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Abstract

L'article analyse la facon dont l'elite au pouvoir dans certains pays d'Afrique maintient ses privileges et sa domination sociale par les choix linguistiques qu'elle accomplit. L'elite est constituee par ceux qui parlent la langue officielle (Anglais, Francais, Portugais) et qui ont atteint un certain niveau d'etudes. La maniere dont l'elite passe de la langue indigene a la langue officielle dans les conversations (ex : Swahili/Anglais) est une marque symbolique de l'identite du groupe et acquiert ainsi une signification sociale.
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This encyclopaedia of one of the major fields of language studies is a continuously updated source of state-of-the-art information for anyone interested in language use. The IPrA Handbook of Pragmatics provides easy access – for scholars with widely divergent backgrounds but with convergent interests in the use and functioning of language – to the different topics, traditions and methods which together make up the field of pragmatics, broadly conceived as the cognitive, social and cultural study of language and communication, i.e. the science of language use. The Handbook of Pragmatics is a unique reference work for researchers, which has been expanded and updated continuously with annual installments since 1995. Also available as Online Resource: https://benjamins.com/online/hop
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This ethnographic examination of a binary linguistic hierarchy in Haiti shares the critical terrain of Viranjini Munasinghe's unpacking of Caribbean creolization theory. It is a grounded inquiry into a problematic of ontology that inheres in techniques of making non‐white identities deployed by Caribbean privileged people of color at arm's length from a European colonial heritage that underpins their privileged class positions. Borrowing Munasinghe's analytic concept of theory made schizophrenic by ideology, the investigation reveals Haiti's francophone minority ideologically utilizing Haitian Creole as a black‐nationalist symbol in its domination of the monolingual Creole‐speaking majority. The ideological move devalues Creole while elevating French in the reproduction of class inequality. The linguistic schizophrenia undermines the theoretical nation‐building logic of Creole as national language. Failing practical validation of Creole in all spheres of Haitian life, I conclude, claims on the state and civil society by Haiti's vast monolingual Creole‐speaking majority cannot logically be validated.
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A prerequisite for learning is that instructions and other learning activities take place in a language that you understand. This may seem self-evident, but fact remains that most learners in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are taught in a European second language (L2) that they are unfamiliar with. Frequently, the role of the home languages in the classrooms has been completely subtracted leading to very unfavourable learning situations for many pupils, something which in turn results in failures and early drop-out. The current paper takes up some of the challenges, dilemmas and consequences of current medium of instruction (MoI) policies as illustrated by theories and previous studies. Part 2 gives an outline of the analytical framework being developed under the Understanding project financed by the Swedish research Council. The purpose of the framework is to help reveal strengths, shortcomings and mismatches in current language-in-education policies. Focus lies on how different policy levels acknowledge the challenges involved in learning and teaching through a second language in SSA contexts. The model provides a systematic framework for explorations of how language-in-education policy outcomes (mis)match intentions. The framework, though adapted for SSA contexts, has direct relevance to the analysis of language-in-education polices in Western education systems.
Article
Ex-colonial languages have exerted influence on the development of education and the shaping of other socio-economic and political structures in post-colonial countries. Based on an overview of language-in-education policies in Tanzania, the article offers a nuanced account of the disparity between the use of English and Kiswahili as medium of instruction (MoI). The dominance of English and the marginalization of Kiswahili have given rise to a dilemma with far-reaching implications for every stakeholder in education. The article proposes that the weakness of Kiswahili in comparison to English is attributed to the trend that Tanzania has been divided along the lines of several pairs of dichotomies, together with the infiltration of neocolonialism in post-colonial era. In this vein, the article comes to the conclusion that the issues of MoI choice and continuity should not remain unresolved, as their dysfunction creates backlash in other social contexts.
