that time. In fact Anderson & Janson (1997: 73) estimate that the Wayeyi could be between 28,000 and 37,000. While the denial syndrome is not exclusive to the Wayeyi, the Batawana more extensively subjected them to slavery than any other tribe. Most of them have become assimilated and cannot speak Shiyeyi, while others speak it but do not admit that they do due to the low status of the language through its association with slavery. However, things may have changed slightly since 1995, after the formation of the Kamanakao Association (see Part IV). The figures for the BaHerero could be much lower. They immigrated to Botswana in 1904/05 (Anderson & Janson,

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:57:02

CILP004

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

The Language Situation in Botswana

37

Table 5 Population of the Bamangwato Reserve (now Central District, see Map 1) Group

Population

Bakalaka

22,777

spalphaBamangwato

20,159

Batswapong

11,237

Babirwa

9,636

San

9,567

Bakhurutshe

5,441

Bakgalagadi

3,963

Batalaote

3,538

Bakaa

3,055

Bapedi

2,572

Baphaleng

2,409

OvaHerero

1,013

Balozi

1,006

Bakwena

892

Baseleka

889

Banajwa

844

Bayei/Wayeyi/Bayeyi

724

Table 6 Estimated number of speakers Ethnic Group

Population & per cent of population Batibo et al. (1997)

Anderson & Janson (1997)

BaHerero

31,000 (1.7)

31,000 (2.2)

BaKalaka

150,000 (11)

150,000 (11)

BaKgalagadi

15,000 (1.4)

10,000+ (?)

BaSarwa (Khoisan)

39,800 (2.8)

40,000 (4)

BaSubiya BaYei/Wayeyi/Bayeyi Hambukushu Batswana* Others Totals

7,000 (0.5) 20,000 (1.4) 8,000 (0.6) 1,100,000 (79) 20,000 (1.4) 1,390,800

7,000 (0.5) 37,000 (4) 6,000+ 1,100,000+ (80) – 1,381,000

*Batswana refers to the eight dialects spoken by the eight so-called major tribes. There have been no data on the numbers for each of these tribes for the past 63 years.

1997) but continued to consider themselves to be Namibians. After Namibia’s independence in 1996, some moved back, while others remained in various parts of Botswana. The 1991 population census indicated that 54% of the population of Botswana live in the rural areas (Central Statistics Office, 1995: 5). Due to the lack

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:57:11

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

38

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

of reliable data, it is difficult to estimate the percentages of each ethnic group living in rural or urban areas. The numbers in Table 6 should be treated with great caution; they are estimates based on the 1936 and 1946 census figures for the Ngamiland and Central Districts only. The discrepancy in the totals confirms that these are only estimates. It is not possible to use figures that are 63 years old to work out current figures, especially in a situation in which language shift has been accelerated by deliberate policies. Smieja and Mathangwane (1999) have also discussed the rate of language shift; Sommer and Vossen (1995) suggest that estimates such as these may not be reliable. Language shift suggests a shift in self-perception and identity. The 1991 census did not include ethnic or linguistic information. Secondly, Batibo and his colleagues relied heavily on Anderson and Janson’s figures. Hence, they do not provide an alternative level of analysis.

Part II: Language Spread Development of Language-in-education Policies Education provision after independence During the Colonial period, education was provided by only four mission schools. Few people had access to these schools and at independence there was an acute shortage of manpower to lead the country. The education sector has experienced a tremendous amount of expansion during the past 33 years, in terms of number of students, schools and teachers. In 1974, eight years after independence, the first President, Sir Seretse Khama, appointed a commission to assess the entire education system and make recommendations for implementation. The National Commission on Education (NCE 1), chaired by Professor Torsen Husen, then Director of the Institute for International Education at Stockholm, started its work in 1975 and brought it to completion in 1977. One of the major findings of this exercise was that the education sector was expanding in terms of student enrolment (Table 7). However, a number of problems were identified including low achievement rates. The Commission stated that ‘schools are not even achieving their narrow academic objectives well’ (NCE 1977a: 18). The system was based on European models and has not been changed to accommodate local needs in terms of curriculum content. Assessment was basically used for selection into the next level, and ultimately preparing learners for white-collar jobs. The rapid expansion in enrolment at the primary level (74%) and at secondary school (a six-fold increase between 1966 and 1976), imposed a greater demand for increases in teacher training, buildings, equipment and administrative levels. Thus, while more children were coming into the education system, not enough was happening to provide for their education. There was a shortage of manpower in the Ministry of Education. Consequently, schools were not inspected on a regular basis. There was no curriculum review being carried out and goals and policies meant to improve the system were not being implemented. The other problem identified was that the Ministry of Education had

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:57:22

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

39

Table 7 School enrolment: 1966–1976 Year

Primary

Secondary

University

1966

71,546

1531

0

1967

71,577

1854

0

1968

78,963

2299

0

1969

82,214

3099

0

1970

83,002

3905

0

1971

78,442

4740

42

1972

81,662

5564

70

1973

95,511

6152

132

1974

103,711

7055

201

1975

116,293

8434

289

1976

125,588

9558

465

Source: National Commission on Education (1977: 14)

focused on secondary and higher education in terms of quality issues while primary education was neglected; for instance, most teachers at the primary school level were not trained. They were also disparities between urban and rural areas in terms of the provision of education. For instance, in rural areas most children had to walk long distances to get to a school, and sometimes they had to move to a different village to go to school. There were also more untrained teachers in rural schools and poorer facilities. Finally, children in rural areas speak non-school languages and have problems comprehending instruction in the national language. The Commission made recommendations to address some of the most pressing issues facing the education system at that time. Amongst these were the following. (1) The need to give priority to primary education as the foundation for other levels of education; specifically to attend to both quantitative and qualitative issues at this level eg, the curriculum should ensure that each child acquires basic literacy and numeracy skills. (2) An increase in opportunity to enter junior secondary education in several ways was recommended, including part-time study, lifting age restriction to entrance, expansion of facilities, and the development of teacher training colleges and more schools. It also recommended the development of a coherent system between technical and vocational education. (3) The examination marks for Setswana should be included in the Primary School Leaving Examinations’ (PSLE) mark, and a compensatory programme should be developed for children who speak other languages. (4) The education system should foster the four national principles of development: self-reliance, unity, and democracy – which culminate in the philosophy of Kagisano (social justice). The report this Commission produced was called Education for Kagisano, and the accepted recommendations are contained in Government White Paper No. 1, the National Policy on Education, passed by Parliament in August, 1977.

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:57:34

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

40

Table 8 Education enrolment 1979–1991 Year

Primary

Junior Secondary

Senior Secondary

University

1979

156,664

14,165

2,551

–

1984

209,772

23,500

3,864

–

1988

261,352

27,989

12,368

–

1991

298,812

52,866

22,496

1997/98

– 8,302

Sources: National Commission on Education (1993); Central Statuistics Office (1999)

(5) The Commission recommended a change in the education structure from 7:3:3:4 to 7:2:3.4 (primary, junior secondary, senior secondary and university). (6) The Commission recommended the Establishment of the Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation. (7) The Commission also made recommendations on the use of Setswana as medium of instruction and other language related issues. These will be discussed in detail in the following section on language-in-education policies. From 1977 to 1992, the Ministry of Education (Figure 2) tried to implement the recommendations of the first National Commission on Education and deliver education for social justice. In 1992, the second President, Sir Ketumile Masire, appointed the second National Commission on Education (NCE 2), to reassess the entire system and indicate its strengths and weaknesses with a view to forging a way forward into the next millennium. This thrust developed in light of the fact that there had been many societal, economic, political and cultural changes since 1977. Mr Ponatshego H. Kedikilwe, then Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration, chaired this Commission. He was the Minister of Education, and many people thought that he had the opportunity to implement his own recommendations. However, he later resigned his cabinet post. The Commission started its work in April 1992 and completed it in 1994. It identifies key areas where improvements had taken place since the last Commission and areas that needed attention within the system. The following improvements were reported to have taken place:
enrolments had continued to expand (Table 8);
the Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation had been established, and the curriculum was generally sensitive to the philosophy of Kagisano;
there were great improvements in the curriculum and new teaching methods and approaches had been put in place to facilitate learning;
universal access to primary education had been achieved and there was greater access to junior secondary education (Figure 3);
the Department of Primary Education had been established at the University of Botswana in 1981 to train teachers to diploma level and education officers to degree level. Thus there was a steady decrease in the number of untrained teachers from 38.6% in 1978 to 13.3% in 1991. The following areas still remained problematic:

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:57:47

CILP004

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

The Language Situation in Botswana

41

The Honorable Minister of Education Other Ministries Permanent Secretary

University of Botswana

External Agencies Coordinator of RNPE*

MLGH

Exams, Research & Testing

Planning, Statistics & Research

Deputy Permanent Sec. (Support Services)

Deputy Permanent Sec. (Educ. Dev. Serv.)

DEPARTMENTS

DEPARTMENTS

* The Revised Policy on Education

Figure 2 Structure of the Ministry of Education


access to senior secondary education was still a problem (NCE 2, 1993: 148);
there was still need for equity in the provision of education between rural and urban areas;
there was still an imbalance in the provision of education between secondary and primary education. Primary school teachers still had no housing, the schools were not electrified and there was still a shortage of classrooms. These problems still persist today. There are still large numbers of untrained teachers found in primary schools. The Commission then made recommendations in four major areas: (1) Equity: Not only was equity necessary between rural and urban areas, and between primary and secondary education, but also for children with special abilities or disabilities in and out of school education, and by gender.

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:57:55

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

42

Age

Level

Tertiary

21 Tertiary Institutions

20

World of Work

22

17 16

Senior Secondary Form 4–5 (2 Years)

Distance Education and Part-Time Study Secondary

18

Vocational Training

19

15 14

Junior Secondary School Form 1–3 (3 Years)

13 12

10 9

Primary School Standard 1–7 (7 Years)

Adult Basic Education (National Literacy Programme)

Primary

11

8 7 6 5 4

Pre-School Currently not in Place (only run by NGOs)

Early Childhood Education

Figure 3 Structure of education and training

It noted the high access rate to primary education by girls, but their high drop-out rate at junior and senior secondary level. It further noted the under-representation of females in science-related areas at tertiary level. Some of the recommendations in this area, including the use of mother tongue at pre-school level and upon demand at primary level, were rejected by Parliament, and hence are not contained in Appendix 2. (2) Quality: Academic achievement at primary school was still very low, with a slight improvement at secondary level over the years. The Commission further recommended that the education system should now address quality issues and reintroduce the 7:3:2:4 system. The development of the teach-

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:58:06

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

43

ing profession has been identified as the main strategy for addressing the quality of education as teachers have the greatest impact on performance. This development should include enhancing the status of teachers, providing better working conditions and incentives and improving teacher-training programmes. (3) School management: The Commission noted that poorly managed schools performed poorly, and recommended measures to address this matter. For instance, the role of head teachers was to be clearly defined as instructional leaders and the appropriate training was to be provided. (4) Finance: The Commission noted that the education system required cost recovery and effective financing systems. The development of educational managers and review of the delivery system are critical to improving education. A total of 134 recommendations were made and those which were accepted are contained the Government White Paper No. 2 called the Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE) passed by the National Assembly in April 1994. Since then efforts have been geared towards implementing these recommendations. Those recommendations dealing with language are provided in Appendix 2. The latest available data is for 1997, and this does not indicate how the system has been performing since the report. However, it indicates minority-dominated areas such as Kgalagadi, Ngwaketse, Kweneng, Gantsi and Ngamiland have the highest number of school drop-outs, the highest repetition rates, the highest number of untrained teachers and the greatest shortage of classrooms (Central Statistics Office, 1999: 24, 30,36).

Language-in-education policies At independence in 1966, there was no clear policy regarding the medium of instruction in schools. However, there was a general understanding that English (the official language, required by the constitution) would constitute the medium of instruction. Due to the relatively low qualifications of teachers, and their inability to communicate in English, the use of Setswana was tolerated in lower grades. Other languages, such as Ikalanga, which were taught in school before independence, were banned from use in school at independence. The policy assumed the use of English as the medium of instruction at all levels, with tolerance for Setswana when communication problems occurred in Standards 1 and 2. On the other hand, practice indicated that teachers actually code-switched between Setswana and English throughout the primary and secondary school levels (NCE, 1977a). Practice further indicated that in the North-east District, Ikalanga continued to be used as an informal medium of instruction in schools despite its ban. Despite this reality, some officials in the Ministry of Education continued to believe that English was the essential medium of instruction. More efforts and resources were, therefore, allocated towards the improvement of the teaching of English and its use as the medium of instruction rather than Setswana, which was at that time a non-examinable subject. The First National Commission on Education (NCE 1, 1977a: 76) viewed this situation as one that neglected the national language. It noted that:

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:58:20

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

44

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

The introduction of English as a medium of instruction as early as Standard 3 … clearly discriminated against the national language. The Commission feels strongly that every nation ought to give a prominent place to its language in its education system. The Commission further argued that first language education facilitates not only early concept formation but also the acquisition of other languages. The Commission then recommended the use of Setswana for the first four years of primary education. However, it did not make any recommendations on the use of minority languages in education, but rather recommended that a compensatory programme should be developed for children who speak other languages. Komarek & Keatimilwe (1988) conducted a feasibility study for the programme. They recommended a transitional model of bilingual education, from mother tongue to Setswana and to English for areas where Setswana is not spoken as mother tongue. However, the government did not accept this recommendation, as it would have contradicted the policy of assimilation. The second National Commission on Education (NCE 2, 1993: 113) reduced the number of years for Setswana as medium of instruction from four years to one. This Commission felt that ‘[t]he present language policy denies the child mastering of the main language needed for better achievement in primary school and in further education and in working life’. The Commission viewed first language education as hindering the child’s access to the language of business, which is English. The argument had little to do with the role of the first language in the learning process. It also ignored the reality that, before the 1977 policy, low academic achievement characterised the education system and yet English was assumed to be the medium of instruction at that time. Hence, first language use could not be solely responsible for low achievement. This Commission, however, recommended the use of the first language, including minority languages, at pre-primary education, but the recommendation was rejected by Parliament. The language planning processes in Botswana are influenced by an orientation which views language diversity as a problem, a reversal or negation of democratic gains, a threat to unity, social harmony and to development (Nyati-Ramahobo, 1991: 201). The first President, Sir Seretse Khama, informed the nation that his party ‘stands for a gradual but sure evolution of a nation state …to which tribal groups will, while in existence, take secondary place’ (Carter & Morgan, 1980: 291). In 1989 the second President, Sir Ketumile Masire, asked Batswana … not to spoil the prevailing peace and unity in the country by fighting for ethnic language groupings to take precedence over Setswana, and that tribes insisting that their languages become media of instruction within their respective areas would break up the nation. (Botswana Daily News, 30 June 1989, no 123:1) These statements reflect an overt prohibition of the use of other languages. President Mogae, then Vice-President, visited the villages of Dukwe and Mosetse in the Central District to diffuse tension between the Bamangwato and the Bakalaka tribes after two sub-chiefs from the former were imposed on the latter. A journalist reporting on the visit wrote:

