CHAPTER 2

MULTILINGUALISM: QUESTION OF UNITY AND CONFLICT

CHAPTER - II

MULTILINGUALISM: QUESTION OF UNITY AND CONFLICT

2~1 · Introduction

Many questions have been posed as to whether

m~ltilingualism is a resource or a hindrance to the unity

and integrity of a nation as also its administrative

.functioning and socio-economic life. Whatever the answers,

it has to be accepted that muitilingualism is a fact in the

life of most nations and a state which is likely to prevail

for years to come. Strictly speaking, there is no

unilingual state, only the degree of linguistic

heterogeneity of the population may vary.

To get a really trustworthy picture especially as

regards territorial spread and hierarchical relations is

perhaps next to impossible. Belgium has discontinued

including questions on language after the Census of 1947 as

it raises hostile reactions especially among the Dutch.

Pakistan too avoids it for political reasons. Canada is

perhaps the only country which sets a great store by the

language question and takes care during the censal counts to

record exact details. Many African states do not have the

administrative machinery to undertake such a

precision.

30

task with

Laponce 1 has taken three categories to delineate

differences as observed in different multilingual states

across the world. States which are linguistically unified

(90%-100%) are encountered in Europe and America. In the

second type (50%-90%) the examples from Europe are Spain and

the erstwhile Soviet Union, Paraguay and Peru from South

America, Somalia and Sudan from Africa and Thailand and

Kampuchea from Asia. These represent incomplete dominance by

an indigenous language. Though multilingual, only the

dominant language is recognised, and used for official

pu r p o s e s . I t p l a y s . the r o l e o f l i n g u a f ran c a . The

subordinate languages are found in the peripheries. The

third category takes care of those states with less than 50

per cent linguistic homogeneity. Many of the African states

which have an international language as official language

come in this category. In some countries, a single language

like Wolof in Senegal, Nyarawanda in Rwanda etc-are

sufficiently distinguishable from the other local languages

and may some day become the national language.

In a subgroup of the third category come states like

Luxembourg before 1984, Haiti, Taiwan, Indonesia etc.

1. J.A. Laponce, Languages and Their Territories. Quebec, 1984, p.99.

31

Although officially unilingual, Luxembourg is actually

trilingual. French is the language of law and

administration, German of press and business and

Luxembourgian of daily life. ,In Haiti, the official language

is of the international type. French the tongue of its

colonial masters has been indigenized and split into creole

and classical French. In Taiwan, the official language,

Mandarin was imposed by the rulers, the Nationalists who had

fled China in the 1940s. However, more than 80 per cent of

the Taiwanese speak Fukienes~. In Ethiopia)Amharic is spoken

only by one-third of the population, yet it is the official

language. This was done for reasons of political exped:i,ency.

In the above mentioned states, an indigenous minority

language. is on the way to reducing and perhaps eventually

eliminating other indigenous tongues through state control,

administrative machinery and education policies. A dominant

African language may evolve to reFlace the international

languages, English or French as the case may be, or the

foreign languages may become indigenized.

A classification of multilingual states according to

their official languages can prove interesting. Only

Cameroon and Vanuatu have two foreign languages as official

languages, while countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,

32

Swaziland, Lesotho etc. have one foreign language and one

indigenous language as official languages.

Relatively few multilingual states have the same

foreign languages as official languages. French and English

share Cameroon, Canada, Seychelles and Vanuatu. English is

an official language in 19 states, French in 10, German and

Tamil in two.

Linguistic geography and multilingualism may be

understood in any specific context by going through the

history of the particular region or state. Often the

presence of a foreign language is due to the impact of

colonialism. At times a small state can be on the borders of

large countries which are more linguistically homogenous. An

obvious example would be that of Switzerland. Assimilation

of peripheial minorities is another manner by which

territorial multilingualism occurs. The erstwhile Soviet

Union is a prime example of the situation.

Not all multilingual/bilingual countries are so to the

same degree. Some are so in name only. Symbolic bilingualism

is evident from postage stamps, bank notes, passports etc.

Some officially multilingual states for example : Singapore, . b .

their laws ~in one language, in this case it is pass

English. Another feature to note would be the language used

33

in €arliament. Switzerland uses German extensively though

French is also used. Comprehensibility is another factor.

States like Canada and Belgium make use of simultaneous

translation. In Cameroon, Finland, India, South Africa,

Switzerland etc. one language is dominant.

There are two types of officially multilingual states -

those with indigenous official languages (Canada and

Switzerland) and those with of foreign official language to

serve as lingua franca. In the latter category competition

between foreign tongue and the dominant indigenous one is

evident (Malta and Swaziland) or where indigenous languages

are so fragmented that the foreign language is the only

acceptable medium (Black Africa) . The colonial rivalries of

France and England lie at the origin of fou~ I multilingual

states (Cameroon, Canada, Seychelles and Vanuatu) .

