Multilingualism and Language Choice in Sub-Saharan Africa

Manuela NoskeOctober 15, 2015

Microsoft Corporation

Facts

• Africa is 2nd largest continent in size & population• Over a billion people - fastest growing population

rate in the world• 5 of the 10 fastest growing economies are in Sub-

Saharan Africa:1. Ethiopia2. DR Congo3. Côte d’Ivoire 4. Mozambique5. Tanzania

• Home to a third of the world‘s languages

Source: Business Insider

Fun Facts• Ethiopia inaugurated the electrified Addis Ababa

Light Rail Transit (AA-LRT) in September 2015• First light railway on African continent with two lines

and a total length of 34 km

Fun Facts• Nigeria has fastest growing rate of new champagne

consumption in the world - second only to France• Champagne consumption projected to reach 1.1

million liters by 2017

Fun Facts• Nigeria has its own fashion catwalk (“

Lagos Fashion & Design Week”)

Africa: The Last Untapped Markets

• Increase in disposable income has companies investigate new business opportunities

• Understanding African customer needs & preferences is key to successful product strategy

• Language is an integral part of that strategy• Can companies be successful relying only on European

languages? • Or should they localize products & services to gain

brand recognition and adoption? • If localization is advised, in what languages?

Goals of Presentation

• Gain clearer understanding of language situation in Africa and practice of multilingualism

• Understand factors that motivate language choice and their implications for localization planning

• Develop deeper appreciation of challenges of translating and localizing products, services & content for markets in Sub-Saharan Africa

Africa: A Linguistic Kaleidoscope

• High number and diversity of languages & dialects

• Great fluidity in linguistic practices

• Ongoing linguistic adaptations to shifting social & cultural norms

The Colonial Language Legacy

• After independence, African language policies largely favored European languages

• Were considered better suited for purpose of nation-building

• Did not favor specific ethnic groups

• Used by educated, ruling elite

• Low confidence & low status of African languages

The Colonial Language Legacy

• European languages typically used as language of instruction in schools

• Up to 90% of Africans assumed to not be fully competent in any of the European languages

• Persistent competence gaps between • Genders• Urban & rural population

Official Languages

• African languages are increasingly taking on role of official languages

Source: Wikipedia

Language Families in Africa

Source: Wikipedia

How Many Languages in Africa?

• No definitive answers

• Depends on criteria used to identify what a language is• Structural approach bases classification on discrete

linguistic features (grammar & lexicon)• Sociolinguistic approach bases classification on social,

cultural and/or political factors

• Emphasis can be on differences or commonalities

How Many Languages in Africa?

Two contrasting views:

1. Ethnologue (18th edition): 2,138 languages

2. CASAS (Center for Advanced Studies of African Society): 12 to 15 “core” languages (spoken by 75% to 85% of all

Africans)

Criteria for Language Identification (ISO 639-3)

Criteria for Language Identification

• Language variants can be• Considered same language for linguistic reasons, and yet• Identified as different languages for ethnic or political

reasons

• A language is a dialect with an army and a navy- Max Weinreich

Language Use and Multilingualism

• Multilingualism refers to• Language situation in a nation or society• Competence of an individual

• Multilingual individual speaks L1 as native language L2, L3, etc. as second languages to varying degrees

• Multilingualism is a continuum

Full Competence Limited Competence

Language Use and Multilingualism• In multinational states, individuals are typically

multilingual

• Multilingual individuals choose which language to use depending on sociolinguistic context Who are they communicating with? What are they trying to accomplish?

• Often use “code-switching”, i.e., mix two or more languages in single conversation or utterance

• Increase in mobility leads to increase in multilingualism

Language Use and Multilingualism

Sociolinguistic Context

Online

Urban Context

Secondary SchoolsLocal Region

Home

L1Ekegusii

L2Luo

L3Swahili

L4English

Language Use and Multilingualism

• Multilingual practices contribute to language change creating a new superdiversity in urban centers

Language Use and Trade Languages

• In multinational states, trade or vehicular languages (aka lingua franca) can emerge

• Used as second languages for communication between diverse groups that don’t share a common language• Are predominantly spoken• Have millions of speakers as L2 or L3

• Important trade languages:• Swahili, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Fulani, Kanuri, Bambara,

Jula, Mandinka, Lingala, Kikongo, Sanko

Language Use: Swahili as Trade Language• L1: 5 - 15 million speakers• L2: Up to 150 million speakers as lingua franca• Modern standard based on Kiunguja dialect

Source: NUGL Online Version June 4, 2009

Language Use: Swahili as Trade Language

Sociolinguistic Context High Low

Sermon x

Instructions to servants x

Parliament speech x

Chat with urban friends x

Negotiating taxi fare x

State of diglossia: • Standard used in media (radio, TV, newsprint) & official

communications (High status)

• L2 variant(s) used for informal communications (Low status)

• High and low variants differ in grammar and lexicon

Summary

• High number & diversity of languages, often without clearly developed linguistic standards

• Lack of clear language identification and lack of standards pose challenges for localization industry

• Language use is fluid, with speakers choosing different languages depending on sociolinguistic context

• Existence of high and low variants of same language need to be addressed

Recommendations

• Allow for language choice• Contribute to harmonization & standardization efforts• Investigate effective ways of adapting localized

resources for closely related languages• Incorporate agile linguistic change management

processes to cope with rapidly developing languages• Advance understanding of local language use by

• Sharing linguistic feedback on localized products and observations of user behavior

• Share localized resources to help drive development of MT solutions

Language is a Bridge