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:58:31

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

45

He [Mogae] is reported to have told residents of Dukwi and Mosetse that all people who live in the Central District should consider themselves Bangwato, thus justifying Ngwato hegemony over tribes like Basarwa, Bakalaka, Babirwa, Batswapong and others. …Mogae failed a leadership test. This was an opportunity for him to rise to the occasion and concede that there is indeed a rather skewed constitutional arrangement. Instead, he continued the tradition of pandering to the whims of the ‘principal’ tribes. There is sufficient evidence that advocates of tribal equality are all for national unity, but not at the expense of their integrity. (Moeti, 1998: 9) This is clearly the assimilatory model of ‘ice-cream plus salt’. The President is saying these tribes have to melt and give up their cultures and completely assimilate into the Ngwato culture. It is overt prohibition of the actualisation of the cultures of these people. The trend within the ruling Botswana Democratic Party is to uphold the constitution, discriminating as it may be, and those who point to this problem are quickly labelled ‘tribalistic’ and ‘engineers of ethnic conflict’. For fear of being labeled as such, critics tend to remain silent. Because of the push for monolingualism and monoculturalism by the ruling party, the Revised National Policy on Education, approved by Parliament in April 1994, contains only those recommendations of the NCE 2 which deal with teaching of Setswana and English (see Appendix 2). It is worth noting that, while the new policy has advocated the use of English as the medium of instruction (18(a)) at the expense of Setswana, the rest of the recommendations advocate the use of Setswana in education. Recommendation 3, which calls for the formulation of a comprehensive language policy, could possibly promote Setswana in other social domains, such as business, technology, government, law and in the political structures. It is also worth noting that recommendation number 46(b) assumes that job opportunities requiring competence in Setswana are available. Research indicates that such job requirements are currently rarely found in advertisements as compared to those requiring competence in English (Nyati-Ramahobo, 1991). This practice constitutes a major demotivating factor for both learners and teachers of Setswana. The economic use of Setswana must diversify beyond radio announcers, court interpreters and teachers to accommodate Setswana as a language of social mobility and consequently, must absorb the products of the education system. A comprehensive language policy will have to take this issue very seriously in order to facilitate the implementation of recommendations 31 and 46(b). Five years after the approval of the policy, none of the recommendations has been implemented, except that preparations are currently underway to implement 18(a), dealing with the use of English at Standard 2. More resources continue to be directed towards the use of English in all social domains including education. This practice has led scholars and citizens to believe that the government is pushing for monolingualism in English and, to some extent, recognition of the role of Setswana. The language-in-education policy therefore relates to the specific use of Setswana and English in education. Since none of the recommendations of the NCE 2 have been implemented, the NCE 1 policy concerning medium of instruction is still in place. Setswana is therefore the medium of instruction in Standards

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:58:44

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

46

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

1 to 4 while English is taught as a subject in those grades. English then becomes the medium of instruction in Standard 5 and extends through the tertiary level, while Setswana is taught as a subject (Republic of Botswana, 1977: 4). This policy applies to all government schools in the country. Private schools use English as the medium of instruction from Standard 1 onward, but they have a flexible policy on the number of years they teach Setswana as a subject. Since independence, a credit in English has been a requirement in order to matriculate. However, there are plans to change this policy as from the year 2000. Access to the university requires a pass in English except for science subjects. A degree in Setswana is offered in English and a pass in English is required to enter the programme. The assimilation model, which is guided by the orientation viewing language diversity as a problem, is quite evident in the language-in-education policy. There is an overt prohibition of the use of other languages for learning. Subsequently, minority dominated areas continue to be educationally disadvantaged. The over emphasis on English is meant to expose learners to the language of technology, social mobility and globalisation. There is tension, therefore, in balancing the role of the various local languages against Setswana on the one hand, and between Setswana and English on the other hand. Arthur (1996: 46) argues that this ‘inequality reflects and perpetuates hierarchical language values in Botswana society, as does the official exclusion of languages other than English and Setswana from classroom use’. English is most valued and most people would report that they speak it even if they cannot (Vossen, 1988). This is further reflected in the allocation of resources in which English receives the greatest share in terms of qualified teachers, time tabling and, of course, policy direction. Setswana is second, though policy direction and its recent use in Parliament recognises it as the national language. Minority languages are the least valued and are addressed neither by policy nor by practice. Wolfson & Manes (1985) argue that one’s native language is so much a part of one’s identity that to denigrate it is effectively to deny one’s human ability to communicate (foreword). Devaluing one’s language is equivalent to devaluing that person. In this regard, assimilationist policies that deny children the opportunity to learn in their mother tongue are viewed as inhuman.

Objectives and assessment Syllabi are prepared by Curriculum Development Officers (CDOs) in the Ministry of Education’s Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation. Some of the responsibilities of CDOs include setting out the broad goals of the syllabus, as well as advice on how materials are to be used in the teaching and learning situation to achieve the objectives of the syllabus. The objectives of the Setswana and English syllabi are quite similar and can be summarised as follows. Both syllabi are written in English:
to help children in acquiring the very necessary skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing;
to ensure that children apply these skills in communicating in their environment, with other children, adults and the mass media;
to serve as a basis for further education;

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:58:56

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

47


to lay a sound foundation for the growth of Setswana and English as the media of instruction;
to promote creativity on the part of children;
to encourage the study and preservation of Setswana culture;
to help children appreciate that good spoken Setswana will be acquired at home as well as at school;
to provide a curriculum that will strengthen Setswana as an important instrument in nation building (Ministry of Education, 1982: 1). Data from interviews indicate that the main purpose of teaching Setswana is cultural identity and early concept formation. It is believed that cultural identity and preservation will be achieved if books are written in Setswana for children in Standards 1 to 4 (old policy, NCE 1) or in Standard 1 only (new policy, NCE 2). The question of early concept formation seems to be defined as early as Standard 4. The purpose of teaching English is that it is the language of wider communication, business and the world of work. The methodology for teaching both Setswana and English is said to be the communicative approach. The decision to change to this approach came as a recommendation from the first NCE, which thought that language teaching concentrated on grammar and proverbs at the expense of literacy skills of reading and writing. The rationale for this approach is that ‘we don’t expect children to analyse the language before they can use it’ (Ramatsui, 30 July 1989, personal communication). It is also necessary for the ten years of the basic education programme, which seeks to provide children with skills they need in their daily lives. The communicative syllabi, developed after the Commission’s recommendation, came out in 1982 providing a few communicative topics, but remained largely structural. However, the syllabi were further revised in 1995. Books that were developed by publishing companies in 1998 for handling the new syllabi were based on the communicative approach to teaching and assessment. These have only been used in schools for one year so far, hence their impact and relevance has not yet been assessed. Examinations are taken after seven years of primary schooling, three years of junior secondary and two years of senior secondary education. The first Commission had recommended continuous assessment and remedial teaching to enhance performance. These recommendations have not been implemented. The achievement of universal primary education and ten years of basic education have meant that the primary school leaving examinations (PSLE) have ceased to be a selection tool. About 95.3% of students proceed to junior secondary school (Central Statistics Office, 1999: xiv). Consequently, examinations have changed from norm reference to criterion reference. A child’s performance is not compared with other children, but with a set of criteria. The new syllabi emphasise that assessment techniques should focus on finding out whether children can read, write, speak and listen. The teacher should focus on assessing students’ ability to read for different purposes, to write on different topics for different audiences, to listen and speak in different situations. If children can perform these four language skills as defined for each skill objective for each grade level, it automatically means they have the ability to use language rules at the competence required at the equivalent grade level. The new

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:59:08

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

48

syllabus further states that continuous assessment should be an integral part of the language assessment procedure. For instance, students should be assessed based on the number of books they have voluntarily read, written reports and talked about in class. Criterion-reference testing should be useful especially if the skill objectives are to be used as the assessment criteria. This type of testing was implemented for the first time in 1997 and there is a general belief that performance has improved (Central Statistics Office, 1999: 107). The overall pass rate has improved when grades C and D form part of the aggregate. However, when only A and B grades are used to form the overall pass grade there is no improvement. It is appropriate to include students in grades C and D as they are also admissible to junior secondary school. While the official approach to language teaching is communicative, there is evidence that assessment has continued to reflect the structural approach, even in the wake of criterion-reference testing that has been adopted for all subjects. All primary school leaving examinations and all other examinations (except for the subject Setswana) at secondary school level are in English. The attainment tests for mathematics, English and science which are written at the end of Standard 4 are in Setswana. Tests on the subject English are written in the English language. The tests are meant ‘to determine whether children have achieved basic literacy in Setswana and basic competence in English and Mathematics’ (Republic of Botswana, 1977: 4). However, it is not a pass-or-fail test as there is a policy of automatic promotion. Rather, the Standard 4 attainment test is meant to curb the shortcomings of the automatic promotion policy in the sense that it is intended to identify those children who need extra help before they proceed to, or when they enter, Standard 5. It is, however, reported that remedial work is not always provided since teachers either are not trained in remedial teaching or do not have enough time to do it (Nyati-Ramahobo, 1999a).

Media Languages The role of the media in national life in Botswana dates back to 1850s (Sechele, 1998). It was part of what was called the ‘Tswana Press’ in South Africa. Sechele reports that the Tswana Press was: … a journalism that was based on the Setswana language in the areas occupied by Setswana-speaking people of Bechuanaland protectorate (now Botswana), Northern Cape, the former Transvaal, and the former Orange Free State in South Africa. (p. 412) The printed press written in Setswana contributed to the spread of Christianity and the acquisition of literacy skills. It also contributed to the quality of life of Batswana by providing information on events around them. For instance, in 1886, a newspaper called Mahoko a Bechuana published an article about a white man who delayed village development by selling liquor to the Bakgalagadi tribe in Lehututu (South Africa). The Abantu-Batho (People) which reported in Zulu and Setswana played a major role in developing political awareness in the African masses and became a strong organ of the African National Congress. There were also newspapers based in Bechuanaland: Lesedi la Sechaba (the light of the nation), which was based in the Kgatleng district, the Lebone la Bechuana (the

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:59:21

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

49

lamp of Tswana people) and Naledi ya Batswana (the star of the Batswana). Botswana’s second President, Sir Masire Ketumile was a reporter for the latter. This paper reported on the chieftainship issue between the Batawana and the Bayeyi in 1948. All these papers reported in Setswana. While there was no overt prohibition of the use of other languages, there was no overt permission nor promotion of these languages in the media either, because the missionaries had only codified Setswana. It is not clear why, but the Setswana language press no longer exists, not even in South Africa. There are currently eight private newspapers in the country. All of them are written in English. One of them includes pages in Setswana and a column in Ikalanga. They circulate mainly in larger villages and towns. Since their birth in 1982, the independent media have provided an alternative voice in a country dominated by government media (Sechele, 1998). Many believe that the independent media have exposed corruption, political arrogance, insensitivity, lack of transparency and accountability on the part of government (Grant & Egner, 1989). Most people believe that it was this media coverage that led to the increase in opposition seats in Parliament from three to thirteen in the 1994 general elections (Sechele, 1998). The independent media continued to serve this function in the 1999 general elections. The landslide win by the ruling party is attributed not to the fact that Batswana have gained confidence in that party but rather to in-fighting and the subsequent split of the opposition party twelve months before the general elections. The ruling party is viewed by many as having run out of strategies to win elections other than to divide the opposition party. The twelve constituencies that the opposition won in 1994 still voted for the opposition in 1999, despite the split. A stronger opposition would have weakened the ruling party even more than in 1994. The media is seen as central in strengthening democracy in Botswana. However, the media have problems which limit their impact. These include the low levels of literacy in rural areas, self-censorship by some editors for fear of victimisation, lack of facilities, untrained staff and insufficient motivation on the part of reporters. The language policy which promotes English and to some extent Setswana limits the effective flow of information to the rural areas. As a result, voter and AIDS education are limited to towns and major villages (Sechele, 1998). Legislation has also limited the freedom of the press. For instance, in 1995 the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime Act was put in place to prohibit journalists from reporting on cases that are still under investigation. The Directorate investigates white-collar crimes, including those that might be committed by ministers. The Government Printer provides a special service specifically for the government. It prints all government documents. Government ministries and departments place orders which are entered in a register indicating the date the order was placed, the type of job to be done, the number required and the date the order was collected. The Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce and Health were selected for a study to find out the language in which the government communicates with the general public. The Ministry of Agriculture was a suitable choice since a large portion of the population depends on agriculture, which makes up a significant part of the economy. In 1982 the government, through the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, introduced the Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) to

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:59:33

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

50

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

encourage ordinary citizens to start small-scale businesses by lending them money. This policy was designed to create employment opportunities and to help Batswana to take part in the business world (Republic of Botswana, 1985: 239). One might expect, as a consequence of this policy, that an increase in communication between the government and the general public, informing them about these programmes, about how to get started and about future plans, would occur. The Ministry of Health is an agency that deals with issues that affect the whole population, not just a segment of it, and especially within the framework of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Thus communication with the people about health matters is vital and inevitable. Data collected from the three ministries indicated that 61% of the documents for public consumption in the Ministry of Agriculture were written completely in English, while 95% of those for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry were written in English as well. These English documents included all the forms which members of the public have to complete when applying for financial assistance. The Ministry of Health had more bilingual documents (42%) than those either in English or Setswana. Within the three government ministries, the main language is English. Thus 100% of the documents which were not for public consumption, were in English, while 59% of the documents meant for public consumption were also in English. The government, therefore, communicates on health, agriculture and commercial issues to the general public in written English. For instance, it is not unusual to find health posters written in English in the most remote areas of the country. The forms designed to obtain financial assistance are all in English, irrespective of the level of education of the applicant (Nyati-Ramahobo, 1991). This situation is unlikely to change in the next decade. Programmes aired each week by the government-owned stations were analyzed to find out the language of broadcasting. The private radio station, which focuses on the needs of the youth, broadcasts mainly (70%) in English. Data on the two government stations indicated that 36 (42%) programmes were in Setswana, 19 (22%) in English and 30 (35%) were in both Setswana and English. An analysis of the programmes generated by each of the three ministries previously mentioned was carried out. The results indicated that 62% of the total number of programmes in the three selected ministries were in Setswana. The government also owns one newspaper, the Daily News. That newspaper consists of eight pages, of which six and a half are written in English. The last one and half pages are translations into Setswana of material on the previous pages. The government therefore communicates with the general public mainly in English. It is worth noting that the newspaper does not reach the more remote areas of the country; as a consequence, only people in major villages and towns have access to the paper. Based on the data about the newspaper and radio, it may be concluded that the government seems to prefer Setswana on the radio and English in written format. Only these two languages are used in the media. The government has been reluctant to provide radio licences for privately owned radio stations. For many years, people were made to believe that the Office of the President was responsible for issuing such licences. This office in turn kept informing the public that no legislation exists to allow such licencing. When a young lawyer, Patrick Gunda, took the government to court on this matter in 1994, it became clear that the Botswana Telecommunications Corpora-

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 13:59:46

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

51

tion was charged with that responsibility. Previous references to the Office of the President were meant to discourage privately owned radio stations, where government censorship would be more difficult. Stations could also broadcast in minority languages. Mr Gunda lost his bid for a radio station licence, as his application indicated the intended use of minority languages. This suggests that there is a covert prohibition on the use of minority languages in the media. Many attribute the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS in the country to the lack of relevant information in the languages in which people have high comprehension ability. Other educational campaigns on issues of national interest also do not reach the people. Crucial messages reach only about 40% of the population, and this inefficiency in communication inevitably affects development.