Where the indigenous official language is spoken by

more than 50 per cent of the population it has chances of

supplanting the foreign tongue~ The same cannot be said

where less than 50 per cent speak the official language

(India-Hindi). Then, the foreign tongue may get indigen~ised

to maintain the status quo. This can be said of English in

Philippines and Singapore.

34

States that are factually as well as also legally

bilingual/trilingual with the official languages also being

indigenous are Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Luxembourg,

Switzerland in Europe, Canada, South Africa and Afghanistan.

These states have been buffers between great powers

(Afghanistan, Belgium, Switzerland etc.) or are the remains

of former colonies or shattered empires (Canada, Finland,

South Africa etc.) Instances of multilingualism can be cited

from every continent. Even in Australia, which has been

peopled by successive immigration mainly from Europe some

form of multilingualism is prevalent. In USA, English is the

most widely spoken language. Though apparently an English

speaking country, it has not till date designated any

language as its national language. Spanish is gaining ground

especially due to immigration from Mexico. There is also a

sizeable population of Italians, Germans and Asians. It has

not really become the melting pot that had been envisaged

for it.

Violen~ conflicts may not be encountered in every

~ultilingual situation. Only when there are conflicting

interests does the situation becomes volatile. It depends on

how much a community or state lays emphasis on the

linguistic identity of its people. Relatively peaceful

coexistence as witnessed in Switzerland despite the presence

35

of three major language groups is also a reality as was the

break up of West Pakistan and East Pakistan into Pakistan

and Bangladesh. The break up of Pakistan shows clearly two

factors, (i) That the East Pakistanis speaking Bangla would

not be dominated by a Urdu speaking elite in Islamabad. They

required a separate identity. (ii) It is not easy to control

separatist tendencies when a region is not

geographically/territorially contiguous. 2 Multilingualism

and language problems are rife both in developed as well as

developing nations and as often simplistically analysed,

economic deprivation does not lie at the root of all GlL( ......

language conflicts. This aspect will be de~ with in the

next chapter. History, territoriality, migration, political

leadership are all prime factors in any discussion on

multilingualism. These interacting with each other are

responsible for colouring the attitudes of the inhabitants

of any specific region.

Certain multilingual situationjJas also their potential

for conflict, has been attempted in this chapter. Attempts

have been made to give an overview of various types of

2. For a detailed discussion on the respfective roles of languages and politics, see Urmila Phadnis, Nation and Ethnicity in South Asia.

36

multilingualism, their causal factors and their

manifestations in varying situations.

2.2 Belgium

Belgium is often cited as an example of a country which

may fall apart at any time because of its precarious

.9.k linguistic balance. It has no natural borders. ·~modern

history dates from 1830, when it was separated from the

Netherlands. Earlier, it was separated from France in 1815. L~~~--

There is a fundamental cleavage in the state. The historic

border between the Romance and Germanic languages in Europe

runs through the middle of Belgium in an east-west direction

just south of Brussels. Again this linguistic border has no

natural markers. 3 The French or Wallen area south of this

line has a French speaking population. To its south lies

France itself. The French area comprises of the provinces of

Hainaut, Namur, Liege etc. Dutch or Flemish is spoken north

of this line. To the north of this region lies the

Netherlands. The Dutch area is made up of the provinces of

West Flanders, East Flanders, Antwerp, Brabant (which

3. Paul M. Levy, Linguistic and Semantic Borders in Belgium, in International Journal of the Sociology of Language, vol.15, 1978, p.10.

37

includes Brussels) and Limburg. However, there are pockets

of Dutch speakers in the French area and French speakers in

the Dutch area. On the eastern border of French speaking

Belgium along the border with Germany are small pockets of

German speakers. Brussels now officially bilingual is in the

Dutch area. 4

In the absence of precise figures, it is estimated that

about 56 per cent of the population reside in the Dutch area_

~whereas 32 per cent are in the French area. Brussels, the

capital city with 11 per cent of the population is located

in the Dutch area but actually a French speaking city5 ,

second only to Paris in importance. The German speaking

population comprises less than 1 per cent of the total.

Earlier, Belgium was divided along issues related to

religion, but at present groups form and compete along

linguistic lines, other issues being far less important.

Consequently, most of the political crisis in modern Belgium (!{ ,·'ha,·~~

can be traced directly to a failure to reach accommodation ~

on linguistic issues.

4. Ibid., pp.10-11. v

5. Freddy Louckx, Linguistic Ambi~alence of the Brussels Indigenous Population, International Journal of the Sociology of Language, vol.15, 1978, pp.53-60.

38

The divisive capability of language, has put the

Belgian government from addressing the language question at

the census. The last ~ensus to seek such information was

that of 1947. The responses aroused much hostility. Now the

fiction prevails that in the Dutch area everyone speaks

Dutch and in the French area everyone speaks French.

Brussels itself a bilingual area has become the battleground

for the two competing languages.

When the Belgian state came into being in 1830, the

state language was French even though numerically the Dutch

were in a majority. Brussels, a Dutch city was dominated

by a thi~d of its population who used French. Probably this

was because of the importance of French as a language of

culture, opportunity, diplomacy etc. Dutch at that time was

not even standardised and this also mirrors the inferior

position of the Dutch speakers.

