Africa is now widely recognized as the birthplace of the hominidae, the taxonomic family to which modern humans belong. It is hoped that this research will shed more light on the relationship between ethnicity and ethnic languages in bilingual speech communities. Many ethnic groups and nations of subsaharan africa qualify, although some groups are of a size larger than a tribal society. Statistics south africa asks people to describe themselves in the census in terms of five racial population groups. In many ways, the study of linguistic anthropology is the study of language and identity.
It is not clear that ethnicity by itself generates conflict or that it is inherently threatening. Parallel to the need for statistical representation was the need for control. Language s implication in conflicts in europe, canada and south africa suggests that it is not a fundamental. The politics of race, ethnicity, and language in national censuses edited by david i. As the twentieth century draws to an end, anyone who keeps abreast of the news from the former yugoslavia, the former ussr, burundi and rwanda, the west bank and gaza, northern ireland, somalia, south africa, and various other trouble. The language situation in africa today was a government primary school which had swahili medium upto the fourth grade. Ethnicity challenges in african communities, the ghost of.
The fields concern with the linguistic production of culture entails a. D these days ethnicity is much talked issues in the contemporary world, especially in the third world, so called underdeveloped countries by developed western countries. Before proceeding, it is important to define the concepts of ethnicity, tribalism, and racism. It occurs also in an african hornregional context where new political. This is partly because of the tendency to view ethnic difference as a major cause or driver of civil wars or political instability in africa.
Included is a discussion of some of the routes current research on language, culture and identity is taking. Africa today has the highest number of tribes and hence. The ethnic groups in south africa have a variety of origins. Ethnicity and religion as sources of political division in africa. Languages that are the most different from other languages today can be found in africa. It is hoped that this research will shed more light on the relationship between ethnicity and ethnic languages in bilingual. Natural disasters, population pressure, and economic recession have contributed to the total number of refugees. The dynamics of language and ethnicity in mauritius. Ethnicity is a term that denotes a subjective sense of community, meaning a shared identity based on common descent which results in a sense of group solidarity. While none of the above approaches appears to be misguided, we would be remiss in not reexamining the ways in which we have accounted for differences in patterns of language evolution between descendants of africans and europeans in the new world. Children need to be taught in a language they understand all children, irrespective of their location, should have teachers who understand their language and culture and thus can improve their learning.
It generally appears that the official language of a country is the one in which the laws of the country are made and publicised, whereas the national language is. A dissertation submitted to the school of graduate studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree doctor of philosophy mcmaster university february 197 6 0 paul lamy 1976. Differing for better application dental press j orthod 122 2010 mayjune. Africa, theories that focus on qualities that are more common to african states than states from other regions e. The primordialist approach is the oldest in sociological and anthropological. Thus we deliberately do not employ other datasets that explicitly use language as a proxy for ethnicity such as roeder 2001 and taylor and hudson 1972. As of 2016, the total population of africa is estimated at 1.
Why is language often closely related to ethnic and national identity. A study of bilingualism, ethnic identity, and ethnic attitudes by paul lamy, b. Africa and elsewhere are driven by a rise in fundamentalism almond et al. All of africas refugee problem is not the result of political conflicts within these countries borders or between countries. The quest for peace in liberia heneryatta ballah, mcnair scholar, pennsylvania state university. Lin1001 why is language often closely related to ethnic. Ethnicity ethnicity may be defined as a social group or category of the population. Click download or read online button to get ethnicity in africa book now. Danjibo 2009, religious divisions may not be timeinvariant but may nevertheless constitute an enduring, generational feature of political identity. Interactions of ethnicity, language and culture language ethnic group culture 2. Ethnicity in africa download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi.
The politics of race, ethnicity, and language in national censuses edited by. Certainly muc h of the reason why scholars of nationalism like anthony smith have explicitly denied the existence of ethnic cores in africa revolves around the fact that much of the cultural trappings of modern national identities, specifically language and. Many countries in africa have numerous ethnicities. Colonial rule, politics, and ethnicity in africa at the berlin conference of 1884, europeans divided the continent of africa among. The population of africa has grown rapidly over the past century and consequently shows a large youth bulge, further reinforced by a low life expectancy of below 50 years in some african countries. This chapter examines the nature of the relationship between language and ethnic identity in subsaharan africa.
A third perspective on the relative divisiveness of ethnicity and religion in africa. The politics of race, ethnicity, and language in national. Ethnicity, cultural diversity and poverty in south africa. Here, i want to focus on the role played by ethnicity in south africa looking at the causes and the effects of ethnicity. Endangered languages, ethnicity, identity and politics. Until today, language remains the major ethnic diacritic in africa.