Immigration The movement of the Bakalaka tribe from Zimbabwe and parts of South Africa into north-eastern Botswana in the 1600s (Tlou & Campbell, 1984) has rendered that part of the country mainly Ikalanga speaking. The Kalanga were then enslaved by the Bangwato tribe and brought to the Central District (Map 2). Currently, Kalanga people predominantly inhabit Serowe, the capital of the Bangwato, though most of them have assimilated into Bangwato culture. The Wayeyi (also known as Bayei or Yei) came to Botswana from Central Africa through Malawi and Zambia. They settled in a place called DiYei in the Caprivi Strip (Nambia). Tlou (1985) estimates that they must have come to Botswana around 1750 or earlier. Murray (1990: 4) estimates that they may have come as early as AD 1000; others say they came around 1400 (e.g. Gazette, 1999). Nyati-Ramahobo (1999b) concurs with Murray because the Shiyeyi language adopted click sounds from Khoisan languages with which they came into contact in the Okavango delta. For this process to have taken place the two groups must have lived together for a long time. The Khoisan are believed to be the original indigenous people of Botswana. The Hambukushu came into Botswana at two different periods. The first group came between 1876 and 1890 and the second in 1969 because of the war in Angola. The Herero came to Botswana between 1897 and 1906 (Murray, 1987), escaping German rule in the then South-West Africa (Namibia). The distributions of Setswana speaking tribes caused by tribal wars and other social events in the 1800s (Tlou & Campbell, 1984: 57–100) have contributed to the spread of Setswana to all parts of the country. For instance, the war between the Bangwato tribal sons in the Central District in 1795 (Sillery, 1965) caused one of the sons (Tawana) to move into Ngamiland (North-west District) where the Batawana tribe now live; this is the major way Setswana spread to that part of the country. As the Batawana ‘imposed themselves’ (Sillery, 1965: 22) on the majority Wayeyi in the area, they forced them to speak Setswana and punished them for using their own language. Some of the Wayeyi then escaped into the Central District avoiding Tawana’s subjugation and sought refuge from Khama III, the chief of the Bangwato tribe and father of the first President of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama. He accepted them on condition that they speak Setswana so as to communicate their grievances to him effectively and to enable him to defend them at the kgotla during their court cases and in other important circumstances. Consequently, most

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:00:02

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

52

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

Bayeyi do not speak Shiyeyi. Equally, the Bakalaka were discouraged from speaking Ikalanga, and most of those in Serowe only speak Setswana. The movement of the Barolong tribe in the 1600s from Transvaal in South Africa to the north-east introduced Setswana to that part of the country. Setswana is, therefore, the lingua franca of the country; most children learn it at home and at school. This factor made the choice of Setswana as a national language easier. Foreigners learn the Setswana language and culture at the Botswana Orientation Center. The spread of Setswana was, therefore, facilitated by the spread of Setswana speaking groups to other parts of the country. The spread of Setswana has been further facilitated by its use in school as the only local language and by the prohibition of the use of all other languages represented in the country after independence. Unlike the situation in a number of other African countries, there has been no significant European or Asian settlement in Botswana; after independence other nationalities came as individuals and have served as expatriates or have become citizens. As communities have not formed, language or place of origin is not yet an issue for these individuals.

Part III: Language Policy and Planning Botswana’s language policy is not written; it is understood, inferred and observed from reality. It is referred to in various documents such as the Constitution as previously discussed, in reports of National Commissions on Education, in the national development plans, as well as in several curricular materials and in the media. These sources only refer to it, not defining it or making it the subject of discussion. They refer to it when addressing other issues related to language and education. For example, while discussing the qualifications for election to the National Assembly and the House of Chiefs, the constitution states that: …a person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the National Assembly if, and shall not be qualified to be so elected unless …(d) he is able to speak, and unless incapacitated by blindness or other physical cause, to read English well enough to under take an active part in the proceedings of the Assembly. (Section 61(d):00:37 & Section 79(4)(c) 00:46) Other sections of the constitution allude to language policy when discussing people’s fundamental rights and freedoms. For instance, Section 10(2)(f) states that: Every person, who is charged with a criminal offense, shall be permitted to have without payment the assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand the language used at the trial of the charge … (00:11) At independence, English was indirectly declared the official language through the constitution, as previously indicated. English is currently used in the judiciary, in administration, in education, and in the business sector and, until late 1998, it was used in Parliament. All government correspondence and records are

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:00:12

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

53

in English. All meetings in the civil service are conducted and recorded in English. It is spoken and read by 40% of the population (Obondo-Okoyo, 1986: 12), mainly by the educated élite living in towns. Setswana is understood to be the national language, but the constitution makes no reference to it. It is mainly used in informal settings and in traditional matters. The national adult literacy programme is conducted in Setswana irrespective of the existence of other languages found amongst the communities in which it is operating. The Revised National Policy on Education recommended goals for out-of school programmes as follows: (1) To establish a learning society in which education is seen as a lifelong process. (2) To guarantee universal access to basic education for school-age children and adults in order to promote equity and social justice. (3) To provide opportunities for young people and adults to further their initial education to higher stages in order to raise the general level of education of the population. (4) To provide opportunities for adults to acquire work-related skills that will improve their productivity and standard of living, and promote economic growth. (5) To increase the ability of adults to take part in social, political, cultural and sporting affairs in order to improve their quality of life and promote greater participation in the development process. (Republic of Botswana, 1994: 34–5). The policy calls for the provision of adult education as a life-long learning process. The policy should also provide opportunities for school-age children who missed their chance for one reason or another to further their education. It further calls for an educated and informed society through an increase in learning opportunities beyond normal schooling. Public education is expected to make people aware of skills needed for life. Non-governmental organisations have been pushing for the recognition of the existence of other languages and ethnic groups (see Part IV). This has to some extent had an impact on government; e.g. Parliament has passed the following motions to allow the use of these languages in education and on the radio. However, there are no efforts being made at the moment to make these motions into laws or to implement them.
In 1995 Parliament approved the review of sections 77 to 79 of the constitution which stipulates that only chiefs of the eight tribes can be ex-officio members of the House of Chiefs.
On Friday, 8 August 1997 Parliament passed a motion to allow all languages to be taught in schools, used on the radio and in other areas as necessary.
The second President of Botswana, Sir Ketumile Masire, constituted a task force to develop a national vision for the country in the new millennium. The task force, led by the then Manager of the Bank of Botswana and current Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Mr Baledzi Gaolathe, produced a document known as Vision 2016. This document

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:00:23

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

54

states that ‘there is a challenge to recognise and develop equally all languages in Botswana’ (Presidential Task Group, 1997: 21, summary version).
Vision 2016 further states that ‘Botswana’s wealth of different languages and cultural traditions will be recognised, supported and strengthened in the education system. No Motswana will be disadvantaged in the education system as a result of a mother tongue that differs from the country’s two official languages’ (Presidential Task Group, 1997: 5). All of these parliamentary resolutions are positive signals of a commitment to pluralism as a necessary ingredient for nation building. They are an acknowledgement of the fact that the suppression of the languages and cultures of Botswana is not one of the ingredients for democracy or development. Indeed, suppression of languages and cultures could defeat the government’s purpose, to build a united and proud nation. As I argued on 26 October 1999 in a panel discussion for the Millennium lecture series, organised by the Gender Policy and Programme Committee on Vision 2016, which included government ministers, the government’s reluctance to implement the actions surveyed above suggests a lack of political will. It indicates that parliamentary motions may be passed simply as a result of pressure from the electorate, without any commitment to the underlying ideals by the government leadership. Statements made by the three Presidents cited previously in this monograph indicate that while documents written by professionals provide positive policies, the political leadership may only accept them with low levels of commitment. This creates tension between policy and practice. While policies on paper are progressive and point to reform, practice is conservative. The government seems to be still committed to the assimilation model and still views language diversity as a problem. On the other hand, the public calls for the maintenance model and for an orientation which views the linguistic diversity present in the country as a resource and a right. Many non-governmental organisations take the view that language and culture are human rights issues (refer to Part IV).

Language Planning Agencies In 1979 the Minister of Education constituted the Setswana National Language Committee (SNLC) to revise the 1937 orthography, which had been developed in South Africa. This revision was necessary because the orthography was based on the Setlhaping dialect, which is not represented in Botswana. The Committee carried out the review and produced the 1981 Setswana Standard Orthography. Two years after the publication of the 1981 orthography, users began to express dissatisfaction with it, indicating the need for yet another revision. The National Setswana Language Council (NSLC) was formed in 1986 through a presidential directive and charged to review the 1981 orthography and make the necessary recommendations with regard to the teaching and learning of Setswana as a national language. The Council mainly was concerned about the lack of consistency in the use of the Setswana orthography by authors. Children were under-performing in Setswana examinations; under-performance was observable especially among those who spoke languages other than Setswana.

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:00:35

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

55

The Council also made some recommendations regarding the low status of Setswana as compared to English and the resulting deterioration of the Setswana language and culture. The work of the Council was carried out through four main committees. (1) The Book Review Committee was to review books used in schools to ensure that they were morally acceptable. (2) The Orthography Committee was to review the 1981 orthography. (3) The Terminology Committee was to compile all foreign words in order to coin Setswana equivalents. (4) The Finance Committee administered funds from the Ministry of Education for the work of the Council. Recommendation No.3 of the Revised National Policy on Education said that ‘the National Setswana Language Council be renamed the Botswana Languages Council and be given new terms of reference including the responsibility for developing a comprehensive language policy’ (Republic of Botswana, 1994: 13). The second President of Botswana formed another task force in the Ministry of Education and charged it with the responsibility for the establishment of the Botswana Languages Council. This task force was chaired by the Coordinator of Revised National Policy on Education and former Permanent Secretary in the same ministry, Mr Jake Swartland (Figure 2). The assignment of the task force was to state clearly the mission and vision of the Botswana Languages Council, to formulate its terms of reference, to define its structure membership, and to suggest its home. The task force began its work in March 1997 and ended in August of the same year. The report of the task force was presented to Cabinet towards the end of 1997, but it was not approved. As a result, neither the National Setswana Language Council nor the Botswana Languages Council are currently functional as language planning bodies. In other words, formal language planning activities ended in 1997 after the completion of the work of this task force. Informal language planning activities carried out by non-governmental organisations that are concerned with the imminent death of their languages are discussed in the following section.

Part IV: Language Maintenance and Prospects Intergenerational Transmission of Setswana There is a widespread popular belief that Setswana is losing ground to English. While in the past English was confined to formal social domains, and to conversations involving foreigners, it is not unusual to hear Batswana conversing in English at a bar, in the work place and on the street. Most young people use at least some English, and a few homes are beginning to use English as the main medium of communication between family members. Some families are reported not to be using Setswana at all in the home.4 This process, while slow and insignificant at the moment, seems to suggest a dark future with Setswana eventually becoming a language for only the old and the uneducated. This is

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:00:45

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

56

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

indicated by the fact that even adult learners are beginning to demand the introduction of English in the non-formal educational curriculum, since it is now required for all types of jobs (Nyati-Ramahobo, 1996). This is not surprising, since, as stated earlier, recommendations meant to enhance the status of Setswana in education and in society have never been implemented. Janson & Tsonope (1991: 75–6) note that: The language has been neglected in the sense that it has been seen mainly as a part of the traditional society, and by that token not very interesting for the generation of planners that has been busy leading Botswana on the way to development. … Official policy shows a degree of indifference to questions concerning Setswana. The same can be said for the other indigenous languages of Botswana. It is this attitude from the leadership that is threatening not only the existence of Setswana but also its value to future generations. The radio is an effective means for the intellectualisation of language and for supporting the transmission of language from one generation to the next. Radio announcers and members of the public code-switch between English and Setswana when speaking on the radio. There is no conscious effort to speak pure Setswana so that the young might be able to learn good Setswana. Consequently, young people acquire borrowed English words under the impression that they are Setswana words. The use of English words is common even in cases where Setswana equivalents exist. For instance, most people seem to prefer the English word ‘change’ – rendered as chencha – instead of the Setswana equivalent fetola or fetoga. Young people find it difficult to express themselves exclusively in Setswana. On the other hand, a renewed sense of nationhood seems to be growing. This may be seen from three recent examples:
the topical debate on the rights of minority groups, which became an election issue in 1999 and led to the appointment of the presidential commission of enquiry into sections 77 to 79 of the constitution, in August 2000;
the publication of a book on the status of Setswana as a national language; and
the fact that Miss Universe for 1999 was from Botswana. When Miss Universe returned from the success at the Pageant, her first words were in English and so was her address to the nation, to the great disappointment of most Batswana. This disappointment was expressed on a radio programme called Maokaneng, in which the general public discusses issues of national interest by telephone in Setswana. Upon her second visit, Miss Universe was to deliver her HIV/AIDS message at a concert organised in her honour by the Ministry of Health. On that occasion she was reduced to tears when the youthful crowd demanded that she deliver her speech in Setswana. Despite her tearful claim that it was difficult for her to do so, the crowd insisted and she finally did (Ndlovu, 1999). Every year Batswana express disappointment that the President delivers his independence message in English (Kgengwenyane, 1996). This public attitude could be a signal of a quest for national identity by the general public.

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:00:57

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

57

Other positive signs are:
as stated earlier, beginning in 1989, one of the private newspapers has provided an insert in Setswana;
other newspapers are beginning to accept articles in Setswana as well;
while Setswana is losing some of its distinctive features, such as idioms and proverbs, more Setswana words are being coined for new concepts (Anderson & Janson, 1997); and
Setswana continues to be the main language in the traditional courts in villages and towns alike. These efforts signal the desire among the people to promote and maintain the use of Setswana or the natural persistence of Setswana as a dominant language. The success of various efforts to preserve Setswana will depend on the breadth of support and/or political will. Should the current official attitude continue, Setswana is likely to become an endangered language in the next three decades. The future of other minority languages, which are not recognised by government under the assimilation model, is even bleaker (Tsonope, 1995) if current policy does not change to be more inclusive. The role of the élite in promoting language death is critical. Most parents see the use of English in the home as facilitating the acquisition of English at school, and indeed, it does. As English is required for matriculation, with limited spaces at senior secondary and tertiary levels, most parents view the use of Setswana as a medium of instruction as a contributing factor to low academic achievement. They therefore send their children to English medium schools, where all instruction is in English, with Setswana as a subject. Children from these schools rarely speak Setswana, except through code-mixing.

