Nordic Journal of African Studies

Rethinking Language

Gastor Mapunda — 2024-09-30

The importance of language is consistently ignored within teacher training across Africa, with training designed based on the assumption that learners are fully competent in the medium of instruction (MOI). This causes widespread challenges and often means that children cannot access education in a familiar language. This is particularly true at the primary level, where the familiar languages of the children may not be the same as the specified medium of instruction. Focusing on Tanzania, this paper discusses the need to embed language supportive pedagogies into teacher training at all levels, but particularly at the primary level. The paper discusses interviews with key stakeholders in education which illustrate language attitudes and language use within the classroom. Data from these interviews also highlights the challenges which teachers face relating to language, and the creative methods they use to resolve these challenges. We argue that monolingual approaches to language-in-education are not effective, and that formal training in multilingual, language supportive pedagogies is required to provide teachers with the skills they need to effectively engage with multilingual classrooms. Based on multilingual realities, we make practical suggestions for language supportive pedagogies. We view these pedagogies as an essential factor in teacher training which is linked to wider notions of access and equality, but which is currently being overlooked.

Umuhimu wa lugha katika mafunzo ya walimu ni suala linaloendelea kupuuzwa barani Afrika. Mara nyingi mafunzo ya ualimu yanapoandaliwa inachukuliwa kuwa wanafunzi wote wanaifahamu vizuri lugha ya kujifunzia na kufundishia (LKK). Suala hili linasababisha changamoto kubwa, na mara nyingi hudhaniwa kwamba watoto hawawezi kupata elimu zao za asili wanazozimudu vizuri. Hali hii hujitokeza zaidi katika ngazi ya elimu ya msingi, ambapo lugha ambayo watoto wanaifahamu mara nyingi inatofautiana na lugha rasmi ya kujifunzia na kufundishia. Kwa kutumia Tanzania kama kifani cha uchunguzi, makala hii inajadili umuhimu wa kuwa na mtaala unaozingatia lugha katika mafunzo ya ualimu katika ngazi zote hususani katika ngazi ya elimu ya msingi. Makala inatumia data za usaili kutoka kwa wadau muhimu wa elimu kuhusu mitazamo ya matumizi ya lugha darasani. Data zinazotokana na usaili zinahusu changamoto za lugha ambazo walimu hukabiliana nazo, na mbinu bunifu wanazozitumia kuzikabili. Hoja yetu ni kwamba mbinu za utumizi wa lugha moja katika elimu si faafu katika mazingira ya wingilugha, na mafunzo rasmi yahusuyo ufundishaji unaozingatia lugha katika mazingira ya wingilugha yanahitajika ili kuwapa walimu maarifa wanayohitaji ili kufundisha vyema madarasa yenye wingilugha. Kulingana na uhalisia wa wingilugha, tunatoa mapendekezo ya mtazamo huu wa mafunzo ya ualimu kuwa kigezo muhimu katika mafunzo ya ualimu ambacho kinahusishwa moja kwa moja na mawazo mapana ya upatikanaji na usawa, masuala ambayo kwa sasa hayazingatiwi.

The Poetics of Second Liberation

Vincent R. Ogoti — 2024-09-30

This article examines Césaire’s The Tragedy of King Christophe as a fundamental text for understanding the complexities of decolonization in postcolonial contexts. The essay rereads the play, focusing on the concepts of ‘bad decolonization’, ‘good decolonization’, and the necessity for a ‘second liberation’ – a form of decolonization that transcends mere emancipation from physical subjugation. It analyses Césaire’s dramatization of Haiti’s revolutionary period to illuminate how his portrayal of decolonization not only prefigures but also advocates for the second liberation. Through a critical engagement with the works of Frantz Fanon and Achille Mbembe, the essay argues that effective decolonization within the postcolony must inherently culminate in self-awareness, the eradication of colonial vestiges, and the cultivation of a new consciousness that inspires what Mbembe (2021, 3) refers to as the “will to community” to describe a shared commitment to reconceptualizing community beyond the colonial legacies of separation, hierarchy, and exclusion.

Gender within the Pursuit of Doctoral Education

Efiritha Chauraya — 2024-09-30

This study investigates the challenges faced by female PhD students in the pursuit of their doctoral education in Zimbabwe. The study’s broad aim was to explore female PhD students’ experiences within their doctoral studies. The study sample was formed of 12 students and three deans of higher degree studies from three top-ranking universities providing doctoral education in Zimbabwe. Purposive sampling was employed to settle on the participants and data were solicited through one-to-one semi-structured interviews. Data revealed that more male than female students pursued PhD studies and that more male than female students completed their PhD studies within the stipulated period of study. Data also revealed a myriad of gendered challenges that female PhD students encounter on their doctoral education journeys. The significance of the study is its contribution to research on doctoral education in Zimbabwe in general, as well as to the deepening of knowledge on the various challenges females pursuing PhD studies face.

Proverbs Attributed to Humans and Nonhumans in the Beja Language (Sudan)

Mohamed-Tahir Hamid Ahmed — 2024-09-30

The aim of this paper is to determine the social and discursive functions of Beja proverbs and the reasons why some of them are attributed to non-human enunciators. The discussion is based on oral texts of different genres (tales, poems, and proverbs) containing 214 proverbs. Animals and, more rarely, inanimate objects take part in the scenes they contain, and in 43 of them speech is attributed to non-humans. The comparison of these with texts with human enunciators points to the role played by non-human enunciators. The method followed is a descriptive and analytical one, adopting a semantic and pragmatic approach to identifying the different meanings and functions of each proverb. The study is related to the theory of proverb praxis, which focuses on the context of use and the cultural context as determining factors for the meaning of a proverb. It proposes to focus on the immediate situation of use, called the ‘enunciative context’, among other contextual elements. It shows that Beja proverbs have the power to express a personal point of view, although they are allusively attributed to the whole community by the Beja themselves. The analysis of the enunciative context, focused on examples of proverbial events, proves that the allusive style of Beja proverbs is determined by the essential metaphors of their contextual meaning. Moreover, non-human enunciators are introduced for specific contextual purposes: disapproval of a defect or a behaviour, ironical reactions, expressions of agreement or disagreement, and evaluations of events. None of these objectives can be achieved with human enunciators, and the use of non-human enunciators underlines the prudent attitude of the speaker, who seeks to maintain good relations with his interlocutors and preserve social harmony. The analysis of proverbial semantic structure in this article is proposed as a contribution to knowledge of the cultural anthropology of the speakers of the Beja language in Sudan.