The paradox of efforts over the past twenty years to reinvent democracy in africa has been that rather than dampening the fires of ethnic conflict, they have often made them more intense and in. Introduction as the kosovo report has put it, any assessment of conflict involving ethnic identity requires delicate treatment of language. Working paper series explaining african ethnic diversity lse. Language and identity in africa wiley online library. How do concepts of ethnicity, tribalism, and racism interact. Identity also found its way into african studies and applied linguistics when it was. Speaking a minority language can be a source of disadvantage. The ethnolinguistic groups include various afroasiatic, khoisan, nigercongo and nilosaharan populations. This chapter considers whether language difference ever causes conflict, or whether it symbolises differences between conflicting groups. The 2011 census figures for these categories were black african at 76. Complete with discussion questions and a glossary, language and ethnicity will be welcomed by students and researchers in sociolinguistics, as well as anybody interested in ethnic issues, language and education, interethnic communication, and the relationship between language and identity.
A number of sociologists have pointed out the conceptual difficulties of notions of race and ethnicity, some arguing for their abandonment as. For the purpose of this paper, the author limits himself to two. Ethnicity and religion as sources of political division in. Special edition on education and ethnicity edition speciale.
The fields concern with the linguistic production of culture entails a concern with the variety of. Conventional wisdom suggests that ethnicity is phenomenally problematic in africa it is held partly responsible for the irrationalities of the development project, for political instability and weak national identity. Studies have been conducted to investigate how ethnicity has affected people in africa, and different responses have been received. Very often it is regarded by parts of the given community as an objective criterion.
Yet, in many countries, children are taught in languages they do not speak at home. Africa and the world values survey more widely, with researchers finding various individual. The status is often determined by means of politics and language policy. Ethnicity and refugees in africa cultural survival. Kenya imported 128,000 tons of corn from south africa last year, while zambia and mozambique ordered 250,000 and 150,000 tons respectively. This has affected different people in different ways. It is constructed in the process of feeding, clothing, sending to school. By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Ethnicity and religion as sources of political division in africa john f. New perspectives on anthropological and social demography includes bibliographical references and index.
Ethnicity challenges in african communities, the ghost of the. Languages implication in conflicts in europe, canada and south africa suggests that it is not a fundamental. Pdf languages and national identity in subsaharan africa. Table 3 shows the distribution of countries by area. Anatomically modern humans are believed to have appeared as early as 200,000 years ago in the eastern region of. Ethnic identity refers to ethnicity as an individually experienced phenomenon. Race, ethnicity, language, and unconscious bias in health care cheri wilson, ma, mhs, cphq assistant scientist, department of health policy and management program director, culturequalitycollaborative cqc and clearview organizational assessments360 coa360. Archaeological evidence indicates that the continent has been inhabited by humans and their forebears for some 4,000,000 years or more. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our cookie policy. Angola, ivory coast, malawi, mauritius, zaire, and zimbabwe are also reported to have purchased from south africa. Revealing the relationship of language, ethnicity race, and identity.
This is what makes language such a prominent objective factor in defining ethnicity. The most populous african country is nigeria with 191 million inhabitants as of 2017 and. South africa intends to exploit this situation to the fullest. Ethnicity, cultural diversity and poverty are as much part of south african society as braaivleis, rugby, sunshine and chevrolet. Africa number in the thousands, with each population generally having its own language or dialect of a language and culture. For instance, mongolian and chinese are two distinct.
Ethnicity and politics african studies oxford bibliographies. Ethnicity is a social construction that indicates identification with a particular group which is often descended from common ancestors. Speech divergence, speech convergence, codeswitching, ethnicity. Pdf on jan 1, 2016, vally lytra and others published language and ethnic identity find, read and cite all the research you need on. The minority language may be remembered by a residual group of language speakers, but it is no longer spoken as a wider language of communication. I end with suggestions for future research as well as implications for language educators. A dissertation submitted to the school of graduate studies in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree doctor of philosophy. Ethnic groups in africa 1 ethnic groups in africa ethnic groups in africa in 1996 ethnic groups in africa number in the hundreds, each generally having its own language or dialect of a language and culture.
This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Personal identity as well as cultural identity ethnic identity always materialise in relation to somebody else. The words braaivleis, rugby, sunshine and chevrolet come from a song in a radio and television advertisement that became very popular amongst south africans, especially the. Inclusion of ethnicity in the 2000 round of censuses from the 147 countries or areas included in our analysis, 95 countries 65% asked one or more questions on ethnicity.
The literature on ethnicity and tribalism in africa is so voluminous that this essay cari only survey the most important lines of research and refer to some relevant casestudies. Language defines a people giving them the power to think and reason. Race, ethnicity and language in south africa world elections. By describing its demographic characteristics and its linguistic and political situation, i draw on the case of kreol, the unofficial national language to examine the dynamics of language and ethnicity in a country where two colonial languages continue to dominate ideology. Ethnicity is more than skin color or physical characteristics, more than language, song. Total population as of 2017 is estimated at more than 1. The 1890 census, in turn, classified the population using terms such.
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