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This chapter critically describes the history and development of language policy in Cabo Verde. It argues that to discuss language policy in Cabo Verde implies necessarily critically examining the politics it involves. Therefore, two language political games have characterized the islands since independence. On the one hand, there is question of making the Cabo Verdean language an official language of state, along with Portuguese. On the other hand, given the archipelagic condition of the country, with each island perceived to have a peculiar variety of the language, the language ideological debate has often boiled down to inter-dialectal competition. This political linguistic situation has effectively stalled any progress toward making the Cabo Verdean language an official language of the country, on equal standing with Portuguese, the language of power and prestige. In the last section of the chapter, I discuss the use of the two languages in different domains.
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This chapter examines the impact of language on economic outcomes and the importance of investment in human capital, which assumes that investment in education is essential for any labor market to increase individual capital, productivity, and ultimately economic growth. In particular, the chapter discusses the role of language in the Moroccan educational crisis and how the concept of “costs and benefits” seems to favor a language of power and economic opportunities, which is French in Morocco, even if it is a language that continues to alienate and disenfranchise a large portion of the population. One is therefore bound to ask, “What happens to social justice when access to the language of power and economic opportunities is not available to the populace but only to the few who already possess the socio-economic capital to afford such access?” A good education, which is often made possible by the medium of instruction perceived to yield the most returns, has become cost-prohibitive for many in Morocco. As such, language bears the brunt of the blame for the educational crisis that the country is experiencing. Additionally, the chapter provides a brief summary of other related causes of the demise of the educational system, including the privatization of education, shadow education, and the gap between education and employment.
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This chapter will mainly discuss the role that language plays in the allocation of power and resources in a competitive language market and the implications of such a phenomenon on the Moroccan educational system. The French-educated elite continue to maintain their power and privileges while limiting the masses’ access to the language of power and the socioeconomic opportunities that come with such access. English is thought to have a chance at democratizing the linguistic scene and the educational system in Morocco as it is seen as a neutral language that does not carry any colonial overtones, contrary to French. For the masses especially, it is hoped that English would even replace French and thus provide a level playing field for all, regardless of their socio-economic status. For the time being, the state has opted for French to continue to be the foreign language of choice, thus maintaining the status-quo and confirming the power of French and its continued hegemony over the Moroccan sociolinguistic scene. But are the grassroots likely to overturn such a top-down decision and give a chance to English and to the masses?
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Ghana, like many postcolonial African nations, is at a sociolinguistic crossroads in which English is believed to be encroaching on sociocultural domains, while the country’s indigenous languages are being promoted by governments to have a stronger presence in mainstream education. The current study therefore aimed to understand the extent of English ownership and Language-In-Education model preference (LIEMP) among tertiary students in Ghana to investigate whether the attitudes of the country’s most active English users corroborate these governmental initiatives. The study also considered the influence of sociodemographic factors, namely (i) L1, (ii) Age, (iii) Gender, (iv) SES, (v) Region, (vi) Academic Discipline, (vii) Most Spoken Language, and (viii) English Variety Preference, on students’ attitudes towards English in Ghanaian society and indigenous languages in Ghanaian mainstream education. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, with quantitative data collected through an online questionnaire completed by 159 participants and analysed through descriptive, correlative, and regression analyses, and qualitative data obtained through 4 semi-structured interviews that were analysed thematically. While the questionnaire results revealed that most of the sample did not claim ownership of English on a macro-level, their self-directed LIEMP varied strongly based on select sociodemographic factors, namely L1, Home Region, and SES. A relationship was also found between participants’ lack of ownership and LIEMP, with qualitative findings indicating that, regardless of which LIE model the students prefer, they view implementing appropriate curricula for all L1 groups as impractical or simply irrelevant to the Ghanaian market at large. These results demonstrate the importance of attitudinal studies to appropriately strategise language planning through “bottom-up” incentives, as well as the need for prestige planning to accompany acquisition planning in order to facilitate public sensitisation towards L1-incorporated education in postcolonial Africa.