Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom

Talking in African tongues
By Professor Abiodun Salawu
Professor Abiodun Salawu is <strong>the</strong>
Head, Department of Communication
at <strong>the</strong> University of Fort Hare. A
major area of his research has been
<strong>the</strong> indigenous language media in
Africa.
Language has been defined by RA
Hill as “<strong>the</strong> institution whereby humans
communicate and interact
with each o<strong>the</strong>r by means of habitually
used oral-auditory arbitrary
symbols”. The media as vehicles of
communication make use of language
for <strong>the</strong> purpose of disseminating
<strong>the</strong>ir messages. In essence,
<strong>the</strong>re is a symbiotic relationship
between language, communication
and media.
The mass media in Africa is predominated
by foreign and colonial
languages. In Anglophone Africa,
<strong>the</strong> English language media are <strong>the</strong>
mainstream media. In <strong>the</strong> Francophone
world of Africa, French is
<strong>the</strong> language. The Lusophone Africa
has Portuguese as <strong>the</strong> language of
dominance. Writing about <strong>the</strong> situation
in Kenya, Ngugi wa Thiong’o
noted: “English became more than
a language: it was <strong>the</strong> language and
all <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r had to bow before it
in deference.” The extent of <strong>the</strong> predominance
of European languages
in African media may differ from
one place to <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r. In North
Africa, Arabic is still very much in
Section 4: Access to Information
use in <strong>the</strong>ir media, thus neutralising
<strong>the</strong> predominance of European
languages. In sub-Saharan Africa,
Ethiopia presents a case where foreign
languages do not have much
space in <strong>the</strong> media. Among <strong>the</strong> 125
newspapers in Ethiopia, 108 are in
Amharic, two in Oromo and one in
Tigrean. The situation in Ethiopia
is because <strong>the</strong> country was never a
colony.
Colonialism brought many diverse
ethnic groups toge<strong>the</strong>r in Africa,
fused <strong>the</strong>m into one country, and,
for purpose of administrative
expediency, imposed <strong>the</strong> language
of <strong>the</strong> colonial masters. More than
anything, <strong>the</strong> colonial language
serves as a connecting mode for <strong>the</strong>
disparate peoples fused toge<strong>the</strong>r
by <strong>the</strong> colonialists. As a result, <strong>the</strong>
colonial language has become <strong>the</strong>
language of power, of governance,
of commerce, of education, and of
mainstream media.
By and large, <strong>the</strong> print media seem
more culpable, as <strong>the</strong> electronic
media (particularly radio) do better
in <strong>the</strong> use of native languages. This
is probably accounted for by virtue
of radio being principally an oral/
aural medium, and <strong>the</strong> point that its
production is not too cumbersome.
Being oral, <strong>the</strong> indigenous language
“I am always
enthralled when I see
my isiXhosa-speaking
friends posting and
commenting on
Facebook in <strong>the</strong>ir
language.”
Media in Africa - 2011 | 171