English: The Great Unifier
Strolling down the streets of Lusaka, one is keen to observe the abundance of advertisements and notices displayed in the English language. Why is there a preponderance of English texts in this landlocked country in Southern Africa? The answer lies in the power of a lingua franca. While some may argue in favor of placing emphasis on learning one’s native tongue, encouraging proficiency in the English language around the world would promote increased unity by allowing for communication between various ethnic groups because having a shared mode of communication facilitates cooperation in order to develop a country.
As a result of the legacies of British colonialism, English was a natural candidate for becoming the “unifying language” in many parts of the world. At its peak, the British Empire spanned around a fifth of the world’s population from modern day Zambia to Qatar to India. Naturally, English played a significant role in its colonies and was the common language among various groups. For example, there are 72 ethnic groups and over 70 local languages in Zambia, formerly known as Northern Rhodesia. After gaining independence from Great Britain, the newly formed Zambian government selected English as the official language. Prominent Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo mentions in the introduction of her book Dead Aid that her parents, who hailed from different tribes, conversed largely in English (Moyo, 2010). In Zambia today, a common saying is “The world is English,” emphasizing the belief in the inherent advantages of speaking English (Deutsche Welle, 2013).
While the effects of colonialism played a significant role in advancing the status of English, the perception of the language as a “neutral” or “colourless” lingua franca has further elevated the importance of English in easing ethnic tensions. While English may be viewed at times as the language of the former “oppressor,” in countries overflowing with dozens of ethnic groups and sometimes thousands of native languages, English provides a neutral medium by which members from different tribes or speakers of different languages can communicate without implying the superiority of one ethnic group over another.
Notably, following Indian independence in 1947, there was much debate over what was to be the language of the government of the country. Even though many argued in favor of Hindi as it was the most widely spoken language, Bhimrao Ramji Abedkar, an architect of the Indian constitution, opposed the motion. Abedkar asserted that since Hindi speakers were far greater in numbers in the North, establishing Hindi as the language of government would potentially alienate the millions of people who lived in the South (Mohan 2021). If India was to maintain its hard-earned independence as a unified nation, Abedkar believed that advancing the employment of English was to play a crucial role in ensuring the development of India. Thus, while Hindi remains the official language, English is used by the government for official purposes.
Along the same lines, the status of English rose considerably in post-apartheid South Africa. Given the years of oppression led by the Afrikaaner government, Afrikaans was and still is perceived as the language of “oppression” by the black population. However, delegating a tribal tongue to national status would only embitter competing tribes and sow the seeds of conflict in an already precarious state. Therefore, the African National Congress, the ruling party of Nelson Mandela, designated English as the language of communication as English “has typically been seen as the language of liberation and black unity” (Gough, 1996). Even today the same conflict continues to play out in various settings. In 2016, the prestigious Stellenbosch University, which has a long and illustrious history within the Afrikaaner community of producing distinguished intellectuals, revised its language policy to diminish the role of Afrikaans in favor of English in order to accomodate the rising number of non-Afrikaans speaking students (Stellenbosch University, 2016). The change followed massive protests from students that decried that not only did the usage of Afrikaans ostracize those who didn’t speak Afrikaans, but it was a lasting reminder of the oppression inflicted by the Afrikaaner government which sought to impose Afrikaans supremacy during apartheid. Once again, English was viewed by the university as a largely colourless language that would allow for everyone to prosper, not simply a select group.
Although some may argue that prioritizing English inevitably leads to an estrangement of the native tongues, the blame lies not in the usage of English, but in the education system. An argument made against the teaching of English in Zambia is that increasingly, Zambian children are neither fluent in English nor their native tongues. Nevertheless, the solution lies not in discarding English completely; rather, a reform of the education system. Currently, English is employed as the medium of instruction beginning in Grade 1. Taking into account that less than 2% of Zambians are native English speakers, the current policy is far from wise, as forcing children to learn course material in a foreign language– English– a few years after they have just begun to even speak would clearly only breed confusion. Naturally, the parents are frustrated when children come home speaking broken English and are unable to converse fluently in Nyanja or their native tongues. The faults of the education system should not distract from English’s role as a unifying vernacular. In fact, if English were to be tossed, that would only leave an ominous recipe for disaster. A debate over which language should be the prevailing medium of instruction would inevitably prevail, potentially leading to serious conflict between the various tribes.
In the twenty-first century, no nation demonstrates the value of maintaining a lingua franca like Qatar does. In the same way that Zambia, South Africa, and India are all linguistically diverse, Qatar is as well, but for a different reason. As an oil-rich country with a small population, Qatar needed to import workers from abroad in order to maximize its potential. One can subjectively claim that the significant shift in demographics in the early 2000s in Qatar is perhaps the most exaggerated example of the worldwide mobility that ensued due to globalization. As of 2021, Arab Qataris constitute less than 12% of the population, with 85% classified as expats or foreign laborers (Qatar Population, 2021). Currently, Qatar resides in an ethnic and linguistic equilibrium with large populations of Indians, Filipinos, Yemenis, Egyptians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, as well as expats from America, the UK, France etc. For the child of a Yemeni mother and a Qatari father to communicate with her American professor, French friend, Moroccan driver, and Indian nanny, English immensely simplifies the challenge of communicating cross-culturally. Despite detractors asserting that English would lead to a loss of Arab Qatari cultural identity, the usage of English in Qatar has commenced the development of “Qatari English” due to local cultural influences, leading to a more unified and inclusive national identity. Moreover, Qatar desperately requires foreign labor in order to prosper, so the super-diversity found in the nation is likely to be a lasting legacy and will ultimately yield incremental but definite changes in Qatari culture and what Qatari national identity, which has historically been associated with Arab culture, means. A recent poll indicated that “more than half checked off English in addition to the Qatari dialect as an important part of their Qatari identity on our questionnaire. Intriguingly, more checked English than Modern Standard Arabic” (Hillman, 2018). The questionnaire established that there is indeed a newfound inextricable link between English and modern Qatari identity in a globalized society. Qatar highlights the power of English to unite groups from all over the world and forge a modern national identity.
With increased accessibility to all areas of the world, globalization remains on an upward trajectory, serving as a catalyst for growing diversity in many parts of the world. With diversity comes a beautiful fusion of multiculturalism but also the potential for misunderstandings and tension. Since countries that are ethnically and linguistically diverse often fall into conflict, English has and will continue to play a pivotal role in uniting and improving societies around the world.
Works Cited
Deutsche Welle. “Zambia Grapples with Language Challenge: DW: 14.02.2013.” DW.COM, https://www.dw.com/en/zambia-grapples-with-language-challenge/a-16598662.
Hillman, Sarah, and Emilio Ocampo Eibenschutz. “English, Super-Diversity, and Identity in the State of Qatar.” World Englishes, Apr. 2018.
Mohan, Peggy, et al. “English Language Gained Power in India Only after the British Left.” ThePrint, 6 June 2021, https://theprint.in/pageturner/excerpt/english-language-gained-in-power-in-india-only-after-the-british-left/672734/.
Moyo, Dambisa. “Preface.” Dead Aid Why Aid Makes Things Worse and How There Is Another Way for Africa, Penguin Books, London U.a., 2010.
Penny Silva. “South African English: Oppressor or Liberator?” The Major Varieties of English, Nov. 1997.
“Qatar Population 2021 (Live).” Qatar Population 2021 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs), https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/qatar-population.
“Revision of the Language Policy (2016) of Stellenbosch University.” Stellenbosch University, 2016.
Silva, Penny. A Dictionary of South African English on Historical Principles. Oxford University Press, in Association with the Dictionary Unit for South African English, 1996.