In the nineteenth century, the Francophone elite of

Belgium copied the French model of unified state in which

the French language had ascendancy. 6 Thus Brussels became a

Francophone city. Much of the modern internal history of

6. Jacques Lefevre, Dialect and Regional Identification in Belgium: The Case of Wallonia, International Journal of the Sociology of Language, vol.15, 1978, pp.47-51.

39

Belgium may be seen as attempts of a numerically superior

Dutch people to lose their minority status and achieve some

kind of parity in influence with the French. In 1883, the

Dutch won the right to have bilingual secondary schools in

Flanders. Some of the other notable Dutch gains were

bilingual postage in 1884, use of Dutch in Belgian

• Parliament in 1886, tts recognitions as one of the official

languages in 1898, the establishment of the principle of

territoriality under which certain parts of the country were

to be administered in French and the other parts in Dutch in

1921; in 1935, Dutch was recognised in the courts, and its

recognition in the army came in 1938.

The results of the 1947 Census showed no Dutch speaking

minorities in French ·speaking areas but numerous French

speaking minorities in the Dutch speaking areas particularly

around Brussels and other cities in Dutch Belgium. By 1962,

the principle that education in Dutch speaking Belgium would

be entirely in Dutch and that in French speaking Belgium

entirely in French was established. This principle of

territorial unlingualism was upheld in 1968 by the European

Court of Human Rights. Yet some, Flemish nationalists

believed that only separation could guarantee the Dutch

40

their legitimate rights. 7

The key issue has been the linguistic situation in

Brussels. It is the most populous and prosperous region of

Belgium. Though lying in Dutch speaking Belgium, the 1947

Census showed that only a fourth of its residents spoke

Dutch only or mainly. Even Dutch children here were brought

up as Francophones.

The 1960-61 Census finally did not include a question

on language because of Dutch opposition. 8 If Brussels was

treated as a Francophone city, the French would have been

able to claim a total superiority. In 1962-63, minor

territorial adjustments were made which prevail till date.

It was the language issue that brought down the Belgian

Government in 1968 regarding the future of the French

speaking University of Louvain. The revised Constitution

transformed the unitary Belgian state to a community state,

guaranteed parity between the major linguistic communities,

adjusted the number of seats held by each linguistic area

according to the population, protection of minorities was

also taken into account and Brussels was recognised as a

7. See, P.J. Augustinus Ter Hoeven, The Social Bases of Flemish Nationalism, pp.21-32.

8. Ibid.

41

special region. From 1977 onwards, Flanders, Wallonia, and

Brussels have gained considerable autonomy and have their

own Assemblies. Belgium is now divided into four linguistic

regions and each is a separate territorial entity. They are

the Dutch, French and German regions and the bilingual area

of Brussels. Linguistic parity is also required in Cabinet

appointments. There are virtually separate ministries of

education, justice and interior. There are various other

safeguards also.

Though a rather miniscule minority, there is a growing

movement in the German speaking area to preserve the

language and accord German the same rights as both French

and Dutch enjoy in Belgium. The French however, within whose

territory the German element is present has nothing to gain

by encouraging a separate German identity in their midst.

Most people agree that the Belgian state has

considerable potential for disintegration over language

issues. Of the two groups, the Dutch are the more language

conscious, since they have been the disadvantaged group in

Belgium. 9 The 1970, Constitution tried to resolve many of

the issues through separation of the two languages and

stabilisation of the linguistic boundary in and around

9. Ibid.

42

Brussels. Belgium also has a sizable population of immigrant

workers. One worker in three is a foreigner. Many are not

willing to return. As these people settle in Belgium, they

may affect the delicate linguistic balance as also introduce

further linguistic and cultural differences in an already

divided society.

2.3 Spain

When referring to multilingual Spain, the special case

of the Basque and Catalan ethnic minorities needs to be

taken into account. They are minorities both in France and

Spain and majorities nowhere. History shows that the

Castilians unified Spain. Politically, the union of Crowns

of Castile and Aragon (which included Catalonia) took place

1n 1476, Granada was conquered in 1492 and the annexation of

Navarre took place in 1512.

The population of about 37 million speak Castilian

otherwise known as Spanish. There are no exact figures

regarding speakers of Catalan, Basque or Galician. The

Spanish census avoid enquiries into the matter. The official

view till quite recently was that "Spain is Spanish" and

ignored multilingualism. The unofficial view is that there

are about six million speakers of Catalan, half a million

Basque and about three million Galician.

43

Castilian was extended as the language of education and

official purposes to all the regions. From the eighteenth

century onwards, successive Spanish governments have

promulgated restrictive measures on use of languages other

than Spanish in education, administration, public life and

religious worship. It reached a climax during

years.

the Franco

However, since then change has taken place. The 1978

Constitution recognises the other languages of Spain.

