Publication: Sahelian Languages, Indigenous Knowledge and Self-Management
Date
1999-10
ISSN
Published
1999-10
Author(s)
Easton, Peter
Abstract
While many of the languages in Africa
may be related, and inter-comprehensible, it is also a
multilingual continent, where a relatively high proportion
of the population speaks, or understands more than one
language. However, the distribution of languages is not
uniform. The reasons are both topographical, and political:
dense forests, numerous, rivers, thus hampering both
transport, and communications. The note identifies the work
of a local nongovernmental organization, established by
community members to prod literacy instruction centers in
West Africa. Primary education completion exams - which must
be taken in French, and govern admission to secondary
schooling, reveal that children who started education in
their mother tongue, performed on average, significantly
better than graduates of standard primary schools. The note
further examines case studies in different countries,
revealing this change is most pronounced in Francophone
countries, where little recognition was given to African
languages, exemplifying the literacy gains of
multilingualism, as well as an increased articulation of
indigenous knowledge. Multilingualism for one, provides a
sense of local ownership, enhancing cultural and political
assets, and, this "indigenous" effort at knowledge
construction, will seemingly survive, because it is owned by
local actors, founded on local economic, and social necessity.
Citation
“Easton, Peter. 1999. Sahelian Languages, Indigenous Knowledge and Self-Management. Indigenous Knowledge (IK) Notes; No. 13. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/793292fb-dd46-5237-bc38-752519d4fddc License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”