Language and Identity in Africa - Essay Example

Language and identity in Africa Language forms a core part of any human distinctiveness through which, one can tellthe age and origin of a person. In addition, language symbolizes one’s national and cultural identity. Identity here refers to the feeling of belonging to a larger social group by an individual. Culture defines a person in that; one is able to identify oneself with the beliefs and ideals of a given community (Abimbola, pp.20). These attributes are passed from one generation to another. Language plays a key role as the medium in which these elements are communicated to succeeding generations. When a group of people speak a common language, they feel a sense of belonging to a particular community, thus sharing a given heritage. Speaking the same language signifies societal solidarity, whereas speaking different languages indicates cultural differentiation. This means that the language of a given people needs to be guarded if they are to preserve and convey their culture. In African traditional society, children were taught the values and ways of life of their communities by their elders. Through songs, dance and folklore, these children were integrated into the community’s way of life. These children were often grouped according to their age and taught the culture of their community. By so doing, the community ensured that succeeding generations were well aware of their traditions and the preservation of the same. Awolalu (pp.27) argues that, loss of culture occurs when a community can no longer identify themselves through particular values and beliefs. The lack of language to express their heritage affects the society and thus their culture is lost. This has been the case in modern Africa whereby, the youth cannot express themselves in their native language. This has been occasioned by an increase in cultural diversity, in that people with different cultures live in the same area. Human migrations and historical events have been a major contributor in this cultural diversity. The continued existence of these culturally diverse people in the same setting results in cultural assimilations. It becomes increasingly hard for differing communities to maintain their respective languages in these multilingual societies. Consequently, language loss leads to the loss of culture and identity of that particular community. Many Africans have migrated to developed countries in search of work and education opportunities. These Africans in the Diaspora have lost touch with their cultural background and adopted the cultures of these foreign countries. Olatunde (pp. 62) points out that African Americans have found it tough to find a universal language through which to express themselves and still maintain their cultural identities. This is because they lack tribal affiliations and the language they speak is non-tribal. These young people, he says, have progressively lost touch with their African roots and adopted the American way of life. Olatunde also argues that the colonization of Africa in the nineteenth century was the start point of African cultural disintegration. A case in point is the Christian missionaries who urged Africans to adopt Christian names in for them to be accepted by the Christian God. This implies that even the Africans living on the African continent have systematically adopted western culture. The teaching of European languages in African schools exemplifies this phenomenon. Olatunde (pp.66) argues that the African village has totally disintegrated, no longer having elders to guide the people. In traditional African society, it was the duty of the elders to teach the youth the African way of life. Today, however, these elders are at the fore front in popularizing western culture. As a result, many youth especially those living in urban areas have no roots identification. They have been brought up in the western way of life, perceived to be modern. Olatunde (pp.69) quotes a Swahili proverb that says that it takes a village to raise a child. He thus wonders how, if the village itself has fallen apart, the African child is supposed to know right from wrong. The Yoruba form one of the largest cultural groups in Nigeria forming about 35% of Nigeria’s total population. This ethnic group has expanded outside Nigeria to other parts of Africa such as Togo, Ghana and Sierra-Leone. Outside the continent, there are speakers of the Yoruba language as far as Cuba and Brazil, Olatunde (pp.73). In Nigeria, Yoruba language is used in the press and also as a medium of instruction in primary schools as well as at the secondary level. Nevertheless, Yoruba is an endangered language primarily due to the influence of English within the Yoruba society and Nigeria as a whole. The Nigerian constitution recognizes English as the country’s official language. This translates to Yoruba and other indigenous Nigerian languages being repressed. These languages are no longer used in the political, education among other public domains. There are numerous Yoruba people in the Diaspora, primarily due to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in the eighteenth century. Most of the men taken from West Africa were from Yoruba kingdom. According to Olatunde, (pp.76) when this trade was abolished, the freed slaves from Sierra-Leon traced their roots back to the Yoruba kingdom. This led to a multicultural Yoruba society occasioned by these freed slaves who had taken up the culture of their former masters. These people produced among the first elites in Nigeria who abandoned their Yoruba origins and embraced western culture. These elites fought against their nativity especially by prohibiting the use of Yoruba in their households. Their children were taught how to communicate in English in an attempt to make them more cosmopolitan. When a language ceases being spoken at home, it becomes merely