Language Death and Language Maintenance This monograph has demonstrated that, at independence, the Government of Botswana adopted the orientation that language diversity was a problem and aimed to eradicate all minority languages. Economic prosperity and the provision of social amenities such as schools, clinics and roads led many Batswana to accept this position for a long time. Because of this policy, minority languages were banned from use in all social domains. Under such circumstances, one would not be surprised if by now all languages in Botswana were extinct except Setswana and English. However, as assimilation occurs over a period of time, and is influenced by factors such as self-esteem, 26 languages (Botswana Language Use Project, 1996) are still spoken in some parts of the country. Most of them are spoken by adults over 40 years of age. In some cases, children aged 17 speak the language, while in others, children younger than 17 may only comprehend the language. However, Kalanga, Subiya, Thimbukushu, Herero, and some Khoisan languages are still spoken by young children in some communities. Vossen (1988) conducted a socio-linguistic survey on language use in Ngamiland (North-west District) (Map 2). The study included 13 languages in 19 schools situated in 12 villages. While the population of the Tswana (Batawana) is less than that of all other languages collectively, he observed that most children in the survey reported a greater knowledge of Setswana than of any other

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:01:08

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

58

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

language. He further observed a general decline in the use of the mother tongue amongst his informants in some areas, indicating some degree of language shift. Higher levels of language maintenance were observed amongst the Mbukushu and Herero in some areas rather than others. He concluded that Shiyeyi was the most threatened language in Ngamiland, as children no longer spoke it. Work by Sommer & Vossen (1995) later complimented Vossen’s study. As indicated previously, the Batawana enslaved the Wayeyi for over 250 years. Even after the abolition of slavery worldwide, the majority of Wayeyi still continue to be ruled by the minority Batawana, despite their efforts since 1936 to achieve autonomy. As a result, the Wayeyi suffer from low self-esteem; many would prefer not to reveal their true identity, but rather say they are Batawana, particularly to outsiders who have no reason to know anything to the contrary. Those who can still speak the language are reluctant to use it in public places. This situation, therefore, implies that Vossen’s data may primarily indicate an identity crisis and the lack of overt language use but not an accurate picture of language knowledge. On the other hand, it is also correct to suggest that language knowledge without language use leads to language death. It is difficult to say to what extent Shiyeyi is dead, or to what extent revival efforts would be likely to succeed. As previously indicated, the attitude of the government towards Setswana is accompanied by intolerance for all other languages spoken in Botswana. Because of this suppressive attitude, it is proper to say that all languages in Botswana are somewhat threatened. Evidence that young people are not able to speak their first languages is also showing up in other languages including Setswana. Smieja and Mathangwane (1999) also observed a high degree of language shift amongst the non-Tswana speakers such as the Babirwa, Kalanga, and Batswapong towards Setswana and English. A great deal of cultural and linguistic loss among many minority groups has been observed (Vossen, 1988). This has caused concern, and some minority groups have begun to form organisations to revive their languages and cultures. The work of some of these is described in the following sections. Informal efforts in language maintenance Within the Ministry of Labor and Home Affairs is the Registrar of Societies’ Office. Since group rights are granted, through the right to associate, the main duty of this office is to register non-governmental organisations (NGOs), under Regulation 5 of the Societies Act No 19 of 1972. In order to be registered, an organisation must have a constitution, with clear objectives, activities and membership. It must indicate the specific areas on which it will focus. It must also state the geographical region in which it will operate. A registered organisation is a legal entity in its own right; it can sue or be sued. It has the right to receive donations from individuals and other local and international bodies. In Botswana, there is a mother body for all registered NGOs, called the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organisations (BOCONGO). Its role is to assist its members in three main areas: (1) policy research and advocacy; (2) capacity building, and (3) networking and information dissemination. To become a member of BOCONGO, an organisation pays an initial enrolment fee and an annual subscription fee. Benefits include receiving invitations to training programmes,

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:01:21

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

59

Table 9 Non-government organisations (NGO) by category Category

Lead NGO

Disability

Botswana Council for the Disabled

Women

Women NGO Coalition

strightHealth/AIDS

Botswana Network for AIDS

Human rights

Ditshwanelo

Children and youth

Botswana National Youth Council

Agriculture

Forum for Sustainable Agriculture

Ecumenical

Botswana Christian Council

Community

Botswana Comm. Based Network

Media

Media Institute in Southern Africa

Source: BOCONGO (1999)

which BOCONGO mounts for its members. For instance, it provides training in management, accounting and marketing strategies. NGOs may send their personnel to such seminars free of charge. Other benefits include general dissemination of information on what other NGOs are doing, including work on the international scene. BOCONGO also places all valuable information on each member on its own website for dissemination. Once registered with BOCONGO, an organisation will also have access to donors who are interested in its field. Currently there are 81 NGOs registered with BOCONGO. It is difficult to tell the number of those that are not members of the mother body, since data on these is not readily available. These NGOs fall within nine categories. In each category, one NGO is selected by BOCONGO to be the lead organisation in that area (Table 9). Registration with the Registrar of Societies gives an NGO liberty to operate within the legal framework, while registration with BOCONGO gives it the opportunity to network with other bodies with similar interests. BOCONGO also offers these NGOs a united voice to speak to the government on issues of mutual interest. Due to the high fees charged by BOCONGO, not all NGOs registered with the Registrar of Societies are members of the BOCONGO. An organisation dealing with language and or culture would fall under the Human Rights category; their lead agency is Ditshwanelo (a Setswana word for rights), The Botswana Centre for Human Rights. Within the framework of the assimilationist policy, speakers of languages that are not recognised by the government view this policy as a denial of their human rights, i.e. denial of the ability to access information in their own languages. Their work therefore focuses on reviving and maintaining their linguistic and cultural rights. Those dealing with language from a religious perspective fall under the ecumenical category. Currently, there are six organisations dealing with language and culture from a human rights perspective.

The Society for the Promotion of Ikalanga Language (SPILL) Within the limitations of data reliability, the Kalangas are considered the largest of the so-called minority groups in Botswana. The 1946 census indicated that there were 22,777 Kalangas in the Bamangwato (Central) District (Mpho, 1987:

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:01:33

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

60

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

134, see Table 5). This excluded those in the North-east District (Table 6). Kalangas have a strong sense of identity. Currently, they are one of the few minority groups whose children speak Ikalanga at home, including those in homes in the upper and middle class areas living in cities and towns. This is quite phenomenal given that the Bamangwato tribe enslaved them in the 1800s. There is a popular belief that, due to this oppression, the Kalanga developed a coding system for gaining access to educational opportunities. When applying for entrance to schools, each Kalanga application would have a drawing of a peanut at the lower right-hand-side, their staple food. Education officers who were mostly Kalanga would then ensure school admission. Many Batswana believe that this is the main reason they are currently the most highly educated and hold high government posts. Due to pressure from the Tswana presidents, Kalanga ministers overtly support the assimilation model, but they covertly support the promotion of the Kalanga to high positions as an alternative empowerment strategy. Because of the banning of the Ikalanga language from the educational system at independence, the language was formally relegated only to the home environment. For this reason, the culture of the Kalanga people has been slowly disappearing. Based on this realisation, the SPILL was formed by the Kalanga élite in 1981 to develop and maintain the Ikalanga language and culture. Also embedded in the work of the society was the issue of land rights and the right to self-rule through the chieftainship structure. When SPILL started, it created a negative reaction from within government quarters. It was perceived as tribalistic and divisive. There was a strong campaign to shun it and to denounce it as a threat to the peace and stability prevailing in the country. Those Kalangas who believed in the movement, saw this as an intimidating strategy to discourage them and potential donors from developing Ikalanga. There were also divisions amongst the Kalangas themselves. Some, especially those holding high government positions, were against the formation of SPILL, at least in public. They feared victimisation at their jobs should their loyalty to government be doubted. Therefore, while the Kalangas are highly influential in government circles, they could not use that influence to convince government to allow the use of Ikalanga on radio or in education, prior to the presentation of the 1997 motion which has not yet become law. The SPILL began its work with the revival and revision of the pre-independence Ikalanga orthography, which was published in 1995. The organisation has now published a hymnbook in Ikalanga. The New Testament has been translated into Ikalanga as well. The Mukani Action Campaign (MAC), the educational wing of SPILL, has developed 14 literacy booklets for informal teaching of Ikalanga and for future use in schools as soon as government implements the 1997 motion. The MAC also publishes a newsletter and encourages the publication of news articles in Ikalanga. One of the independent newspapers publishes a weekly column in Ikalanga. Their major donor, as previously indicated, is the Lutheran Bible Translators based in the United States, an organisation which has provided technical support to run an office in Francistown. This office was at the forefront of the development of the orthography and the translation of the New Testament. Through the Department of Adult Education at the University of Botswana, UNESCO is funding a project on the use of minority languages in

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:01:46

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

61

adult literacy. The project includes Kalanga and Shiyeyi. With respect to the Kalanga project, it funds training workshops for members of the MAC as well as the production of some of the materials. The other source of funding is through membership fees. SPILL raises funds using several strategies, and the funds are used to run the daily work. Further details on SPILL are available on the reference section of their web-site. One of the issues that the Kalangas have been pushing for is the right to be represented in the House of Chiefs by their Paramount Chief. As indicated in Part I, politically, they are regarded as members of the Bamangwato tribe, and their Paramount Chief is that of the Bamangwato. Within their immediate localities, they can have Kalanga sub-chiefs. Currently, there is a Kalanga sub-chief in the House of Chiefs, but he is not regarded as representative of all Kalangas since he is not a Paramount Chief. The SPILL is, therefore, playing a crucial role in language planning. It is one of those bodies promoting the orientation to viewing language diversity as a right and a resource for development.

Kamanakao Association The Wayeyi live in Ngamiland (North-west District, Map 2). Politically and in accordance with the assimilation policy, every one in this district is called a Motawana, since the Tswana speaking Batawana tribe rule them. As indicated previously, the Batawana subjected the Wayeyi to slavery. There are two main reasons why the Wayeyi were the most subjected: first there was direct contact between them and the Batawana on the arrival of the Batawana in Ngamiland; the second reason was the soft and peace loving nature of the Wayeyi. In 1962, Pitoro Seidisa (a Moyeyi from Gumare) started some work with Professor Ernst Westphal of the University of Cape Town to develop the orthography for the Shiyeyi language. Due to the conflict between the Wayeyi and Batawana over serfdom, the then Queen Regent of the Batawana, Pulane, ordered the arrest of Mr Seidisa for presuming to develop Shiyeyi. The Batawana thought that the development of Shiyeyi might raise the consciousness of the Wayeyi and strengthen their struggle for freedom from slavery. When Westphal realised the unacceptability of the Shiyeyi language among the ruling Batawana, he discontinued his work on the language and stated in his will that all the material on Shiyeyi should be burnt after his death. By the time of his death, the orthography had been completed, a dictionary was still incomplete and Chapter 8 of the Gospel of Matthew as well as a few hymns had been translated into Shiyeyi. After independence in 1966 the language policy continued to discourage the development and use of any languages other than Setswana. The Kamanakao Association was founded in 1995 by the Wayeyi élite to continue the work of Mr Seidisa and Professor Westphal. Its aim was to develop and maintain the Shiyeyi language and culture. The work on orthography was completed in 1998 and work on materials production and training is on going. The Association has produced a draft of an interdenominational hymnbook, a phrase book for teaching Shiyeyi and a booklet containing songs, stories and poems. It also produces a calendar in Shiyeyi. The Kamanakao Association has three main sources of funding for its programmes. The Lutheran Bible Translators funded the development of the orthography and some of the publications previously mentioned. They continue

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:01:58

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

62

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

to fund the translation of hymns and the translation of the Jesus Film into Shiyeyi. Currently, plans are under way to translate the Gospel of Luke. The UNESCO project has three phases concerning the development of Shiyeyi: the first phase covers the training of secondary school leavers in using the Shiyeyi orthography to write stories on cultural themes; the second phase will subsume the writing of the stories and songs, and the last phase will involve writing primers for adult literacy. Currently, the training is going on simultaneously with story and song writing. The third source of funding is from the communities. The Kamanakao Association has nine branch committees throughout the northern part of the Central District and in Ngamiland. These communities are responsible for the cultural aspects of the organisation. They organise cultural activities and are also responsible for hosting the Shikati (Chief in Shiyeyi) Kamanakao5 as he visits the villages. These committees fund their own activities. They raise funds for the association through the sale of T-shirts, booklets, bags and calendars and of course through cultural activities. The relationship between these two organisations and the government is one of uneasy tolerance. While the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs authorised their registration in accordance with the right to associate, they are seen as moving against the assimilationist policy. This is particularly so in regard to the chieftainship issue. The Wayeyi élite holding high government posts are torn between supporting a just cause in which they believe and risking their jobs. Consequently, they tend to remain neutral and unpredictable. Some Wayeyi, especially politicians within the ruling party, have been used to campaign against the work of Kamanakao Association. They have portrayed the Association as tribalistic and have worked against the acceptance of Shikati Kamanakao to represent the Wayeyi in the House of Chiefs. The Wayeyi have taken the government to court for discriminating against their Paramount Chief. On the other hand, some Wayeyi élite and academics have been successful in taking the message of the Association to the people, through the village or branch committees. The message is understood as linguistic human rights as well as political rights in terms of representation. After his installation as Paramount Chief of the Wayeyi, in April 1999, Shikati Kamanakao has taken his role to be that of educating his people about their rights to develop and maintain their language and culture through public meetings. His meetings have been attended by Criminal Investigation Officers from the Police Department to try and intimidate people attending. After a year of public education campaigns, people now feel free to attend and participate in village committees and other cultural activities. They are gaining confidence in demanding their rights to representation. They have contributed money towards the costs of the lawsuit. This lawsuit may have some influence in expediting the government’s decision to review Sections 77 to 79 of the constitution, which discriminate along tribal lines concerning representation in the House of Chiefs. In February 2000, an independent newspaper reporter held an interview with President Mogae that was reported as follows: Mmegi: Parliament passed a motion for the amendment of Sections 77–79 of the constitution which were deemed offensive but last year during the elections you said there is no discrimination in terms of tribe. Would I have

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:02:11

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

63

a member of my tribe as an ex-officio member of the House of Chiefs in my lifetime? (the reporter is Kalanga). President Mogae: I don’t know where you get the impression that I have gone back on anything. I and Parliament never said that the constitution discriminates against tribes. We have said those sections you have mentioned should be amended and I have said yes, if there is any section of the constitution that causes irritation to any member of our society we must look at them and amend. We are going to do that. We have appointed a task force to go around asking Batswana including yourself. It would start work early next month. (Chilisa, 2000: 19 (11–17 February)). While the President’s promise is not a new thing, many people believe that the lawsuit is likely to end the unreasonable delay in action on the constitutional amendment. However, speculation is rife that the government is lobbying the general public to accept the status quo. In fact, the President mentioned his own preference for the status quo during the interview. He said, ‘I have my own views … the arrangement with regards to the North East, Kgalagadi and Ghanzi is the type I will be inclined to. It’s more democratic but Batswana believe in chiefs by birth and I am not going to change that’ (Chilisa, 2000: 19 (11–17 February)). As stated above (Background section), the areas mentioned here are minority dominated and they are represented by elected sub-chiefs in the House of Chiefs and not the Paramount Chiefs by birth of these minority tribes. This is in line with the assimilation theory that only Setswana speaking tribes can be represented by their Paramount Chiefs by birth. Minority groups can only be represented by elected sub-chiefs to ensure that the people elected are sympathetic with the ruling party policy of assimilation into Tswanadom. In the case of Ngamiland, the tribes there are represented by the Tswana speaking Batawana chief. According to the Wayeyi, they are not represented, since imposing a Motawana chief on them and rejecting their Paramount Chief is not democratic. The consultations to be held with the people are less likely to change the current situation, as lobbying will follow the elections pattern where people are alleged to have been bribed and misinformed in house-to-house campaigns. The rural population is less informed as it has no access to information, and it is likely to accept information provided by the government. For this reason, the status quo is likely to prevail after the consultations. On the other hand, should the educated élite make written submissions to the task force, and work with NGOs to put pressure on the government to change, there is a window of opportunity for change. Should the task force complete its work and the relevant sections be changed, while the lawsuit is still delayed in court (the hearing had been postponed twice between October and December, 1999), the ruling of the court would contribute to the recommendations of the task force. The work of the task force may also lead to the withdrawal of the lawsuit. Both Kamanakao and SPILL are locally driven and members of BOCONGO.

