Table of Contents
At face value, one can argue that the African continent appears to be the middle of Europe; hence every major
European country has a hold on her from the perspective of lingua
franca. It is a given that an African is a polyglot coming from the African continent. Every African can boast of speaking more than one or two European
languages; and if you count Arabic, that makes it three. The reason for this
assumption is that there are many native African languages that they must cope
with in their different countries.
European Languages - Uniting different African Tongues
It is pertinent to point out here that
the European languages have helped bring many Africans together, at
least to the point of having a vehicle of common means of communicating among
themselves. The European languages have helped in that regard, but it has also
deprived them of the opportunity to develop their different languages to
compete with the rest of the languages of the world.
The European
languages are languages of convenience, but it has also been termed hegemonic
and the socializations have either eaten deep into the soul of the continent or
have become an excuse to shirk away responsibility. Therefore, these languages
have been adopted as national languages, languages of trade or commerce,
languages used for governance, diplomacy, and education, and more.
In like manner, the Arabic language
which followed the spread of Islam to Africa has equally been adopted by some
African nations as their national language.
The author’s designation of the African map above paints the continent as a polyglot and reveals the spread
of the adoption of Arabic and some European languages as national languages and
the forms each country has come to use.
The distribution of European and Arabic languages in Africa
Reviewing the African map above, 12
African countries use the Arabic language as a national language or language of
commerce. 27 adopted French, 5 adopted Portuguese, 26 adopted the English
language, 2 Italian, 1 Spanish, and 1 German. In some instances, a country
adopts two or even three of the languages as their national languages, such as
Arabic, English, and French languages. In some other instances, you get a
country adopting English and French as their national languages.
The continent
is like a Tower of Babel with many different indigenous languages, dialects,
and accents. It was an utter confusion of languages and then came the European
languages and the confusion was compounded. However, during the confusion came
the lingua franca: French, English, Portuguese, and Italian, to mention
the dominant ones spoken on the continent.
This writing argues that Africa is a
polyglot continent and glancing through different African countries' language
statuses, the list below seems to support this claim.
ALGERIA – The official Languages
are Arabic and Berber languages with four dialects. French is considered another language spoken by the population. Thus, the French language was because of
its colonial past, and the Arabic language followed from the invasion of Ugba ibn
Nafi, which precipitated the process of conquest and conversion spanning from
670 - 711.
ANGOLA – The official Language is Portuguese.
Bantu (Umbundu) and other African languages are also spoken by the population.
BENIN – The official Language is
French. Fon and Yoruba are languages common in the south. The same Yoruba
language is spoken by a tribe South-West of Nigeria. There are other tribal
languages spoken in the north.
BOTSWANA – The official Language
is Setswana which is the national language with some different dialects.
However, the population adopted the English language as its business language, and
is spoken in urban areas.
BURKINA FASO – The official
Language is French. Then many native African languages (Sudanic family) are
spoken by the majority of the population.
BURUNDI – The official Languages are Kirundi and French. The population also
speaks the Swahili language.
CAMEROON – The official Languages are French and English languages, which
depended on the part of the country that was colonized by either the French or
British. There are up to other 24 major African language groups within the
population.
CAPE VERDE – The official Language
is Portuguese. Then the population has another language known as Crioulo, which
is a blend of Portuguese and West African words.
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC – The
official Languages are French, which is the adopted language, and Sangho, which is
the accepted national language. Other languages spoken by the population
include Gbaya, Banda, and other several tribal languages.
CHAD – The official languages are
French & Arabic. There is another language known as Sara and over 120
different languages and dialects.
COMOROS – The official Languages
are Arabic & French. The population also speaks Shikomoro, which is a
mixture of Swahili and Arabic.
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF,
(DRC) – The official languages are French and Lingala. Lingala is adopted
for trade. Other languages spoken include Kingwana, Kikongo, & Tshiluba.
CONGO, REPUBLIC OF – The official
Language is French. Lingala and Monokutuba were adopted as trade languages.
Kikongo language is common among the population. There are several other local
languages and dialects.
COTE D’IVOIRE – The official
Language is French. The population mostly speaks Dioula there are up to 60
native dialects.
DJIBOUTI – The official Languages are French & Arabic. The people also speak
Somali & Afar languages. By observation, the Afar language is also spoken in
Eritrea.
EGYPT – The official language is
Arabic. However, English and French languages are common in educated
classes.
EQUATORIAL GUINEA – The official
languages are Spanish and French. The people also speak pidgin English (a local
blend and rendition of the English language), Fang, Bubi, and Ibo. The same Ibo
(Igbo) language with different dialects is spoken in Southeast Nigeria.
ERITREA – The official languages
are Tigrinya, Arabic, and English. Tigré is considered the second major
language in Eritrea. Other languages spoken include Afar, Bedawi, Kunama, and other
Cushitic languages. Apart from Djibouti speaks also Afar language.
ESWATINI, KINGDOM OF – The
official language is English. The government uses the English language for its
affairs. siSwati is also its official language.
ETHIOPIA – The official language
is Amharic. The English language is notably a language taught and used in schools.
A part of Ethiopia also speaks Tigrinya as well as Eritrea. Of course, Eritrea
was once part of Ethiopia. Other languages spoken include Oromo, Gurage,
Somali, Arabic, and 80 other local languages.
GABON – The official language is
French. Other languages of the population include Bantu languages, such as
Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou, Eschira, and Bandjabi.
GAMBIA, THE – The official
language is English. The people also speak other languages, such as Mandinka,
Wolof, and Fula, several indigenous vernaculars.
