The Language Question in Africa

Abstract

This introductory chapter surveys theoretical approaches to language planning to provide the background against which the language question in Africa may be examined. It reviews, in particular, language planning models in Africa as previously discussed in, for instance, Bamgbose (Language and Exclusion: The Consequences of Language Policies in Africa. LIT Verlag Munster, 2000), Brock-Utne (International Journal of Educational Development in Africa (IJEDA) 30:636–645, 2010), Brock-Utne and Qorro (Multilingualism and Language in Education—Sociolinguistic and Pedagogical Perspectives from Commonwealth Countries. Cambridge University Press, 2015), Djite (The Sociolinguistics of Development in Africa. Multilingual Matters, 2008), Fardon and Furniss (African Languages, Development and the State. Routledge, 1994), Koffi (Paradigm Shift in Language Planning and Policy—Game Theoretic Solutions. De Gruyter Mouton, 2012), Laitin (Transition 54:131–141, 1991), Organization of African Unity (OAU) (Language Plan of Action for Africa. Council of Ministers, 1986), Mazrui (Language Policies in Education—Critical Issues. Routledge, 2013), Prah (Language and Education in Africa: A Comparative and Transdisciplinary Discussion. Symposium Books, 2009), Qorro (Language and Education in Africa: A Comparative and Transdisciplinary Discussion. Symposium Books, 2009), Weinstein (Language Policy and Political Development. Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1990), and Wolfson and Manes (Language of Inequality. Mouton Publishers, 1985). It also shows the relation of the proposed Prestige Planning model to theoretical developments in language economics (Coulmas, Language and the Economy. Blackwell, 1992; Dustmann, Journal of Population Economics 7:133–156, 1994, Grin et al., The Economics of the Multilingual Workplace. Routledge, 2010) and in game theory (Harsanyi, Rational Behavior and Bargaining Equilibrium in Games and Social Situations. Cambridge University Press, 1977; Myerson, Game Theory: Analysis of Conflict. Harvard University Press, 1991). These two theoretical frameworks—language economics and game theory—are particularly relevant to this book, as they offer insights into why language planning for the indigenous languages of Africa has failed: language planning in this part of the world has never linked education through the medium of the indigenous languages with economic outcomes.