The Etsha Ecumenical Community (EEC) The Etsha Ecumenical Community was an initiative by the Botswana Christian Council in 1970. The Council is composed of twenty churches and seven church-related organisations (Hopkins, 1995). It runs a number of ecumenical

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:02:23

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

64

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

projects for disadvantaged groups including the disabled, women, and street children. The Etsha project focuses on the development and use of the Thimbukushu language for religious purposes (see Table 1). It utilises reading material developed in Namibia and by other linguists elsewhere on Thimbukushu to conduct literacy classes at least three times a week for female adults among the Hambukushu people. Some of its activities include: training in basket weaving amongst the Hambukushu and Wayeyi females at Etsha, marketing the baskets outside Botswana, running a pre-school in Thimbukushu, running a poultry project for out-of-school youth, and running a guest house. This work has served as a source of inspiration for the revival and maintenance of the Thimbukushu language in Botswana. Currently, there are efforts to register a Thimbukushu cultural organisation by the Hambukushu people. The Basarwa (Bushmen) belong to about 17 main Khoisan language groups (Appendix 1). They are the indigenous people of Botswana and are nomadic. It is estimated that there are about 40,000 Basarwa in Botswana, making up about four per cent of the population. They are mainly hunters and gatherers. Due to their nomadism, they are found in seven of the eight administrative districts (Mazonde, 1997). Their main areas of concentration are Ghanzi, Kweneng, parts of Ngamiland and Ngwaketsi districts and they have a high degree of language maintenance (Smieja & Mathangwane, 1999). From time immemorial, the Basarwa have worked for the wealthy Setswana speaking groups who use them as herd-boys for low wages, provided mainly in the form of food. They own no land and are ruled by the Setswana Paramount Chief in whatever area they happen to reside. For instance, those in Kweneng are considered Bakwena and ruled by the Bakwena Paramount Chief. Mogwe (1994: 57) best describes the plight of the Basarwa. The Basarwa are the poorest of the poor.… Why have development programs aimed at the improvement of their standard of living focused instead on assimilation or integration without informed choice and without the participation of the Basarwa during both planning and implementation? … Rampant discrimination against the Basarwa peoples has meant that they have become marginalised culturally, politically, socially, and economically.… The state imposes leaders on them who are not of their culture or language group. This in turn has exacerbated their position of marginalisation. Attempts to use the law are frustrated because they lack the operation language of Setswana customary courts. In 1999, two Basarwa who had been sentenced to death by the high court for murder; their case was appealed by Ditshwanelo, the Botswana Center for Human Rights (see Table 9). It was discovered that the Basarwa were not given an opportunity to speak in their language in court and were not listened to when they struggled in Setswana to air their unhappiness about their lawyer. The high court did not listen to their pleas but sentenced them to death. However, in 1999, the appeals court ordered a retrial. Mogwe argues that the human rights of the Basarwa have neither been respected nor protected by the state. The state had argued that Ditshwanelo had no right to represent the Basarwa, further violating their right to representation by challenging Ditshwanelo’s efforts. Due to the marginalised status of the Basarwa, many international organisations have come to Botswana to establish community based development

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:02:38

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

65

projects. Three such projects operating under registered organisations will be briefly described in the following sections. They were a result of external initiatives and mainly funded by church organisations in The Netherlands and by development agencies such as CIDA, UNICEF, World View, the Norwegian government and others.

The Kuru Development Trust (Kuru) Fidzani (1998) maintains the distribution of cattle in Botswana is uneven. Only five per cent of the population own 50% of the national herd, and 45% of the rural households do not own any cattle. This means that rich cattle owners also own most of the land. It is therefore difficult for the nomadic Basarwa to own land. The tourism policy of the government of Botswana calls for their removal from areas with tourist attractions. In 1979, the government grouped all Basarwa living inside the Kalahari Central Game Reserve (KCRG) in one place within a reserve called Xade. In 1986, the government decided to freeze developments in this area and move the Basarwa outside the reserve to New Xade (Mazonde, 1997). With the support of two external agencies based in The Netherlands, the Kalahari Support Group and the Kalahari People’s fund, Basarwa communities in ten villages in the Ghanzi District in 1986 established the Kuru Development Trust. The main aim of the organisation is to facilitate active participation of Basarwa communities and individuals in the development process and to support the acquisition of land and land rights. Mazonde (1997) observes that the hunger for land has resulted in Basarwa in Ghanzi demanding their own district, as well as a Mosarwa councillor, a Mosarwa member of the House of Chiefs and a Mosarwa member of Parliament. The Kuru Development Trust has been sensitising the Basarwa to stand up for their rights and achieve their dreams. They too, like other groups, need to reap the fruits of democracy. The assimilationist model has not proved to be fruitful for them. In the 1999 general elections, a Mosarwa lady stood for council elections in Ghanzi, but unfortunately she lost. A Mosarwa sub-chief was installed in Xade, but he is not yet a member of the House of Chiefs. Some of the activities of the Kuru include the development of enterprenial skills among Basarwa, to promote participatory learning processes for selfawareness and development. Kuru also promotes agricultural activities by introducing alternative agricultural methods. Kuru is heavily involved in social education, language development and cultural identity. It hosts an annual cultural festival, featuring songs and dances in the Naro and Ju/hoan languages (Appendix 1). Kuru runs a museum funded by the Bernard Van Leey foundation. This museum displays the history of the Basarwa and has a good collection of their artefacts. The trust also collects Sarwa artefacts and markets them at both national and international levels. The Kuru Development Trust has a language wing, specifically working on the Naro language through the Naro Language Project which was started in 1991 and is funded by the Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Visser, 1998). By 1997 the project had produced an orthography and phonology of Naro. A number of publications (e.g. primers, a dictionary and literacy material) have been produced. The Language Project runs pre-school classes in Naro; adult literacy classes are conducted in Naro in the Ghanzi District. Currently, Kuru runs a leather tannery, a carpentry shop, a

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:02:50

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

66

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

fence-building workshop, a silk screen craft production project and workshops on HIV/AIDS, business skills and negotiation skill in Sarwa languages. In 1998, Kuru expanded its activities into the Okavango delta. Kuru has established an office at Shakawe to provide community development work amongst the Bugakhwe and Xanikhwe San peoples, the Wayeyi, Hambukushu and Giriku, with specific focus on the development of cultural tourism. Kuru is currently assisting these communities to form and register trusts and to apply for land for tourist activities. The work of this trust has not been easy. Like most ethnically oriented organisations, Kuru was perceived as inciting the Basarwa to disobey government orders and to impede the government’s effort to provide social amenities to the Basarwa at New Xade. The missionaries from The Netherlands who were working with Kuru were seen as people who were in Botswana to pursue their own personal interests rather than those of the Basarwa. Consequently, in 1993 the government issued a deportation order against Reverend Le Roux for his activities with the Kuru Development Trust. He was seen to be influencing the Basarwa not to move out of the Kalahari Game Reserve. While human rights organisations managed to put pressure on the government to lift the deportation order, they did not convince the government to reverse the decision to move the Basarwa out of the KCGR. Eventually the Basarwa of Xade became divided, some supporting the move to New Xade and others choosing to stay in the Old Xade in the KCGR. The government has viewed its own policies and efforts as intending to modernise the Basarwa and bring them into the mainstream. Development agencies, on the other hand, saw such policies as assimilationist and aimed at eradicating the languages and cultures of the Basarwa and, most importantly, to disempower them economically. The removal of the Basarwa from the KCRG to New Xade meant that they could not hunt and gather fruit, but would be more dependent on government subsidies. In turn, this would make them loyal to the ruling party. The assimilationist model is not only intended to assimilate minority groups into Tswanadom but into the ruling party as well. The covert goal is to have one language, one nation and one party.

The First People of the Kalahari (FPK) The First People of the Kalahari was established in 1992 to fight for the land rights of the Basarwa people, specifically the San/N/Oakhine group (see Appendix 1). Like Kuru, it was established with the support of the Kalahari Support Group and the Kalahari People’s Fund. The issue of land rights is fundamental to the survival of the Basarwa who are mainly hunters and gatherers. FPK is one of the organisations trying to address the issue. Its founder, John Hardbattle, died in 1996 at the height of the New Xade controversy. While the FPK was formed by an identifiable ethnic and linguistic group, and some of its activities have included language development, the main objective of the organisation is the achievement of Basarwa human rights, specifically the right to own land. The state maintains that the Basarwa, being nomads, have no right to land (Mogwe, 1994). This defines where they can hunt and gather fruit, as the non-nomadic groups own and control the land. This has serious consequences for the daily living of the Basarwa. The only option for them is to work for the wealthy for low wages. FPK serves as a national advocate that strength-

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:03:03

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

67

ens, organises and coordinates development projects within the settlements and communities in Ghanzi towards the acquisition of land and land rights to gather and hunt. It links these communities to those in neighbouring countries like South Africa and Namibia. It has an education wing responsible for collection and dissemination of information on human rights, and monitors human rights abuses, especially those dealing with game licensing for hunting. FPK’s major activities include advocacy and negotiating with government for the rights of the Basarwa. The FPK also has income-generating projects in ostrich and poultry farming and it runs a cultural centre.

The Basarwa Research Project The Basarwa Research Project is coordinated at the University of Botswana, through the former National Institute of Research and Development, now the Directorate of Research and Development, and in conjunction with the Department of African Languages and Literature. The Norwegian government funds the project, which is aimed at conducting research on the social, linguistic, cultural, political and economic well-being of the Basarwa within the Southern African region. The project conducts regional workshops to provide a forum for scholars to report on their work related to the Khoesan languages and cultures and other aspects of the San peoples. Western scholars who come to Botswana as individuals to conduct their studies on the Basarwa are also provided an opportunity to present their findings at the University of Botswana through this project. These efforts are helping to revive and maintain the Khoesan languages. Summary The work of non-governmental organisations has begun to signal to the government that there is a language and cultural problem to be attended to. The Department of Youth and Culture (DYC) was established in the Ministry of Labor and Home Affairs in 1989, and the Botswana National Cultural Council (BNCC) was established in 1992 within the Department. The Department has been charged with the responsibility to develop a national cultural policy. Currently, there is a consultancy to review the draft of this policy document and, amongst other things, to review the capacity of and the linkages between institutions dealing with culture, especially the DYC and the BNCC, the House of Chiefs and NGOs. The consultancy will also provide a state of the art account of the sociological, historical and linguistic relations of peoples within the cultural setting of Botswana. This signals a willingness on the part of the government to begin to address the thorny issues relating to the linguistic and cultural diversity of the country, and the chieftainship issues within the framework of human rights and globalisation. The government seems to be convinced about the role of culture in development, and there are plans to develop cultural villages. However, the government’s view appears to be that culture can best be preserved through museums and cultural villages set up for public viewing. Culture is not considered as a way of life that a community must live as part of national development. There are no serious efforts to instil language and cultural studies into the curriculum (Milon, 1989; Nyati-Ramahobo, 1998a). Apparently there is also the belief that the cultures of minority groups can be preserved without the use of their languages.

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:03:14

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

68

This constitutes a difficult task, since some crucial aspects of culture can only be expressed through language. Efforts to revive and maintain Botswana languages rest with the civil society’s will to work tirelessly despite the government’s resistance. The role of the élite, especially academics, is crucial to the development and maintenance of the languages of Botswana. One major characteristic of democracy in Botswana is freedom of speech. Academics, other activists and the media have taken advantage of this characteristic to take the issues into the public arena. However, there is another element of our democracy working against this. While there is freedom of speech, there is no freedom after speech (Mogwe, 1994). That is, people can talk, but they are not listened to, and there are a number of subtle ways of victimising those who speak out and who are employed by the government. It is for this reason that government employees play rather a debilitating role in the promotion of linguistic and cultural rights of minority groups in Botswana.

Pidgins and Creoles When the Wayeyi were enslaved by the Batawana and forced to speak Setswana, language contact occurred between Shiyeyi and the Sengwato dialect of the Setswana spoken by the Batawana. This contact resulted in the emergence of a creole called Setawana – the basic structure of which consists of Sengwato syntax with a heavy Shiyeyi lexicon – which is now accepted as a dialect of Setswana. For instance: Ba ne ba ile go shaora. (They went swimming). Shaora is a Shiyeyi word for swimming. Ha o bua maxambura ke tla go caka (If you say nonsense I will axe you (hit you with an axe). Maxambura is the Shiyeyi word for nonsense and caka is to axe someone. While the Setswana equivalent for such words may exist in other parts of the country, to people in Ngamiland only the Shiyeyi words exist, and this is the normal way of speaking. They would never use words such as go thuma for swimming as it is used in the southern part of the country. As this creole variety has not been studied, it is difficult to say whether it is in fact a creole or whether it is a dialect with some Shiyeyi lexical code-switching. As a result of the low status of the Wayeyi, and the movement of more people from the north-west (Maun area) to work in the south (see Map 2), there seems to be a movement towards standard Sengwato dialect and towards an avoidance of Shiyeyi words at all costs. However, the old and uneducated population continues to use this mixture. Anderson & Janson (1997) discuss Tsotsitaal and question whether or not it is spoken in Botswana. A number of factors may be responsible for the importation of this pidgin language into Botswana from South Africa:
the movement between the two countries for economic activities is a constant factor;
families are divided across the border;

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:03:27

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

69


there was the influx of South African refugees into Botswana during the apartheid era;
Batswana watch South African television. As a result, Tsotsitaal is spoken by the youth in towns, especially those in the southern part of the country, to almost the same extent that they speak American English. Currently, these phenomena are confined to the youth who switch to normal Setswana when speaking to adults. The current situation concerning pidgins and creoles in Botswana is that none of the varieties have really been studied by scholars in a detailed manner.