Article 3 declares - "Castilian is the official Spanish

language of state. All Spaniards .... obliged to know it ...

the other Spanish languages will also be official in their

respective Autonomous Communities ... ". The communities are

now in operation in the Basque country, Catalonia, Galicia

and Andalusia. However, bilingualism is not at all secure in

Catalonia, the Basques emphasize cultural differences rather

than linguistic ones and are the most violent separatists in

Western Europe. The Galicians on the other hand, accept the

dominant state language. Before we go into a detailed

discussion of the ground realities prevalent in Catalonia

and the Basque country, it may not be out of place to refer

to the statement made by Linz regarding Spain, "Spain

is .... in population after Soviet Union, the largest

44

economically developed multilingual country followed by

Canada and Yugoslavia".

2.3.1 Catalan

It has the widest distribution on the Spanish

territory and the largest number of speakers. Areally

Catalan is spoken in about one-eighth of Spanish territory.

The region comprises of Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and

Formentera. This is a prosperous region. The capital

Barcelona has about two million people and is highly

indutrialised. As a language, Catalan is markedly different

from Castilian. History offers evidences of periods of

independence from Castile, periods of opposition and

periods of subjection. There is a strong anti-Castilian

consciousness among the Catalan. However, till the

nineteenth century, hostility towards Castile was not so

openly evident. From the nineteenth century, began a period

of cultural and linguistic revivals in Catalonia. 10 It

gained impetus in response to the loss of many South

American colonies. Valuable markets were lost and property

declined. There was open rebellion and many Catalans desired

10. See Kathryn A. Woolard, Double Talk: Bilingnalism and Politics of Ethnicity in Calatonia, Stanford 1989.

45

change of an order which favoured Castilian. From then

onwards there have been various movements to achieve some

OY f~m of independence for Catalonia.

During the Civil War of 1930, Catalonia achieved some

amount of independence but after the victory of Franco a

long period of suppression followed. Catalan was banned from

schools. He insisted on a unitary Spanish speaking state and

no administrative activity, trade unions etc. could be

carried on in Catalan, yet Catalan retained its position.

Now it has official status within Catalonia. However,

it is facing competition within the province itself. Half of

the adult population by only 40 per cent people and by only

a quarter in immigrant dominant areas. The immigrants,

~ mostly Castilians, and from Andalusia1 attracted because of

the economic prosperity of the region especially Barcelona

• constitute one-third of the population. Some Cast~lian

immigrants express dissatisfaction against the language

policies and practices that discriminate against them. 11

11. For a detailed account of this refer to David, D. Laitin - "Linguistic Conflicts in Catalonia in Language Problems and Language Planning, vol.11, no.2, pp.129-147, 1987.

46

?

2.3.2. Basque

The Basques have come to be known as one of the most

militant minorities of the world. Euzkadi, the homeland of

the Basque covers territory in both France and Spain. In

Spain, the provinces are Vizcaya, Guipuzcoa, Alava and

Navarra. The Basque population here greatly outnumber that

of the French provinces of Basse, Navarre, Soule and

Labourd. The Basques are the original inhabitants of the

area in which they now reside. French and Spanish states

absorbed vast territory and attempted to absorb the people

also. The Basque language called Euskera is unrelated to any

other language in the world.

The Basques of Spain have never been comfortable within

the state, but their recent history has been a rather

troubled one. As with the Catalonians, during the Civil War

of 1930s, the Basques were able to establish an autonomous

republic for a short while. Later Franco did everything in

his power to suppress the Basque people. The language was

banned from public life, books were burned and even Basque

inscriptions were removed from public buildings and

tombstones. As a consequence of the policies, there was a

further reduction of ability of Basques to speak their

language. Only about 20 per cent people retain us-~ the

47

language. (However, unlike Catalan identity, the basis of

Basque identity is not language but culture) . The Basque

area again constitutes the wealthiest part of Spain with its

shipyards, steel and manufacturing centres. Migrants to this

region do not learn Basque. Unlike in most cases of

exploitation, the use of discriminatory economic treatment

cannot be a rallying cry for the Basques. They see

themselves exploited in the opposite way, claiming that they

give more to the state than they receive in benefits.

Some Basques seek more autonomy than was granted in

1980. Their goal is the unification of the Basque provinces

of France and Spain in order to establish a Basque state.

The most radical group is Euzkadi to Askatasuma (ETA) . This

can be translated as Basque homeland and freedom. Basque

separation is now associated with some of the most violent

terrorism in Europe. The violence began as an expression of

protest against Franco's policies. The convenience of a

.border with France with fellow Basques residing across it

allowed a measure of external support during periods of

crisis. Today, these activities are directed against the

Spanish state itself as separation is the avowed goal. The

Basques believe in territorial integrity and find it

particularly galling to be a minority in their own territory

48

and the Castilian intruders are made to bear the brunt of

the displeasure.

Though at present according to Spanish law, Basque

language can be used is the region where it is spoken,

unlike the Catalans, the Basques are not too keen in this

respect. The Basques have always regarded ethnicity and

claim to territory as their identifying character.