ceremonial in any other setting. As long as a language is not being transmitted, it is bound to be wiped out in Johnson, (pp.31) points out that high illiteracy levels in Nigeria is the only reason why Yoruba language is still spoken. In due course, the indigenous Yoruba people also started copying the western way of life. The fading importance of Yoruba language is witnessed by the fact that very few scholars at higher institutions of learning choose to study the language. Conversely, many children from elite families enroll for foreign languages such as German and French. This phenomenon has been brought about by the job sector whereby, graduates with a degree in Yoruba language often miss out on the lucrative jobs. Holders of degrees in foreign languages and other technical courses are the ones who land these jobs. The concepts of kinship and family which were the core of the Yoruba society were gradually deserted as people embraced a life of solitude. Consequently, the Yoruba youth had no one to teach them their traditions. For instance, the Yoruba have special greetings for various times and occasions. Accordingly, anyone who does not speak the Yoruba language is unable to use these greetings appropriately. Rather, they prefer using English greetings which are short and applicable at any time of the day. To this end, such a person is considered to have lost their identity since they cannot express themselves in native Yoruba language. Africa has been described as matrimony of traditions according to Doortmont (pp.19). This is best exemplified by the Yoruba wars which led to the constant migration of people, leading to a complex mixture of ethnic groups. As a result, there were intermarriages amongst the groups that found themselves living in the same region. This eventually led to the formation of new languages somehow different from the original Yoruba dialect. Olatunde (pp.98) therefore argues that the evolution of Yoruba ethnicity was not only occasioned by the people in the Diaspora, but also those who participated in the Yoruba wars. Religion was a key element in the Yoruba society, with the existence of a Supreme Being known as Olodumare. According to Idowu (pp. 88), this Yoruba god is in many ways similar to the Christian God. Both religions hold that their respective gods are superlative beings who are capable of blessing and also cursing. The Christian missionaries however, discredited the Yoruba god in their quest to popularize Christianity among the Yoruba. This led to the disintegration of the Yoruba religion and people began following the Christian faith. The Yoruba even adopted Christian names which were regarded as more acceptable to the Christian God. Consequently, the succeeding Yoruba generations were raised in accordance with the Christian faith. This also came hand in hand with western education which was being taught in Yoruba schools. The Yoruba language was done away with, meaning that these young people did not learn their native language (Olatunji, pp.31). These people could not pray the prayers that their ancestors had prayed since they had no understanding of their native language. Idowu (pp. 94) argues that the Yoruba god is different from the Christian God, in that the former requires sincerity and uprightness, thus ensuring the society enjoys peace. The Christian God on the other hand, according to Idowu, is an all forgiving God. Therefore, committing a sin is not such a big deal since one can sin in the morning and repent in the evening. The Yoruba god was known to punish according to one’s sins, right here on earth. This is in contrast with the Christian God who, according to the bible will give judgment in the afterlife. This allowed the Yoruba people to deviate from the moral teachings of their culture since after sinning; they would repent and earn forgiveness. In the process of acquiring the Christian faith, the Yoruba lost their ancestral religion and with it, their identity. As Idowu (pp. 113) puts it, the culture of the Yoruba has been affected by the need to explain this alien faith using a new language. As a result the Yoruba society has disintegrated. There are scholars however who have argued that language ignorance does not necessarily mean the loss of identity. They hold that there are other elements of culture that are equally as important as language. These scholars are of the opinion that people should be more accommodative when dealing with the question of language, culture and identity. The rigidity of people as far as cultural change is concerned needs to be addressed. One such scholar is Stuart hall. When dealing with the question of cultural identity, Hall (pp. 392) is of the view that identity is not a complete actuality. He points out that identity is an ongoing process in which leads to cultural evolution over time. Culture can be termed as a collective norm for people of a certain ethnic group whereas; identity is a reflection of one particular person. According to Hall (pp. 393), cultural identity can be looked at in two ways. One of the ways is assuming a collective culture, which a given group of people have in common since time immemorial. This shared culture is accepted by the community as the standard for its people’s behavior. The second model according to Hall does not rely on the ancient cultures; rather it embraces the changes that have occurred over the years. It looks at what we have become as opposed to what we were. In so doing, this latter model encompasses the changes that have affected our archaic culture. It considers the past cultures, the present and predicts the future. Hall (pp. 394) emphasizes this point of view, by arguing that cultural characteristics are points of identification made in the course of cultural history. Going by Halls model, one can convincingly say that, language as a core component of culture has also transformed throughout