Internationalisation Without Indigenous African Languages is a Fallacy

BY: .

I recently attended the African Language Teachers Association (ALTA) Conference in Washington DC, United States of America. The conference was attended by representatives of more than 30 universities from across the globe and 15 from the African continent. Under the theme, Navigating Current Challenges in the Teaching and Learning of African Languages, the papers focused on the challenges faced by lecturers, students and language enthusiasts in teaching African languages abroad and locally.

The ALTA conference was jointly organised by the College of Arts and Sciences and the Centre for African Studies, Howard University; the National African Language Resource Centre, Indiana University; the Department of World Languages and Cultures; the Office of the Provost and the School of Social Work, Howard University; the Louis Stokes Library and the Ralph Bunche Centre and hosted by Howard University.

I attended in my capacity as the acting Director of the Language Unit (ULPDO) at UKZN and presented on The Strides the University of KwaZulu-Natal has made in the Intellectualisation of African Languages. My colleague from the School of Education Dr Nokukhanya Ngcobo delivered a paper titled, The Pedagogical Appeal of Participatory Visual Methodologies: Youth as Knowledge Producers. I believe we represented the University well and also made important connections with colleagues from the African continent who are teaching African languages in the US. We were warmly received by South African Nguni language representatives based in the US, Drs Zoliswa Mali and Nandipa Sipengana. The connections made are promising in relation to job opportunities, student exchange, and collaborations with colleagues in the diaspora. The keynote speakers and individual presentations in the parallel sessions I attended highlighted the amount of work that has been devoted to promoting and supporting initiatives to enhance the status of African languages in the US and I realised the power of collaborations in achieving the vision of the total emancipation of these languages.

I also became aware of gaps in the manner in which language issues are handled at both national and international level. A major issue is that people are still working in silos. Language development is by its very nature a collaborative effort and has to be treated as such. From the keynote addresses to the papers presented, the culture of working in silos was a common thread. It could be that some projects involve international funding, with attendant restrictions, or that sinister colonial undertones remain in what we do as Africans. As a result, there is a disjuncture between the amount of effort put into emancipating African languages and the ultimate impact. If we continue in this fashion, it will take Africa centuries to shed this colonial baggage.

The way South African language groups are categorised as languages of teaching and learning in the US also presents a challenge. While there are historical reasons for this situation, the strides South Africa has made in the languages space means that it could easily be corrected. There is a need for all nine official indigenous languages to be represented in the diaspora. The current approach is one of multilingualism. This stems from the country’s Constitution and the promulgation of the new language policy for public Higher Education Institutions in 2020. While all 26 public Higher Education Institutions are working to realign their language policies with its provisions, in my view, there is a need for more information sharing with colleagues in the diaspora.

The other elephant in the room is African governments. There is a need for serious introspection on how they have handled the development of the African languages agenda. The African Union is doing its bit by promulgating enabling policies and establishing commissions, but individual African governments have still not come to the party. Lip service is paid to what should be done, but commitment on the ground is lacking. Ironically, almost all African governments are still using colonial languages as their official languages of administration, education and business. The continent must stop relying on these languages that have stymied African development on many fronts for decades. History has taught us that the most developed nations in the world use their own languages and the literature shows that it is easy to invent, innovate and develop anything using one’s own language. While it is often reiterated that language is fundamentally a constitutional and social justice issue, this is ignored on every level by our governments. Given that more than 1 000 languages are spoken on the African continent, it is clearly a mammoth task to develop all of them. However, this does not mean that Africa cannot prioritise and agree on developing its dominant languages for business, administration, education and trade whilst promoting other indigenous languages for social cohesion.

The concept of internationalisation is a fallacy without languages. Language carries the culture, history, heritage and wisdom of its native speakers and internationalisation therefore means one carries one’s language to the global discourse. It cannot be that Africans are coming to the table with their colonial masters’ language. How can we be respected if we do not respect ourselves? How does Africa expect other nations to take it seriously if it does not take itself seriously? Where do originality, authenticity, uniqueness and innovation lie in our approach to internationalisation without our languages? As Africans, these are issues we need to confront head on and be frank with one another. Africa remains inferior in the eyes of the world because it does not believe in its own wisdom and tapestry.

In conclusion, Africa faces major problems in the realm of language development. While meaningful initiatives have been launched, there is a need to align them for greater impact. It is heart-warming to see that African languages have been immersed into American curricula; however, it is disheartening to witness African governments’ disregard and peripheral approach to the language issue. I believe Africa has a role to play in the internationalisation agenda, but we need to believe in ourselves in order to play a meaningful role. Decolonised, visionary and fearless leaders are needed to liberate the continent from this quagmire.

*Mr Khumbulani Mngadi writes in his capacity as a public scholar and independent analyst based at UKZN.

*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.