2.3.3 Galician

Spoken to the north-west of Spain bordering Portugal1

~e language evolved from a common Galician - Portuguse

language. However, the Castilian conquest of the region in

the fifteenth century cut it off from Portugal and Galician

did not evolve much after that.

It was dominated by Castilian, generally a spoken

language and had a diglossic relationship with Spanish

within its own area. Notable differences between Galician on

one hand and Basque and Catalan on the other may be related

to the area in which these languages are spoken. Whereas

Catalonia and Basque country form two of the more

economically developed areas of Spain, Galicia is a poor,

isolated and undeveloped part of Spain. Moreover Galician

49

0~ has never had any status in administrati~, education or

law. Very recently however, come Galicians have started

taking pride in their language. Galicians come under the

category of dormant linguistic minorities in Europe today.

2.4 The Erstwhile Soviet Union

The USSR was "one of the world's most ethnically

heterogeneous states, in terms of both the number of ethnic

groups and the diversity among them". 12 The USSR contained

more that 100 ethnic groups, of which 22 nationalities had

populations of 1 million or more according to the 1989

Census. According to Anderson and Silver13 , there were 15

Union Republics named for nationalities and these comprised

90.3 percent of the population of the USSR.

In the early 1930s there were approximately 130

languages in the USSR, many the products of official

encouragement of small dialects, creation of new written

languages and incorporations of new tongues in the

12. RalphS. Clem, The Ethnic Factor in Contemporary Soviet Society, in Sacks and Pankhurst, Understanding Soviet Society, Boston 1988.

13. Anderson B. and Silver B.D. Demographic Sources of the Changing Ethnic Composition of the Soviet Union, in Population and Development Review, vol.15, no.4, pp.609-656.

50

\Lot educational system. R~fer 'fxeaclgold (1~ 14 The number of

MA ethnic groups is not equal to the member of languages. Some

groups switch languages, eg. the Soviet Jews switched from

several languages primarily Yiddish to Russian. In 1920,

71.9 per cent of Soviet Jews claimed Yiddish as their native

language, whereas in 1970 only 17.7 per cent did so. This

however may be partly explained by the migration of a large

number of them to Israel. Again, an ethnic group may have

more than one native language.

Bilingualism has also made major advances. In 1989, 84

per cent of the non-Russians claimed their nationality

language as native, 9.9 per cent of the non Russians claimed

Russian as native. In claiming second languages 5.4 per cent

of non Russian$claimed their nationality language, 48.1 per

cent claimed Russian, 2.2 per cent claimed that of another

nationality and 44.3 per cent claimed no second language.

55.7 per cent of non-Russians were bilingual, almost a

majority of them in Russian. 7 nationalities with over 1

million population did not have af Soviet Socialist

Republic.

14. Treadgold G., Nationalism in the USSR and its Implications for the World, in Conquest 1986, pp.381-396, and Comrie B., The Languages of the Soviet Union, 1981.

51

The cultural pluralism which affected language policy

can be grouped into two forces: the centripetal, which moved

persons towards adopting Russian language and culture and

the centrifugal which preserved native language and culture

representing mobilisation towards secession. Other forces

such as religion, race, caste, region, cultural identity,

economic status, educational opportunity, political

advancement etc. have played significant roles. 15

Historically, the Tsarist empire was not officially

Russian. Some Russian nationalists attempted to Russify the

ethnic groups but were unsuccessful. During the Revolution,

certain nationalities like, Finland and Poland which had

nationhood ambitions were successful while Estonia, Latvia

and Lithuania remained independent for about twenty years.

Attempts in the Ukraine, Trans Caucasia and the Far East

were overcome by the Red Army.

The USSR was not as such a Russian Empire. Lenin

recognised the contributions that the separate nationalities

15. For details see, Edward Allworth (ed.), Ethnic Russian in the USSR Dilemma of Dominance, New York 1980,

Rockett R.L., Ethnic Nationalities in the Soviet Union : Sociological Perspective on a Historical Problem, New York, 1981,

Frederick S. Starr, Soviet Nationalities in Crisis in Journal of Soviet Nationalities, vol.1, no.1, 1990, pp.77-90.

52

could make to the Revolution. He rejected Russification,

recognising the potential revolutionary force underlying the

national discontents of non Russians: The Red Slogan of

National-Self-Determination contrasted with the one

indivisible Russia' . 16 The two polarities of Great Russian

Great Power Chauvinism and local bourgeois nationalism

dominated at different periods and were closely related to

the fluctuations in the economy. The present breakup of the

Soviet Union can be partly explained by the prevailing

linguistic/economic/ethnic structure.

2.5 South East Asia

Owing to its geographical position, its colonial

heritage and the requirement of a large number of labourers

to exploit the resources, the now independent countries of

South East Asia have certain common features. These can be

noticed in the pluralistic nature of their societies. They

are either multiracial (Singapore and Malaysia) or

multiethnic (Indonesia and Phillipines), there are a large

number of foreign immigrants and their language policies are

direct reflections o£ their historical past and social

composition.