Probable Future Directions The debate about ethnic and linguistic inequality has been going on for a long time in Botswana. A motion to review Sections 77–79 of the constitution was first debated in Parliament in 1988. The opposition party lost the motion and one member of Parliament from the ruling party remarked ‘we defeated them’ (Republic of Botswana, 1988: 511). The discourse of hegemonic power was stronger at that time. Within government circles, therefore, there is the ‘them’ and ‘us’ mentality. This does not seem to augur well for democracy and social justice. Tswadom was seen to have settled in, and the chances for the minorities to assert themselves to change the constitution were seen as slim. However, the discourse changed in 1995. The same parliamentarian who dominated the debate in 1988, and concluded with the above utterance, did not say a word during the 1995 debate. The ruling party had lost ten seats to the opposition in the 1994 general elections. In this debate, parliamentarians from minority groups from both the ruling and the opposition parties presented their case powerfully during this discussion. One from the ruling party said: … each one of us will want to appear and to be recognised in the eyes of the law, especially the supreme law of the country, as being equal to his brethren.… Our circumstances now require that we amend sections 77, 78, and 79 of the Constitution so that other tribal interests are presented. That would ensure that our republic has characteristics of a true republic. A Constitution should reflect those characteristics … there should be no notion, no impression created in the mind of anyone that some persons or some groups or some tribal interests are superior than others. If we do, or allow for such a situation, there is bound to be social disharmony in our country. (Republic of Botswana, 1995: 86–7) The motion was passed in 1995, as stated in Part III, mainly due to pressure from the opposition parties and vocal members of the ruling party who supported it. The majority of Tswana parliamentarians from the ruling party barely accepted the motion, but the discourse of hegemonic power has subsided. This tension explains why there have been no efforts to implement it to date. On the other hand, the pressure from non-governmental organisations working to promote minority languages and cultures has intensified continuously over the past four years. The current situation is that, while non-governmental organisations are encouraged by such positive policy statements to push for reform at the implementation level, the efforts of those NGOs are frustrated by the covertly negative

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:03:38

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

70

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

attitudes of the leadership. This situation is likely to continue to limit the impact the non-governmental organisations might have. With this kind of tension, it is difficult to predict the future directions of language development and usage in Botswana. In discussing whether the 1999 general elections were issue-driven, one newspaper stated that: …[p]erhaps the only issue that was articulated effectively is the one relating to ethnic inequality. . . . The opposition, in particular, seems to have been effective in presenting its case to the electorate. . . . And it would appear that many people in the affected areas were bought into it. (Mbuya, 1999: 15) Many opposition parties promised the electorate that, if elected to power, other languages would be taught in schools, and sections of the constitution, which discriminate on the basis of tribal affiliation, would be reviewed. However, an analysis of the election results indicated that people in minority dominated areas voted for the ruling party. Four factors have been alleged to be responsible for this: (1) Internal conflict amongst opposition parties which went on until the date of the election left the electorate with no choice but to elect the devil they knew’ (2) The ruling party has exploited the ignorance of the rural poor who have no access to the media. It is alleged that the people were informed in house to house campaigns that the constitution had been amended to incorporate laws on ethnicity and gender. (3) There were also allegations of bribery – the use of money and the deliveries of drought-relief foodstuffs in some villages during the election week. (4) In his tour of the country just a week before elections, the President informed his audiences that the constitution does not discriminate. This created the impression that it had been amended, thus confirming the information provided in the house-to-house campaigns. In fact, many Wayeyi were happy that their Shikati would be admitted to the House of Chiefs, and so they voted for the ruling party. Should these allegations be true (though they are not new), then change is less likely to be achieved through the parliamentary process. In a country where more than 40% of the population lives below the poverty datum line (Jeffris, 1997), this practice is likely to continue for some time, at least until there is a strong and united opposition. One of the organisations advocating ethnic and language rights has taken the government to court for discriminating against their Paramount Chief, by refusing him membership of the House of Chiefs. Should the government win the case, the issue is unlikely to go away, and the debate may go to higher levels. The government has demonstrated intolerance on the issue, and it is most unlikely to accede to the demands of non-Setswana speaking tribes. Whether the government accepts change or not, many languages are likely to be preserved and enhanced through the work of non-governmental organisations. It is necessary for these non-governmental organisations to work together and to seek the support of the human rights groups, in order to exert more pressure on government. Members of Parliament who are from minority

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:03:54

CILP004

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

The Language Situation in Botswana

71

groups hold the passport for change. Should they stand firm on their word during the debate of the motion to amend Sections 77 to 79 of the constitution, the government is likely to act quickly. However, should they feel threatened, change will be slow and painful. The very principles of unity and democracy which all the ethnic and linguistic groups of Botswana embraced at independence, which subsequently resulted in the acceptance of the modernist/assimilationist paradigm into Tswanadom, are the very principles providing them good grounds to assert and not relinquish their subnational identities. After 33 years of independence, the issue of nationhood is no longer in question. The question now is what has this democracy and nationhood achieved for every one of us. Attempts to react to this question clearly demonstrate that the concept of Tswanadom has relegated some members of this nation to a low and unacceptable status, economically, politically and culturally. For this reason, the democracy for which Botswana is well known and respected is challenged. The orientation to view linguistic and cultural diversity as a problem is counterproductive to democratic gains. The option is to move quickly from overt assimilationist models to true pluralistic models, in which both group rights and individual rights are guaranteed, and democratic principles of representation are respected. Correspondence Any correspondence should be directed to Dr Lydia Nyati-Ramahobo, Faculty of Education, University of Botswana, Private Bag 0022, Gaborone, Botswana ([email protected]). Notes 1. The name of the country is Botswana, the people are Batswana, one person from Botswana is a Motswana and the national language is Setswana. This formula for prefixing applies to the eight Setswana speaking tribes, who are represented by their paramount chiefs:

Table 1 Linguistic groups Category 1 (The eight Setswana speaking tribes) Name of tribe (plural)

Dialect/language

Individual

Bamangwato/Bangwato

Sengwato

Mongwato

Bakgatla

Sekgatla

Mokgatla

Batawana

Setawana

Motawana

Balete

Selete

Molete

Batlokwa

Setlokwa

Motlokwa

Bakwena

Sekwena

Mokwena

Bangwaketsi

Sengwaketsi

Mongwaketsi

Barolong

Serolong

Morolong

The formula also applies to those tribes whose languages are close to Setswana but are not considered to be dialects of Setswana (some are represented by elected sub chiefs from their own tribes – the four areas, while others are not represented by their own people but by the paramount chief in that area).

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:04:05

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

72

Category 2 (Tribes with languages close to Setswana) Name of tribe (plural)

Dialect/language

Individual

Bakgalagadi/Makgalagadi

Sekgalagadi

Mokgalagadi

Babirwa

Sebirwa

Mmirwa

Batswapong (Baseleka)

Setswapong

Motswapong

Bahurutshe

Sehurutshe

Mohurutshe

Bakhurutshe

Sekhurutshe

Mokhurutshe

Bakgothu

Sekgothu

Mokgothu

Bashaga

Seshaga

Moshaga

Bangologa

Sengologa

Mongologa

Batlhwaring

Setlhwaring

Mo tlhwareng.

Batalaote

Setalaote

Motalaote

Bakaa

Sekaa

Mokaa

While tribes who speak languages that are not related to Setswana at all did not originally follow this formula over time the formula has been applied to them. The original name is supplied and the ‘tswanalised’ version is bracketed. Category 3 (Tribes not related to Setswana)

2. 3. 4. 5.

Name of tribe (plural)

Dialect/language

Individual

Ovaherero (Baherero)

Herero (Seherero)

Herero (Moherero)

Wayeyi (Bayeyi)/Bayei

Shiyeyi (Seyeyi)

Muyeyi (Moyeyi)

Hambukushu (Ma/ Bambukushu)

Thimbukushu (Se-)

Hambukushu (Mombukushu)

Kalanga (Ma/Bakalaka)

Ikalanga (Sekalalaka)

Kalanga (Mokalalaka)

Subia (Ma/Basubia)

Subia (Sesubia)

Subia (Mosubia)

Ciriku (Ma/Baciriku)

Othiciriku (Seciriku)

Mociriku

Ba/Masarwa (includes 13 Khoisana languages)

Sesarwa

Mosarwa

Ba/Manajwa

Senajwa

Monajwa

Note: The alternative prefix Ma- is used to demean the tribe. Languages spoken by tribes in Categories 2 and 3 are considered minority languages. A more detailed description of the ‘English only’ situation can be found in Kaplan and Baldauf (in press). A traditional meeting place where the chief hears cases, consults and informs his people about development matters in the village. Contribution from a participant at a symposium on ‘The Quality of Life in Botswana’ organised by the Botswana Society, 15–18 October 1996. The name of the Chief is the same as the name of the Association.

References Amanze, J.N. (1994) Botswana Handbook of Churches. Gaborone: Pula Press. Amanze, J.N. (1998) African Christianity in Botswana: The Case of African Independent Churches. Gweru: Mambo Press. Amanze, J.N. (1999) A History of the Ecumenical Movement in Africa. Gaborone: Pula Press. Anderson, L. and Janson, T. (1997) Languages in Botswana: Language Ecology in Southern Africa. Gaborone: Longman. Arthur, J. (1996) Language pedagogy in Botswana: Paradigms and ideologies. Mosenodi: Journal of the Botswana Educational Research Association 4 (1), 47–57.

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:04:18

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

73

Batibo, H.M., Mathangwane, J.T. and Mosaka, N. (1997) Prospects for sociolinguistic research undertakings in Botswana: Priorities and strategies. In B. Smieja (ed.) Working Papers in Preparation for the LICCA Conference (pp. 27–36). Proceedings of the LICCA Workshop. Duisburg: University of Duisburg. Bocongo (1999) A Quick Reference to Bocongo Members. Gaborone: Bocongo. Botswana Language Use Project (1996) Dipuo tsa Botswana. Gaborone. Botswana Language Use Project. Carter, G.M. and Morgan, P. (1980) From the Front-line: Speeches of Sir Seretse Khama. London: Rex Collins. Central Orthography Committee (1937) Minutes of the Conference on Orthography for Secwana. Johannesburg: Central Orthography Committee. Central Statistics Office (1995) Education Statistics 1993. Gaborone: Government Printer. Central Statistics Office (1999) Education Statistics 1997. Gaborone: Government Printer. Chilisa, E. (2000) Mogae defends his government: Part II. Mmegi: The Reporter, 11 February. Davies, C. (1998) Bayeyi can have their own chief, says Tawana. Mmegi: The Reporter, 25 September – 1 October, 6. Department of Information and Broadcasting (1989) Botswana Daily News 30 June, Number 123: 1. Fidzani, N.H. (1998) Land reform and primitive accumulation: A closer look at the Botswana Tribal Grazing Land Policy. In W.A. Edge and M.H. Lekorwe (eds) Botswana: Politics and Society (pp. 229–42). Pretoria: JL van Schaik. The Gazette (1999) A 1000 years of Botswana history. The Gazette, December 22, pp. 6–9. Grant, S. and Egner, B. (1989) The private press and democracy. In J. Holm and P. Molutsi (eds) Democracy in Botswana (pp. 247–64). Gaborone: Macmillan. Hopkins, P. (1995). Directory of Non-Governmental Organisations in Botswana. Gaborone: NORAD. Janson, T. and Tsonope, J. (1991) The Birth of a National Language: The History of Setswana. Gaborone: Heinemann & National Institute of Development Research. Jeffris, K. (1997) Poverty in Botswana. In D. Nteta and J. Hermans (eds) Poverty and Plenty: The Botswana Experience (pp. 33–59). Gaborone: Botswana Society. Kamanakao Association (1996) Report on the Installation of the Wayeyi Chief. 24 April 1999. Gumare. Kamanakao Association. Website. http://www.mindspring.com/okavango/ kamanakao/html Kaplan, R.B. and Baldauf, R.B., Jr (in press) Not only English: ‘English only’ and the world. In R.D. González with I. Melis (eds) Language Ideologies: Critical Perspectives on the Official English Movement. Champaign-Urbana, IL: NCTE. Kgengwenyane, O. (1996) President disappointing. Midweek Sun 9 October, 7. Komarek, K. and Keatimilwe, A. (1988) Language Competence and Educational Achievement in Primary Schools in Botswana: Part 11. Aligemeine Bildung, Wissenchaft und Sprot. Journal of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ). Le Roux, J. (1997) Multicultural Education: What Every Teacher Should Know. Pretoria: Kagiso. Mazonde, I. (1997) Battlefield of wits: Interface between NGOs, government and donors at the development site. Pula: Journal of African Studies 11 (1), 96–107. Mbuya, T. (1999) Of issues, gaffes and trivia. Mmegi: The Reporter 15–21 October, 15. Mgadla, P.T. (1998) The Kgosi in a traditional Tswana setting. In W.A. Edge and M.H. Lekorwe (eds) Botswana: Politics and Society (pp. 3–10). Pretoria: JL van Schaik. Mgadla, P.T. and Campbell, A.C. (1989) Dikgotla, dikgosi and Protectorate administration. In J. Holm and P. Molutsi (eds) Democracy in Botswana (pp. 48–57). Gaborone: Macmillan. Milon, J. (1989). Discourse in the Primary English Syllabus of Botswana. Report submitted to the German Foundation for International Development. Gaborone. Ministry of Education (1982) Primary School Syllabuses for all Subjects. Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation. Gaborone: Government Printer. Moeti, M. (1998) Blame tribalism on the constitution. Mmegi: The Reporter 9–15 January, 9. Mogwe, A. (1994) Will basic human rights and individual freedoms continue to be

