Proclaiming Independence: Language and National Identity in Sékou Touré’s Guinea

Abstract

Language is both a means of constructing collective identity and an expression of collective identity in itself. The implications for postcolonial societies are considerable: as long as a colonial language is privileged over its indigenous counterparts in the public sphere, a country remains under the de facto control of the former coloniser. This article engages with the struggle to decolonise language in postcolonial Guinea under Sékou Touré, from 1958 to 1984. Guinea is a particularly attractive case study for several reasons: first, language was central to the nascent national culture; thus, engagement with the question of language played out consciously and publicly. Second, both the Touré government and grassroots movements were actively involved in this process, often with conflicting goals and mechanisms. Third, national language policy confronted a popular, indigenous, and truly postcolonial alternative in the form of N'ko. Finally, Guinea's struggle yielded mixed results, many of which can be traced to particular policies. Using Touré's Guinea as a cautionary tale, this article considers: What is the role of language in the development of postcolonial identity? Can either a colonial or indigenous language effectively give voice to a nation's experience of reality, or do the peculiarities of a postcolonial society necessitate the creation of something new? Ultimately, overcoming the imperialism of language requires a radically egalitarian and multilingual approach, in which language is understood to reflect the discursive experience of postcolonial reality.