16. Hugh Watson Seton, Russian Nationalism in Historical Perspective in Conguest, 1986, pp.14-29.

53

2.5.1 Indonesia

According to the 1971 Census, there were 10 major

languages in Indonesia. All these languages have more than

one million speakers each. Japanese is spoken by the largest

section of the people followed by Sudanese, Malays etc.

Another interesting feature to not~is the territorial

nature of the languages. 17 In facttthe Indonesians speak a

multitude of languages totalling more than 250 belonging to

the Malaya-Polynesian family of languages. 18

The Dutch who occupied Indonesia since the sixteenth

century used the multiethnic, multilinguistic nature of the

society to promote their objectives of divide and rule. Thus

the Dutch encouraged education in the ethnic language.

Initially they discouraged the Indonesians from learning

Dutch. 19 However, after the introduction of western economy

a small number of Dutch schools were started in Indonesia.

The Dutch were not interested in developing the Malay

language. The Indonesians however saw this Lingua Franca as

17. For details see, N.W.J. Nababan, "Languages in Indonesia", Paper read at the RELC Staff Seminar on ASEAN Languages, Singapore, Feburary 1977.

18. Slametmuljana, Politik Bahasa National, Stated in Tan ta sen, Language Policies in Insular South East Asia, pp.S.

19. This may be contrasted to the language policies of the English in India and the French in Africa.

54

an unifying tool. The Second Indonesian Youth Congress held

in 1928 produced the Youth ·Pledge which made Malay,

henceforth to be called the Indonesian language (Bahasa

Indonesia) . The present day ·Bahasa Indonesia however is not

quite akin to the Malay language.

After the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, there was

further spread of Bahasa Indonesia in an attempt to

eradicate all Dutch influence. After World War II, Sukarno

proclaimed Indonesia's independence. The Dutch however

refused to q . h' d h recon1se t 1s an sent troops to reoccupy t e f'o...,

region. A war of independence followed. In 1949, the Dutch

finally gave up Indonesia. As independence was achieved

through armed struggle1

there was deep resentment against

anything Dutch (language, culture, education etc.). Article

36 of the 1945 Constitution states that the "Language of the

state shall be Indonesian language." As a consequence more

than 250 ethnic languages were relegated to vernacular

status and the government adopted a policy of not developing

the vernacular.

It is interesting to note that Bahasa Indonesia, a

minority language originating in Sumatra is now spoken by

55

more than 60 per cent of the population. 20 English has the

status of first foreign language.

2.5.2 Malaysia

The population of Malaysia is ethnically and

linguistically varied. The indigenous population of Malaysia

can be divided into two major groups on the basis of

language. One group consists of speakers of Austronesian

family of languages and the other of people belonging to the

Austroasiatic stock. The speakers of Austronesian languages

are found both in peninsular Malaysia as well as Borneo

Malaysia that is Sarawak and Sabah. In peninsular Malaysia.

Bahasa Malaysia is widely spoken. Indigenous varieties are

encountered in Sabah and Sarawak. The Austroasiatic speakers

are found only in the peninsula in the highlands of the

central range from Kedah in the north to Pahang and Selangor

in the South. There are Negritoes and non Negritoes.

Malaysian languages of the Austrosiatic families are termed

Aslian.

The non-indiginous population of Malaysia consists of

speakers of different language families such as the Chinese,

20. Nababan, op.cit., p.l.

56

Indians, Europeans, Thais and the Arabs. 21 The Chinese form

the largest group, 34.1 per cent of the total population.

The Chinese group again is a multilingual one with dialect

such as Hokkien, Hakka, Cantonese etc. The Indian community

' forms the third largest group. They are 11 per cent of total

population. 22 The Indians are also heterogenous. More than

80 per cent are Tamil speaking followed by Malayalam. There

are a few Pakistanis and Ceylonese also. The Thais, Arabs

and Europeans form a very small percentage of the total q

population. Before independence in 1~57, English was the

sole language for administrative purposes. Article 152 of '

the Constitution states that "the national language shall be

Malay language ... provided that no person shall be

prohibited from using or from teaching or learning any other

languages." 23

Till 1967, the Government did not pursue actively a

national language policy. English remained the main

language. The next stage was characterised by radical Malay

21. For migration during British period, refer Colleen Ward and Miles Hewstone, Ethnicity, Language and Intergroup Relations in Malaysia and Singapore, in L of Multilingual and Multilingual Development, vol.6, no.3 & 4, 1985.

22. S.C. Tham, Social Science Research in Malaysia, Singapore, 1981, and K.S. Sandhu, Indians in Malaysia, Cambridge, 1969.

23. Cited in, Tan Ta Sen op.cit., p.9.

57

nationalism and the then Minister of Education Tan Sei-Yakob

announced his intention to (1) carry out national education

policy with Malay as medium of instruction24 ; (2) establish

national University with Malay as medium of instruction.