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:04:34

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

74

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

protected, promoted and respected? In S. Brothers, J. Hermans and D. Nteta (eds) Botswana in the Twenty First Century (pp. 49–68). Gaborone: Botswana Society. Molutsi, P. (1994) Botswana’s democratic institutions: The strengths and prospects. In S. Brothers, J. Hermans and D. Nteta (eds) Botswana in the Twenty First Century (pp.21–38). Gaborone: Botswana Society. Molutsi, P.P. (1998a) Elections and electoral experience in Botswana. In W.A. Edge and M.H. Lekorwe (eds) Botswana: Politics and Society (pp. 363–77). Pretoria: JL van Shaik. Molutsi, P.P. (1998b) Politics and society in Botswana: Future scenarios. In W.A. Edge and M.H. Lekorwe (eds) Botswana: Politics and Society (pp. 489–98). Pretoria: JL Van Shaik. Mpho, M.K. (1987) Representation of cultural minorities in policy making. In J. Holm and P. Molutsi (eds) Democracy in Botswana (pp. 130–38). Gaborone: Macmillan. Murray, A. (1987) The growth of regional politics after the war: The northwest. In F. Morton and J. Ramsay (eds) The Birth of Botswana: A History of Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1910 to 1966 (pp. 110–22). Gaborone: Longman Botswana. Murray, A. (1990) Peoples’ Rights: The Case of Bayei Separatism. Roma: Institute of Southern African Studies. National Commission on Education (NCE 1) (1977a) Education for Kagisano, Vol. 1 (pp. 23–34; 235–53). Gaborone: Government Printer. National Commission on Education (NCE 1) (1977b) Education for Kagisano, Vol. 2 (pp. 2–8 –2–12). Gaborone: Government Printer. National Commission on Education (NCE 2) (1993) Report of the National Commission on Education. Gaborone: Government Printer. National Setswana Language Council (NSLC) (1984–90) Minutes and Tape Recordings of Meetings. Gaborone: NSLC. National Setswana Language Council (1989) Report on the Review of the 1981 Standard Orthography. Gaborone: NSLC. Ncqocqo, T. (1979) Origins of the Tswana. Pula Journal 1 (3), 1–16. Ndlovu, T. (1999) The language that stirred the storm. The Reporter 15–21 October, 22. [Arts and Culture Section] Nyati-Ramahobo, L. (1991) Language planning and education policy in Botswana. PhD Thesis, University of Pennsylvania. Dissertations Abstract International DAO 64793. Nyati-Ramahobo,L. (1996) Challenges for improving literacy in Botswana. Mosenodi: Journal of the Botswana Educational Research Association 4 (2), 49–55. Nyati-Ramahobo, L. (1998a) Language, culture and learning: The missing link in teacher education. In C.D. Yandila, P. Moanakwena, F.R. O’Mara, A.M. Kakanda and J. Mensah (eds) Improving Education Quality for Effective Learning: The Teacher’s Dilemma (pp. 207–14). Gaborone: Ministry of Education. [Proceedings of the Third Biennial Teacher Education Conference] Nyati-Ramahobo, L. (1998b) Language planning in Botswana. Language Problems and Language Planning 22, 48–62. Nyati-Ramahobo, L. (1999a) The National Language a Resource or a Problem: Implementation of the Language Policy of Botswana. Gaborone: Pula Press. Nyati-Ramahobo, L. (1999b) Oppression in democracy: The case of the Wayeyi. Paper presented at the African Studies Association Conference on ‘Listening to and Interpreting Africa for the Millennium’. 11–14 November 1999. Philadelphia. Obondo-Okoyo,T. and Sabone, I. (1986) Twenty Years of Progress: An Official Handbook. Gaborone: Department of Information and Broadcasting, Publicity Section & Government Printer. Parsons, N. (1985) The evolution of modern Botswana: Historical revisions. In L.A. Picard (ed.) Evolution of Modern Botswana: Politics and Rural Development in Southern Africa (pp. 26–39). Lincoln, Nebraska: Nebraska University Press & London: Rex Collins. Parsons, N. (1998) King Khama, Emperor Joe, and the Great White Queen. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Presidential Task Group (1997) Long Term Vision for Botswana: Towards Prosperity for All. Gaborone: Government Printer. Ramatsui, P. (1989) Personal communication. Ramsay, J. (1987) The neo-traditionalist: Sebele II of the Bakwena. In F. Morton and J.

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:04:50

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

75

Ramsay (eds) The Birth of Botswana: A History of the Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1910–1966 (pp. 30–44). Gaborone: Longman. Ramsay, J. (1998) The establishment and consolidation of the Bechuanaland Protectorate, 1870–1910. In W.A. Edge and M.H. Lekorwe (eds) Botswana: Politics and Society (pp. 62–98). Pretoria: JL van Schaik. Ramsay, J., Morton, B. and Mgadla, T. (1996). Building a Nation: A History of Botswana from 1800 to 1910. Gaborone: Longman. Republic of Botswana (1965) Chieftainship Act. Gaborone: Government Printer. Republic of Botswana (1965) Constitution of Botswana. Gaborone: Government Printer. Republic of Botswana (1965) Tribal Territories Act. Gaborone: Government Printer. Republic of Botswana (1977) National Policy on Education: Government Paper No. 1 of 1977. Approved by the National Assembly, August. Gaborone. Republic of Botswana (1983) Report on the Population and Housing Census 1981. Gaborone: Government Printer. Republic of Botswana (1985) National Development Plan 6 1985–91. Gaborone: Government Printer. Republic of Botswana (1988) The Official Hansard No. 95 Part 11: Proceedings of the 5th Session of the 5th Parliament. Gaborone: Government Printer. Republic of Botswana (1989–90) The Daily News. Gaborone: Government Printer. Republic of Botswana (1994) Government Paper No. 2 of 1994: The Revised National Policy on Education. Gaborone. Government Printer Republic of Botswana (1995) The Official Hansard No. 110. Proceedings of the 5th Session of the 7th Parliament. Gaborone: Government Printer. Republic of Botswana (1997) National Development Plan 8: 1997/98–2002/2003. Gaborone: Government Printer. Ruiz, R. (1984) Orientations in language planning. Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education 8 (2), 15–34.) Sechele, S.T. (1998) The role of the press in independent Botswana. In W.A. Edge and M.H. Lekorwe (eds) Botswana: Politics and Society (pp. 412–22). Pretoria: JL van Shaik. Setswana National Language Committee (1981) Setswana Standard Orthography 1981. Ministry of Education. Gaborone. Sillery, A. (1965) Founding a Protectorate: History of Bechuanaland 1885–1895. The Hague: Mouton. Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1990) Language Literacy and Minorities. London: Minority Rights Group. Skutnabb-Kangas, T. and Phillipson, R. (1989) Wanted! Linguistic Human Rights. ROLIG-papir 44. Roskilde: Roskilde University Centre. Smieja, B. and Mathangwane, J.T. (1999) Report on the survey of language use and language attitudes in Botswana (manuscript). Sommer, G. and Vossen, R. (1995) Linguistic variation in Siyeyi. In A. Traill, R. Vossen and M. Biesele (eds) The Complete Linguist. Papers in Memory of Patrick J. Dickens (pp. 407–79). Cologne: Rüdiger Köppe. Somolekae, G. and Lekorwe, M.H. (1998) The chieftaincy system and politics in Botswana, 1966–1995. In W.A. Edge and M.H. Lekorwe (eds) Botswana: Politics and Society (pp. 186–98). Pretoria: JL van Schaik. SPILL at http://www.spil.society.webjump.com. The Voice, 21 May 1998. Tlou, T. (1985) A History of Ngamiland 1750–1906: The Formation of an African State. Gaborone: Macmillan. Tlou, T. (1998) The nature of Batswana states: Towards a theory of Batswana traditional government – the Batawana case. In W.A Edge and M.H. Lekorwe (eds) Botswana Politics and Society (pp. 11–31). Pretoria: JL van Schaik. Tlou, T. and Campbell, A. (1984) History of Botswana. Gaborone: Macmillan. Tsonope, J. (1995) Prospects for the indigenous languages of Botswana. Implications of the Government White Paper No. 2 of 1994. Mosenodi: Journal of the Botswana Educational Research Association 3(1&2), 5–13.

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:05:04

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

76

Visser, H. (1998) Language and cultural empowerment of the Khoesan people: The Naro experience. Lecture delivered at the University of Botswana, 6 March 1998. Vossen, R. (1988). Patterns of Language Knowledge and Language Use in Ngamiland in Botswana. Germany: Eckhard Breitinger. Wolfson, N. and Manes, J. (eds) (1985) The Language of Inequality. New York: Mouton.

Appendix 1: Main Khoisan Language Groups (in brackets are sub-groups) Ju/hoan Xani Tcg’aox’ae (or = Kx’au//’ein or ‘Kxc’au/ein) Dxana Dcui Naro: (//Ana: Naro, //Gana, /Gwi, Khute) Qgoon San/N/Oakhine Nama Shua: (Xaise, Deti, Cara, Shua, Ts’ixa, Danisi, Bugakhwe, Xanikhwe) Tshwa: (Tshwa, Kua, Tshauwau, Heitshware) Tchuan  Hua Hai//om !Xoo !Kwi: (/Xam, = Khomani, //Xegwi and //Ng!’e) Tshu

Appendix 2: Recommendations related to Setswana and English (National Policy on Education, March 1994) Recommendation 3 [para. 2.3.30] With respect to language policy, the Commission recommends that the National Setswana Language Council be renamed the Botswana Languages Council and be given revised terms of Reference, including the responsibility for developing a comprehensive language policy (p. 13) Recommendation 18 [para.4.4.31] With respect to the teaching of languages in primary school, (a) English should be used as the medium of instruction from standard 2 as soon as practicable (p. 59) (d) Setswana should be taught as a compulsory subject for citizens of Botswana throughout the primary school system. In-service training programs should commence immediately to improve the teaching of Setswana as a subject (p. 18) Recommendation 31 [para. 5.5.7] The Commission recommends the following statement of goals for the three-year junior secondary program: The goals of the Junior Certificate Curriculum are to develop in all children

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:05:12

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

The Language Situation in Botswana

77

– Proficiency in the use of Setswana and English language as tools for effective communication, study and work – an understanding of society, appreciation of culture and sense of citizenship; etc. (p. 21) Recommendation 32 [para. 5.5.13] With respect to Junior Certificate curriculum, (b) each student should take eight core subjects, namely, English, Setswana Social Studies etc. (d) in addition each student should select a minimum of two and a maximum of three optional subjects. At least one of the subject selected should be from each of the following groups of subjects: (ii) Third language (p. 63) Recommendation 46 [para. 5.10.33] In order to improve the teaching of Setswana, the Commission recommends that: (a) teachers should be exposed to as many language teaching methods as possible so as to provide a variety for the teacher and the learner, with emphasis on communicative approaches, and therefore make Setswana more interesting as a subject (p. 26) (b) information on job opportunities other than teaching, e.g. in the media, professions and as translators, Court interpreters, and Parliamentary translators, should be more extensively disseminated. With some guidance students at school level would then take their study of the language more seriously, recognising opportunities for development in the language (p. 66) (c) the University of Botswana’s Department of African Languages and Literature should play a leading role in guiding academic presentations in Setswana and cooperate with the Faculty of Education in promoting the teaching of Setswana.(p. 26) Recommendation number 70 [para.7.6.9] With respect to the development of a core curriculum for students in tertiary education institutions, the Commission recommends the following components: (d) a module on Botswana’s culture and values, within the context of heterogeneous African cultures, noting the uniqueness and universals of Botswana’s ways of life (p. 34) Recommendation 100 [para. 10.5.9] (c) the primary teacher training curriculum should prepare teachers to handle adequately some of the innovative methods such as Breakthrough to Setswana, Project Method, continuous Assessment, Guidance and Counseling, Special Education, Remedial Teaching, especially to support assessed progression (p. 45)

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:05:21

Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile Composite Default screen

CILP004

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

78

Recommendation 101 [Para.10.5.13] (e) admission requirements should be reviewed to allow experienced primary school teachers holding COSC/GCE to be recruited for training as Setswana Teachers (p. 46) Recommendation 103 [para.10.5.19] (a) Setswana teacher training should be included in the category of critical human resource shortage alongside the Science and Technical fields of study in the proposed Grant/Loan Scheme (p. 46) (b) Setswana teachers should enjoy enhanced entry salary and parallel progression similarly to Science and Mathematics teachers (p. 46)

C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\Mes documents\cilp\book\book-botswana.vp 02 July 2004 14:05:24

biodata included on disk but not in hard copy

The Language Planning Situation in Malawi Edrinnie Kayambazinthu Department of English, Chancellor College, University of Malawi, P.O. Box 280, Zomba, Malawi This monograph presents a detailed study on the language planning situation in Malawi. It explores the historical and political processes, as well as current practices of language planning in the country. The discussion further reconstructs and demonstrates how sociopolitical change has been perceived in Malawi and how this perception has translated into language planning in education, the media and the general patterns of language use. The role of prominent individuals, the language situation itself and the sociopolitical issues serve as bases from which language planning in Malawi should be understood. Taken together the resultant language planning practices (past and present) present an interesting case study of pervasive ad hoc and reactive language planning based more on self-interest and political whim than research.

Introduction Malawi is situated in central southern Africa and shares boundaries with Tanzania in the northeast, Zambia in the west and Mozambique in the southeast. The country is approximately 900 kilometres in length and ranges in width from 80–160 kilometres. It has a total area of 118,486 square metres of which 94,276 is land and the rest is taken up by Lake Malawi which is about 475 kilometres long (Malawi National Statistical Office (MNSO), 1996: 1). Malawi is divided into three main administrative areas: the Northern, the Central and the Southern Regions. The country is further divided into 27 districts, 5 in the Northern Region, 9 in the Central Region and 13 in the Southern Region. Malawi has an estimated population of 12 million1 of which 42% were literate in 1987 and 89% are located in the rural areas. Malawi is linguistically heterogeneous with 13 Malawian languages and their numerous dialects being spoken within the country (Kayambazinthu, 1995). The language situation in Malawi, like that in most other African countries, is characterised by the asymmetrical coexistence of English, the official language; Chichewa, the national language, and 12 other indigenous languages and their varieties. This monograph provides a description of the language situation in Malawi and its various dimensions including the dynamism of multilingualism. The monograph focuses on the major languages, their spread, language planning and language maintenance and prospects in Malawi. The monograph also draws together a number of isolated surveys carried out in Malawi to elucidate the language situation there. The interplay and use of both major and minor languages are focused on at both macro and micro levels.

