Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures and tables
- Acknowledgements
- Editors’ note
- Foreword
- Foreword
- Chapter 1 Conditions under which language policy affects social stability
- Chapter 2 The case of the Catalan language: Some lessons
- Chapter 3 Language and hegemonic power: How feasible is conflict management by means of language policy?
- Chapter 4 The language issue and the quest for lasting peace in Africa: Prospects and challenges
- Chapter 5 The role of language in the process of constructing, preserving and reinforcing peace in Africa
- Chapter 6 Language policy and identity conflict in relation to Afrikaans in the post-apartheid era
- Chapter 7 Linguistic politics and the Northern Ireland peace process
- Chapter 8 Language policy and conflict management: A view from Galicia
- Chapter 9 Overcoming ethno-liguistic divisions: Developing educational materials in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Chapter 10 On language and peace: Some theological remarks
- Abbreviations and glossary
- Author biographies
Chapter 4 - The language issue and the quest for lasting peace in Africa: Prospects and challenges
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 March 2020
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Figures and tables
- Acknowledgements
- Editors’ note
- Foreword
- Foreword
- Chapter 1 Conditions under which language policy affects social stability
- Chapter 2 The case of the Catalan language: Some lessons
- Chapter 3 Language and hegemonic power: How feasible is conflict management by means of language policy?
- Chapter 4 The language issue and the quest for lasting peace in Africa: Prospects and challenges
- Chapter 5 The role of language in the process of constructing, preserving and reinforcing peace in Africa
- Chapter 6 Language policy and identity conflict in relation to Afrikaans in the post-apartheid era
- Chapter 7 Linguistic politics and the Northern Ireland peace process
- Chapter 8 Language policy and conflict management: A view from Galicia
- Chapter 9 Overcoming ethno-liguistic divisions: Developing educational materials in post-war Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Chapter 10 On language and peace: Some theological remarks
- Abbreviations and glossary
- Author biographies
Summary
Introduction
The dawn of African independence following the demise of colonialism has not brought lasting peace and stability to the continent. On the contrary, after the era of coups d’état in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, internal armed conflicts and pre- and post-election unrest seemed to be widespread phenomena throughout Africa. All this has hampered the efforts to effect sustainable development that would redeem Africans from poverty.
Wena n’wanga, u nga dawula makenene! U hlaya tibuku leti kulu; U hanya ni
Valungu
Hi nga hi byela lexi hi nga wonha
Maziyoni, va Nazareta,va Suwisa va khongela wusiku ni hlikanhi
Loko i li tinyanga a ndza ha wuli! Xikwana ni tinhlolo a swa ha wisi
Kambe ku rhula a hi ku kumi!
You, my son, who have travelled the world over; you are very learned;
You have lived with the whites
Tell us where we have gone wrong
The Zion, the Nazareth, the Swiss churches, pray day and night
As for the witchdoctors, I don't know what to say
Their bags and bones know no rest
But peace is nowhere to be found!
This is how an elderly man greeted me in Xitsonga, a Bantu language spoken in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe, with tears rolling down his face, when I went to visit my home village, Khasane, district of Manjacaze, Gaza province, in Southern Mozambique in 1990. This was towards the end of the 16-year armed conflict that had caused so much death and inflicted extraordinary pain, suffering and misery on ordinary Mozambican civilians. Bowd and Chikwamha (2010:x) echo the elder's sentiments when they succinctly state the following: ‘The countries of Sub-Saharan Africa that have been embroiled in violent conflict are characterized by abject poverty, inadequate service provision, political instability, retarded economic growth and other challenges to overall development that deter the enhancement of human security.’
Peace, as a result, has been placed high on the agenda of the African Union. Although reliable figures are not readily available, it is believed that peace and security take the lion's share of the African Union's annual budget. However, despite all the efforts, mechanisms, and instruments, peace remains as elusive as ever almost throughout the continent (Hansungule 2011:85).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Language Policy and the Promotion of PeaceAfrican and European case studies, pp. 33 - 46Publisher: University of South AfricaPrint publication year: 2014