"One country, one nation, one language." policy resembling

the Indonesian Youth Pledge was adopted. Due to the

existence of the Sedition Act no major challenges were

encountered. In 1970, Malay was officialy renamed Bahasa

Malaysia. With the rise of "Bumi Putraism (indegenism),

(1) Bahasa Malaysia was adopted as a national symbol, (2)

Using Bahasa Malaysia as means to unite and integrate

various ethnic groups, (3) using Bahasa Malaysia as a symbol

of Malaysian identity, (4) Bahasa Malaysia as means of

propagating Malay culture and, (5) equating nonallegiance to

Bahasa Malaysia with disloyalty to Malaysia. In contrast to

Indonesia, the changeover to Bahasa Malaysia has been more

gradual and systematic, yet it has generated ethnic tensions

amongst the Chinese, Indians and other groups. 25

24. For details on Education see Dr. J.K.P. Watson, Cultural Pluralism Nation Building and Educational Policies in Peninsular Malaysia.

25. Y.L. Lee, Race Language and National Cohesion in South East Asia in Journal of South East Asian Studies, 1980, vol.11, pp.122-45.

58

2.5.3 Singapore

Like Malaysia, Singapore is a multi-racial and

multilingual country. According to the 1970 Census there

were 76.2 per cent Chinese, 15 per cent Malays and 7 per

cent Indians. Again these major groups may be subdivided

into smaller linguistic groups. The Chinese into Hokkiens,

Teochews, Hakkas, Shanghainese, Hainanese etc., Malays

into Javanese, Buginese etc, and Indians into Tamils,

Malayalees, Sikhs, Bengalis. Sinhalese are also found

here. 26

Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and English have powerful

foreign influences. Mandarin is related to China and seems

to have a bright futu~e when China's potential power and

progress in the fields of science and technology is taken

into account, Malay is spoken in Indonesia and Malaysia and

infact geographically Singapore is surrounded by Malays.

English is the most important international language in

modern times. Of the four, Tamil is the weakest.

Singapore's language policy is inseparably linked with

her political development, Till 1955, Singapore was a

26. D.Y.H. Wu, Ethnic Relations and Ethnicity in a City State Singapore, 1982.

59

British colony. Britain adopted a policy to develop

English. This was the sole official language. Betwen 1955

and 1959 the main question was of giving equal status to .all

ethnic groups with regard to education and languagfe. There

were a number of struggles for equality and the outcome was

that in 1955 and 1956 the City Council and the Legislative

Assembly abolished the restictions on language use and

allowed Mandarin, Malay, English and Tamil as languages of/~

debate. With the publication of the Report on Chinese

Education in 1955, equal status had to be given to all the

four main languages. /

The report proposed that on leaving

school, a student should know not only his mother tongue but

also Malay and English.

During the period from 1959 to 1965 there was a change

in policy. After self-government was achieved in 1959,

Malay was made the national language. The "learn Malay"

movement culminated in 1963 and Singapore merged with

Malaysia the same year. The leadership was willing to

replace English by Malay. With the secession hoswever, in

1955, the "learn Malay" movement came to an end though Malay

was still retained as national language. The current policy

instead of trying to create multilingual individuals has set

as its objective, the creation of bilingual individuals

(English and ones own mother tongue) . It is interesting to

60

note that Singapore does not use the national language as a

means to achieve national integration. In place of an

idealistic approach Singapore has chosen a politicaly

pragmatic approach. 27 Instead, she applies other means such

as national service, integrated school systems and emphasis

on the international language to achieve this aim. As-'the

result of bilingual policy, English will become the common

language of the various ethnic groups.

2.6 Canada

Approimately two-thirds of the people are English

speaking, yet the language and culture of Britain's age-old

rival France, remains an indelible part of Canada's

political and socia~ life.

According to the Census of 1981, Canada had a

population of 24.3 million. It is a bilingual country with

two official languages English and French each with certain

rights and protections. The two languages exist in a

fundamentally unequal relationship historically and

demographically. From this stems linguistic discontent and

difficult political relationship between Quebec and Ottawa.

27. Ward and Hewstone, op.cit, p.277.

61

When both the English and the French were competing to

colonize North America, the rivalry at least as regards the

North ended in 1759, when Quebec was captured by the

English. This region was the French stronghold. However

Canada actually carne into being in 1867, the year of the

British North American Act. Canada it may be noted got her

total independence in its Consitutional affairs only in 1982

from the United Kingdom.

Under the 1867 arrangement, the French in Canada were

assured of spreading their language and culture as the

country itself spread westward. They were guaranteed the

use of French in Quebec as also in the other regions of

Canada. Moreover, as the French, tended to have large

families as well as higher birth rates, natural population

growth would favour them. Thus theoretically for the

French, Canada would be a land of equal oportinities for

both the French and the English especially as the frontiers

moved westward.

These hopes did not last long. In 1870, the new

province, Manitoba abrogated the right which was restored

only in 1985. The French slowly became confined to the

Quebec region along with certain neighbouring regions like

New Brunswick and parts of Ontario. The most important city

62

in the region was being progressively dominated by the

English. 28 It was only the high birth rate termed, "the

revenge of the cradles", that kept the French secure in

v. Quebec and to some extent stabilised the vac~um created by

the emigration of a large number of French to the U.S. This

been termed as the "fatal haemorrhage". Moreover there was

considerable immigration into the province, mostly of

English speakers. 29

Politically, the French did have certain protections,

Constitutionally as also due to a variety of practices.