Part 1: The Language Profile of Malawi Definition of terms In this section language is defined on a combined geopolitical and genetic ba79

80

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

sis. The term language, as opposed to dialect, is defined according to Chambers and Trudgill (1980: 5) who regard dialects ‘as subdivisions of a particular language. A language therefore is a collection of mutually intelligible dialects’ or varieties. The discussion further recognises that there are many borderline cases where politically and socially it is difficult to make the distinction between a language and a dialect. On the basis of mutual intelligibility one would consider Malawian languages such as Khokhola and Lomwe as one and the same language, but not Yao and Lomwe. Therefore, the definition and count of different languages may vary considerably from the traditional or official count, especially in Chitipa District, where the definitions are based on an exaggerated older state of linguistic knowledge and or sociopolitical considerations than linguistic ones (see Ntonya, 1998). The names of the languages are those currently being used in Malawi. Language names derive from the ethnic groups by adding (or not adding) either the prefix Chi-, Ki- or Kya- depending on the language. For purposes of this monograph and for consistency the language prefix will not be used.2 The term speaker is reserved for active speakers able to converse with ease on a variety of topics who are likely to raise their children speaking the language and who are able to provide information on the basic documentation of the language. This then excludes those only able to understand the language or those with fragmentary or less fluent ability. The number of speakers given can only be taken as an estimate given the 32 year gap since the only language census was done. Malawian languages have not been studied or properly documented, except to a limited extent for Chichewa, Yao and Tumbuka. The languages and their historical background Geographically and culturally Malawi is linked with eastern Zambia, northern Mozambique and Northern Tanzania. All these neighbouring countries have contributed to the ethnic and linguistic composition of Malawi and vice versa. Typologically all Malawian languages are of Bantu origin. From the thirteenth to the nineteenth centuries AD, several political entities originated from the Congo Basin, each of which was presumably dominated by a single monoethnic and monolingual core: the Chewa, Tumbuka and the Ngulube group. The foundations of the modern ethnic and linguistic map were completed with the coming of the Ngoni, Yao and Lomwe. In spite of the increasingly divergent ethnic and linguistic presence in the region, the political history of Malawi was characterised by peaceful existence of the groups. During this period, most of these Malawian languages had roughly equal positions as dominant languages of their culture. It was the coming of the missionaries and the later rise to power of Dr Banda that decisively turned the balance of power in favour of Chichewa. This section focuses on the history of the indigenous people, their languages and dialects from the thirteenth to the nineteenth centuries AD with a view to showing the historical processes that gave rise to the various dialects. In view of their different historical relationships, the languages spoken in Malawi may be divided into three distinct groups: major indigenous languages, minor indigenous languages and minor non-indigenous languages. The territorial identities and sociolinguistic positions belonging to each language are discussed in the sections that follow.

The Language Planning Situation in Malawi

81

Indigenous languages

Chichewa (zone N, group 20)3 In its standard and non-standard variety, Chichewa has been used as the sole national language since 1968, for both regional and national administrative, literacy and cultural purposes in Malawi. It is the native language of 50.2% of Malawians, both rural and urban (MNSO, 1966). A number of source dialectal varieties are spoken, reflecting the geographical origins of the population and their wave of migration connected to territorial expansion. The major dialects recognised in Malawi are Chewa, Nyanja and Mang’anja. According to Phiri et al. (1992: 608), the central and southern part of Malawi was dominated by the Chewa speakers and their subgroups: the Mang’anja of the lower Shire Valley and Nyanja around the southern end of Lake Malawi. The northern area stretched on the western side of Lake Malawi from the Tumbuka-Chewa marginal zone in the centre to the Songwe river in the north was occupied by three language families: the Tumbuka group, Ngonde-Nyakyusa and the Sukwa-Lambya-Nyiha group. Historians (Alpers, 1968, 1972; Pachai, 1973; Phiri et al., 1992: 615) agree that between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries AD, most of central and southern Malawi was settled by Bantu speakers. These were at first a collective part of the vast and widely settled community of the Maravi or Malawi peoples, now known as Chewa, Nyanja and Mang’anja. The Maravi migrated from the Luba-Lunda kingdoms of eastern Zaire and settled in a place called Mankhamba (present-day Dedza district) in Malawi under their leader, Kalonga. Here they fused with the early inhabitants, the proto-Chewa. Historically, a wave of migration took place connected with lack of space and territorial expansion. As noted by Pachai (1973: 8), terminologically, the various dialect clusters of Chewa,4 the language they spoke, is better understood within the framework of migration, economic power and the political organisation of the Maravi Empire. What started off as Maravi ended up as Chewa, Mang’anja, Nyanja, Chipeta, Nsenga, Chikunda, Mbo, Ntumba and Zimba, as a result of dispersion and decentralisation. For over half of the seventeenth century, the Maravi established an empire built upon ivory trade to Kilwa and Mozambique with the Portuguese and, later, the Arabs, and embarked on territorial expansion that took them beyond central and southern Malawi into adjacent parts of Zambia and Mozambique (Phiri et al., 1992). Phiri also claims that by the early seventeenth century, their federation of states encompassed the greater part of eastern Zambia, central and southern Malawi and northern Mozambique. Population growth led to pressure on land, local quarrels, the desire to settle on one’s own, and the urge to control or protect trade routes and goods (Pachai, 1973). Consequently, the empire disintegrated, leading to several different established subsidiary chiefdoms and kingdoms of related people speaking various dialects of the Chewa cluster (Marwick, 1963; Pachai, 1972). For example, Kalonga is said to have sent out a number of his relatives to establish settlements in various areas for political and economic reasons (Alpers, 1968). Mwase settled in an ivory rich district, Kasungu; Kaphwiti and Lundu settled in the lower Shire Valley and Mkanda in eastern Zambia (now Chipata District). All these tributary kings owed allegiance to the Paramount Kalonga

82

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

and paid tribute. However, the bond was later severed. For example, Undi left for Mozambique territory and was by 1614 reported to be trading with the Portuguese. This reduced Kalonga’s position (Pachai, 1973: 8). External factors such as trade, availability of arms and ammunition acquired from the Portuguese and Arab traders, gold and ivory trading led to the strengthening of the power of the tributary kings like Undi, Lundu and Mwase-Kasungu (Pachai, 1973). Kabunduli, Chulu, Kaluluma and Kanyenda moved into the Tumbuka-Chewa marginal areas creating a mixed sociolinguistic group of whom the Tonga of northern Nkhota Kota and Nkhata Bay districts are the most obvious (Phiri et al. 1992: 622). Wherever they moved, the Maravi called themselves by the geographical areas in which they settled, to distinguish themselves from other groups. For instance, people from the chiefdom of Mkanda in Zambia referred to themselves as Chewa, Kunda, Nsenga and Ambo; those of the southwestern lakeshore and the Shire River as Nyanja (meaning people of the lake or people living along the lake). Those of Undi and Mwase Kasungu who settled in the hinterlands of Kasungu, Dowa, Ntchitsi, Mchinji, called themselves Chipeta (Chipeta means tall grass or savanna). Those of Kaphwiti were known as Mang’anja. ‘These various dialectal names were no more than regional or geographical designations of people who belonged to the same cultural and language groups, later on developing distinct dialects’ (Schoffeleers, 1972: 96). Of these, the name Chewa referred to the numerically strongest group (Marwick, 1963; Pachai, 1973), of whom about 80% live in Malawi and the remaining 20% or so in Zambia and Mozambique (Pachai, 1973: 6). Schoffeleers (1972: 96), unlike other historians, maintains that the Chewa-speaking people were never known collectively as Chewa or Maravi but were known by two names: a specific one and a generic one, the latter being Maravi. But what is clear from all historical accounts is that the name Maravi (not Chewa) stood for an ethnic group or part of it. One would therefore disagree with Chilipaine (1985: 3) who stated that all these groups were ethnically Chewa, because ethnohistorical evidence points to the fact that they were ethnically Maravi but dialectally rather differentiated. Although the linguistic affiliation between the Chewa and the Nyanja is still a matter of dispute as to who owns the language, it is likely that Chewa ethnohistory has involved a cyclic alternation between the three groups and Chewa dominance. There is also lack of consensus regarding the name Mang’anja. Banda (1975) and Mchombo (n.d.) maintain that it is a Portuguese corruption of Nyanja. The Portuguese encounter with South African ethnic groups like the Ama Tchangane, Ama Xhosa led them under the influence of Portuguese phonology, to velarise the palatal ny /
/ to ng /ŋ/ thereby giving rise to a non-existent ethnic group Mang’anja, a people who were no other than Chewa. There is little evidence in support of this patriotic statement that needs to be examined in the light of the available historical and oral evidence adduced by Schoffeleers, who argues that: we have some evidence in Portuguese documents of the 17th Century that the present ethnic designations were already used at that time. The names

The Language Planning Situation in Malawi

83

Nyanja and Mang’anja occur already, although it is not quite clear whether they were also used as ethnic names. (1972: 6) This statement makes more sense than Banda’s since the Mang’anja are mainly found in the Shire Highlands and not the Lake Shore. Most likely they called themselves by a different name like the rest. The dialects Chewa, Nyanja and Mang’anja are still present in Malawi but not those of Ntumba, Mbo5 and Zimba which can be found in Mozambique or Zambia (Henriksen, 1978: 249). According to Pachai (1972), in Malawi these groups mixed with the Ngoni who are mainly found in the areas these groups once occupied.

Tumbuka (Zone N, Group 20) Tumbuka is a dominant ethnic and regional lingua franca in the northern part of Malawi. Tumbuka was (1947–68) the northern regional language for education and broadcasts until Dr Hastings Banda banned it in favour of Chichewa. It has the status of a second language for most northerners (Kayambazinthu, 1995). Tumbuka is broadly distributed in three of the five districts in the northern region and, according to the 1966 census, it was a language of 9% of the total population. The origins and diversity of the language stem from areas of settlement and Bryan (1959) identifies eight dialects: Tumbuka, Nkhamanga, Henga, Phoka, Wenya, Fulirwa, Lakeshore and Senga. The area that covers the Rumphi and Mzimba Districts and extends as far west as the Luangwa valley in the modern Lundazi district of eastern Zambia also experienced a steady influx of Tumbuka migrants from 1700 to the middle 1800 (Vail, 1972; Phiri et al., 1992).6 Pachai (1973) suggests that the Tumbuka are the oldest ethnic group in northern Malawi and were basically pastoral and matrilineal people. According to Vail (1972), and Phiri et al. (1992) the Tumbuka were organised into a loose confederation under their ethnic chief whose economic and cultural life changed with the coming of traders under their leader Mlowoka. For example, the Phoka inhabit the Nyika Plateau and the fringe lands between the Plateau and the lake shore; the Nkhamanga group are found in the Nkhamanga Plains, the Henga in the Henga Valley, the Wenya and Nthalire in Chitipa District and the Fulirwa between Chitimba and the southern part of Karonga. Below the Phoka are settled the Lakeshore people, so called because they settled along Lake Malawi. Phiri et al. (1992: 612) further state that the Nsenga, the present day inhabitants of Lundazi district, seem to have evolved into a tribe as a result of interaction between Tumbuka groups and Luba-Lunda immigrants from the west. Their language is akin to that of the Tumbuka with whom they share clan names. Like the Maravi, the Tumbuka geographical settlement also caused the present distinct dialects that are mutually intelligible. In the 1780s Tumbuka economic and cultural life changed with the coming of Mlowoka, who had knowledge and experience of external trade. He stayed in the area and traded with locals in beads, cloth and ivory. Through economic power, Mlowoka established a loose confederation under the Chikulamayembe dynasty at Nkhamanga but his influence was confined to this area and the areas controlled by his trading associates (Katumbi, Mwalweni, Jumbo and Mwamlowe) (Vail, 1972).

84

Language Planning and Policy in Africa

Tonga (Zone N, Group 10) Functionally, Tonga is an ethnic language of the Tonga inhabiting the present day Nkhata-Bay District. According to the 1966 census, it had about 1.9% of speakers and is one of the minority languages confined to its borders. The Tonga inhabit the area between the Viphya range of mountains to the west and north-south of the Luweya River. To the north and west of Tongaland, now the Nkhata Bay district, are the Tumbuka, while the Chewa are to the south in Nkhota Kota District. According to Pachai (1973), the earliest inhabitants were the Nyalubanga clan, but he also connects the Tonga with the Maravi and the Balowoka. Tonga, according to Vail and White (1989), is similar in grammar and vocabulary to Tumbuka but is a distinct language. The Ngulube Group (Ngonde and Nyakyusa, Zone M, Group 30; Lambya, Zone N, Group 20; Nyiha, Zone M, Group 20; Sukwa, Ndali and Mambwe, Zone M, Group 10).7 All these languages can be functionally grouped as ethnic languages used within their ethnic group; in other words, they do not transcend other ethnic groups and are not documented. The area between the Dwangwa River in the south and the Songwe River in the north is the home of many ethnic groups who formed different linguistic groups. The sixteenth century also saw the coming in of the Ngulube immigrants from the northeast. They founded the states of Lambya, Ngonde, Chifungwe, Sukwa and Nyakyusa (Phiri et al., 1992). The Ngonde settled in the Songwe area on the northwestern shores of Lake Malawi and border with the Nyakyusa of southern Tanzania to the north, the Sukwa and Lambya to the west and the Tumbuka to the south. Kalinga (1985) (a Ngonde historian) dates their settlement to around the middle of the fifteenth century. Their new land was rich in ivory which they exchanged for cloth, porcelain and metal work with the Nyika people and those of the Misuku hills. Trade in ivory made their leader, Kyungu, a powerful figure (Kalinga, 1985; McCracken, 1972). Even at the peak of their power the Ngonde did not have much influence outside their country of settlement, the present day Karonga District. Wilson (1972) comments that the common factor among the Ngonde, Nyakyusa and Lambya is that they all originated from Bukinga country beyond the tip of Lake Malawi. Wilson (1972: 138) further claims that the Ngonde and Nyakyusa had close cultural and historical ties, speaking the same language although with a different accent. Kalinga (1985: 1) states the same: ‘they (Ngonde) are more closely related to the Nyakyusa than any other ethnic group in this region. Their language, KyaNgonde is a dialect of KiNyakyusa, and like the Nyakyusa, they are great cattle keepers’. From this, one would conclude that Ngonde is a dialect of Nyakyusa8 (see also Tew, 1950: 75), even though in Malawi they are treated as separate or distinct languages (see Table 1). Another group, the Lambya, under their leader Mwaulambya, is traced back to Rungwe in Tanzania. Ethnohistorical evidence points to the fact that the Nyiha were the earliest inhabitants of the area where the Lambya settled and peacefully established their political authority. Lambya is a dialect of Nyiha (Phiri et al., 1992; Wilson, 1958: 28–9). My own personal communication with a Lambya9 points to the same fact. That is, the Lambya and Nyiha are related linguistically and their languages are mutually intelligible. Another Ngulube leader, Kameme,

The Language Planning Situation in Malawi

85

Table 1 Home languages in numerical order55 %

District where spoken

1,644,916

Projected number of speakers, 1998 5,263,731

50.2

Lomwe

476,306

1,524,179

14.5

Yao

452,305

1,447,376

13.8

Tumbuka

298,881

956,419

9.1

Sena Khokhola Tonga Ngoni Nkhonde Lambya Sukwa Nyakyusa Swahili Other Mambwe Ndali Nyiha English

115,055 74,466 62,213 37,480 31,018 18,646 18,300 3,994 2,854

368,176 238,291 199,082 119,936 99,258 59,667 58,560 12,781 9,133

3.5 2.3 1.9 1.1