history. Accordingly, people who do not speak their native languages should not be considered as having lost their identity. These people are just victims of time and circumstance, who find themselves in a society already affected by other cultures. The language they speak still has some elements of their native language. They can still remotely identify with their ancient cultures. According to Hall (pp. 399), that the original Africa ceased to exist, and has been transformed into a mixture of African and western cultures. The political leaders in most African countries have also contributed to the disintegration of native African languages. These are the people charged with the responsibility of drawing the constitution that determines how a country is administered. For example, in Nigeria, there was a policy that was adopted in 1997 that sought to have children taught in their mother-tongue in the first three years of primary education. This however, has never been actualized as English continues to be the preferred instructional language. It was also proposed that selected native Nigerian languages be used in the National Assembly. Just like the education policy, this proposal has never seen the light of day. In Tanzania, Swahili is the national language and even the school curriculum is designed in Swahili. The instructional language is also Swahili in Tanzanian schools and other languages are taught as foreign languages. Influence from the English language is, however evident in that, there has been a lot of loaning of words from English to Swahili. New Swahili dictionaries often come with an ever increasing number of English words. To those in favor of this borrowing of words, they view this as evidence that the language is growing. In essence, the loaning of words has only served to demean the Swahili language and could in future lead to its extinction. Kenya also has Swahili as a national language but the ripple effect of English is overwhelming. In contemporary Kenyan urban centers, the youth are notorious for mixing Swahili, English and a bit of their native languages to form a street language. It is amazing how these youth are able to communicate in this language, yet they find it difficult to use their mother-tongue. From the foregoing it is evident that language is as important to cultural identity as water is to fish in order to survive. Language has been termed as the most priceless possession of humanity and needs to be guarded jealously. It is the only medium of cultural transmission from generation to generation. Language is what identifies a person’s ethnic background, without which it is hard to convince a person of one’s origins (Lucas, pp 19). Sadly though, many African languages are on the brink of extinction. The existence of multicultural societies living in one locality can be blamed for this. However, even guiltier is the neo-colonialism practiced in the African continent to date. Most countries have adopted the languages of their former colonial masters as their official national language. For instance, Nigeria and Kenya were both colonized by the British and have subsequently adopted English as their national language. Even those countries that have strived to retain their language at the national level have faced numerous challenges from universally accepted languages. We have already seen how Swahili is struggling to break free from the bonds of English. Language death is what awaits all African languages if corrective measures are not instituted with the urgency they require (Ekwe-Ekwe, pp.43). One way of doing this is by re-introducing native languages into the school curriculum, both oral and written. This will ensure that children are taught their mother-tongue and in the process learn more about their culture. The elite in the society also need to popularize the native languages and be proud of them. The young who look up to them, will in turn embrace their culture and ultimately have a sense of identity. Conclusively, it is justified to argue that the backbone of a people’s culture is language. Any negative effects on language translate to culture and identity degradation. One cannot claim to be of a certain cultural identity if they do not know the language of that particular culture. Language is indeed, the blueprint of interaction between persons of all cultures. Works cited Abimbola, W. Ifa: An Exposition of Ifa Literary Corpus. Sixteen Great Poems of Ifa. UNESCO. 1975. Print.  Abimbola, Wande. "Ifa divination poems as sources of historical evidence" Lagos Notes and Records, Vol. 1 No 1, June 1967. Print. Abimbola, Wande. "Ifa as a body of knowledge and as an academic discipline", Lagos Notes and Records, Vol. 2 No 1, June 1968. Print. Abimbola, Wande. “The place of Ifa in Yoruba traditional religion", African Notes, Vol. 1 1963. Print. Awolalu, J. Omo?ade. Yoruba Beliefs and Sacrificial Rite. Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex: Longman. 1979. Print. Doortmont, Michel R. Recapturing the past: Samuel Johnson and the construction of the history of the Yoruba. Universities Rotterdam: 1994. Print. Ekwe-Ekwe, Herbert. African Literature in Defense of History: an essay on Chinua Achebe. Dakar, Senegal: African Renaissance. 2001. Print. Ellis, A. B. The Yoruba Speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa. London: Chapman and Hall Ltd. 1894. Print. Hall, Stuart. Cultural Identity and Diaspora in Colonial Discourse and Post-colonial Theory. P. Williams and L. Chrisman. (1994). Print. Idowu, E. B. Olodumare, God in Yoruba Belief. London: Longmans. 1962. Print. Johnson, Samuel. The History of the Yorubas. Lagos: Nigeria Bookshop 1973. Print. Lucas, J. Olumide. The Religion of the Yorubas. Lagos: CMS Bookshop. 1948. Print. Olatunji, O. Olatunde. The Yoruba: History, Culture & Language. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press. 1996. Print. Read More