| Abstract: | This article shows us some of the problems of the domination of the ex-colonial languages for intellectual life in Africa. The author notes that English serves fundamentally the interests of those for whom it is both an export commodity and a language of conquest and domination. He argues that there is no compelling reason for adopting a foreign language as a national one. On the contrary, there is ample evidence that such linguistic imposition does more harm than good. When a language is artificially imposed, students are rarely able to master it sufficiently to work comfortably in it. Not only do they fail to acquire proficiency in the foreign language; they also lose proficiency in their own languages, becoming twice disadvantaged. The author sees dependency on a foreign language, like other forms of dependency, as a liability that a nation can ill afford. He quotes Ali Mazrui who raises the question: Will Africa ever effectively "take off" when it is so tightly held hostage to the languages of the former imperial masters? |