GHANA – The
official language is English. Other languages spoken by the people include
Akan, Adangme, Moshi-Dagomba, Ewe, and Ga.
GUINEA – The official language is
French, which is spoken by less than a quarter of the population. The country
adopted some national languages, Soussou (Susu, in coastal Guinea), Peulh
(Fulani, in north Guinea), Maninka (Upper Guinea), Kissi (Kissidougou
Region), Toma and Guerze (Kpelle) in swamp forest Guinea. There exist other
ethnic groups with their own language.
GUINEA-BISSAU – The official
language is Portuguese. The people also speak Crioulo which is a combination of
Portuguese and African terms. Cape Verde which has Portuguese as its official
language also speaks Crioulo. In Guinea-Bissau, there are other types of spoken African
languages.
KENYA – The official languages are
English and Kiswahili. There are other many indigenous languages.
LESOTHO – The official languages
are Sesotho and English. The people speak as well Zulu and Xhosa.
LIBERIA – The official language is English. There are about 20 other ethnic
groups and languages.
LIBYA – The official language is
Arabic. Italian and English languages are spoken in major cities.
MADAGASCAR – The official
languages are French and Malagasy.
MALAWI – The official languages
are English and Nyanja (Chichewa, Chewa). Different regions speak Lomwe,
Tumbuka, Yao, and other languages.
MALI – The official language is
French. Other languages spoken include Bambara (Bamanakan), Arabic, and numerous
dialects of Dogoso, Fulfulde, Koyracini, Senoufou, and Mandinka/Malinké
(Maninkakan), Tamasheq.
MAURITANIA – The official language
is Arabic. Other languages are Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof, and French.
MAURITIUS – The official languages
are French and English. Other languages spoken by the people include Creole,
Hindi, Urdu, Hakka, and Bhojpuri.
MOROCCO – The official language is Arabic. The French language is adopted for
business, diplomacy, and government. Other languages are Berber dialects.
MOZAMBIQUE – The official language
is Portuguese which is adopted as a second language. Other languages are
Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, and several other indigenous languages.
NAMIBIA – The official language is
English which is spoken by not many of the population. Other languages spoken
by the population include Afrikaans which is a common language of most of the
population. Some people of the population speak German. There are other
indigenous languages, namely Oshivambo, Herero, and Nama which are spoken by the
population.
NIGER – The official language is
French. Other languages spoken by the population are Hausa and Djerma. We shall
note that the Hausa language is spoken also in northern Nigeria.
NIGERIA – The official language is
English. Obviously, this was one of the inheritances they got from Britain
following colonialism. The other four major languages spoken in Nigeria stem from
the tribal commands they have in Nigeria. They include Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba.
Other languages include Fulani, Ijaw, Ibibio, and about 250 other
indigenous languages spoken by the different ethnic groups.
REUNION – The official language is
French. The population also speaks Creole.
RWANDA – The official languages
include Kinyarwanda, a type of Bantu vernacular, French, and English. Another language spoken in commercial cities is Kiswahili.
SAINT HELENA – The official
language is English.
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE – The
official language is Portuguese.
SENEGAL – The official language is
French. The population also speaks Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, and Mandinka.
SEYCHELLES – The official
languages are French and English. The population also speaks Creole.
SIERRA LEONE – The official
language is English. Other languages spoken include Mende which is spoken
particularly in the south, Temne spoken in the north, and Krio.
SOMALIA – The official language is
Somali. The population also speaks Arabic, Italian, and English.
SOUTH AFRICA – The official
languages are Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, Pedi, Sesotho, siSwati, Xitsonga,
Tswana, Tshivenda, isiXhosa, isiZulu.
SUDAN – The official language is
Arabic. Other languages include Nubian, Ta Bedawie, dialects of Nilotic,
Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages, and English.
TANZANIA – The official languages
include Kiswahili (Swahili), Kiunguju, and English. The English language is the adopted
language for commerce, administration, and education. Other languages spoken by
the population are Arabic, Gogo, Haya, Makonde, Nyakyusa, Nyamwezi, Sukuma,
Tumbuka, and several other local languages.
TOGO – The official language is
French used mainly for commerce. Other languages spoken by the population are
Ewe and Mina in the south and Kabye and Dagomba in the north.
TUNISIA – The official language is
Arabic and the language of commerce. French is also adopted as the language of
commerce.
UGANDA – The official
language is English. The population uses the English language in courts of law and
by most of the media. Other languages spoken by the population are Ganda, some
Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Acoli, Swahili, and Arabic.
WESTERN SAHARA – The languages
spoken are Hassaniya Arabic and Moroccan Arabic.
ZAMBIA – The official language is
English. Other languages are Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi, Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga,
and up to 70 other indigenous languages.
ZIMBABWE – The official language is English.
Other languages include Chishona, Sindebele, and other tribal dialects, such as
Sotho and Nambya, Shangani, Venda, Chewa, Nyanja, and Tonga.
Further Readings
James McDougall - A History of Algeria.
Cambridge University Press. 2017.
African languages in Nations
Online. https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/african_languages.htm
Many African Languages in
Africa.com. https://africa.com/many-african-languages/
Top 11 Most Spoken Languages in Africa
in Africa Facts. https://africa-facts.org/top-10-most-spoken-languages-in-africa/
Languages of South
Africa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_South_Africa
A Guide to African Languages Listed by
Country – Anouk Zijlma 06 May 2019. https://www.tripsavvy.com/indigenous-african-languages-1454069
Comments
Reading this article, I came to the idea that the African continent is like Babylon: many countries, even more nationalities, many languages, several religions... and, of course, a lot of difficulties. But I think that most of these problems do not depend on the ordinary inhabitants of this beautiful continent.