Quebec was guaranteed a certain number of seats in the

Federal Parliament and non-Quebec seats had to be allocated

in proportion to non-Quebec population. There was always Gt

French represent~ion in the Supreme Court and Federal

Cabinet. Royal Commissions had generally thus co-

chairpersons, one French and one English. The Federal

Liberal party had a traditi"on of alternating Anglophone and

Francophone leaders. However, despite all these safeguards,

28. J.A. Laponce, "The City Centre as Conflictual Space in a Bilingual City : The Case of Montreal in Jean Gottman Centre and Periphery, Spatial Variation in Politics, California, 1978.

29. Jacques Henripin, Quebec and the Demographic Dilemma of French Canadian Society in John R. Mallea (ed.) Quebec's Language Polices, Background and Response Quebec, 1977, pp.41-54.

63

it was abundantly evident that French was losing ground and

English was on the acendancy. In the Federal system there

were nine Anglophone provinces and only one Francophone

e province. With the 1oncept of majority rule coming into

force competition and antagonism would surely result. By

the 1960s it was apparent that 80 per cent of the 30 per

cent Canadians of French origin were located in Quebec. The

proportion was fall1ng- 1961 - 30.4 per cent, 1971 - 28.7

per cent and 1981 - 26.8 per cent.30 The majority of the

20 per cent or so French outside the province had already

given up the language or were in the process of doing the

same. Another interesting feature to note was that the

birth rate was falling in Quebec itself making it the

province with the lowest birth rate in Canada. Thus, one of

the guarantees to a continued French identity/majority in

Quebec itself was slowly fading out. Immigrants to the

provinces, most of whom preferred to settle in Montreal

preferred English to French. These was no a~reciable

volume of immigration into the region from French speaking

countries of Europe, Asia or Africa as compared to that from

English speaking regions. Immigrants who spoke neither

30. Ibid.

64

English, nor French preferred to learn the former as it held

out promises of a better future.

In 1963 a Royal Commission of Bilingualism and

Biculturalism was set up by the Canadian Government to look

into the English - French relations and make recommendations

for smoother functioning. Instead of accepting the

territorial basis as solution to the problem, it recommended

certain basic rights for the French in Canada in their

dealings with the Federal government and its agencies as

also for the French language outside Quebec. The Official

Languages Act of 1969 is a direct result of these

recommendatioins of the Commission. It was intended to

place French on an equal footing with English especially

outside Quebec and thus pacify those who were seeking a

different deal for the French within the federal structure.

A Commissioner of Official Languages was appointed to report

annually to Parliament the progress made in the appplication

of various provisions of the Act. This Act itself has

generated much heat in various quarters, especially amongst

the non-Anglophone, non-Francophone section who feel French

enjoys a status it does not merit in most parts of Canada.

Nevertheless, despite all controversies when the

Canadian Constitution was patriated in 1982 certain rights

65

of the French to their language was enshrined in the

document and any further change would require a lengthy and

complicated process of Constitutioinal ammendment.

The Government of Quebec however, refused to sign the

document on the pretext that adequate guarantees were not

given to Quebec's interests and those of French outside the

province. In actuality there came into being an unequal

re 1 at ionship. Whereas the Federal government was

guaranteeing rights to the French in the country as a whole,

the Quebec government was asking for measures to minimize

the use of English within the province with a view to

restoring French uniligualism within the province.

The Parti Quebecois which came to power in 1976 on a

separatist platform passed the Bill 101 in 1977. This has

been called the "charter of the French language''. The

office de la Langue Francaise was established to promote use

of French in the work place and English was even banned from

signs in the province. Over the question of education the

Bill generated a lot of controversy. The Supreme Court had

to intervene in 1984 and declared void those parts of the

Bill that restricted from Anglophones the right to an

English education in Quebec. By a referendum of 1980 the

separatist designs of the party were also thwarted when the

66

provincial electorate voted 59.5 per cent against separation

of the Province.

Demographic trends of Canada and Quebec show a distinct

change in the percentage composition of Anglophone vs.

Francophone speakers. The percentage giving French as

mother tongue has declined from 18.1 per cent in 1961 to

l6.9 per cent in 1971 and !5.7 per cent in 1981. However,

in Quebec itself there was an increase from 81.2 per cent

in 1961 to 82.4 per cent in 1981. The total percentage of

Canadians who gave French as their mother tongue outside

Quebec has declined from 6.6 per cent in 1961 to 5.3 per

cent in 1981. In Canada, English is preferred by the

majority to be used at home (68.2%). Throughout the

twentieth century there has been a tendency to divide the

country on a territorial basis, a situation akin to that of

Belgium. The situation prevailing in Montreal is comparable

to that of Brussels where there French minority has a

superior position in comparison with the numerically strong

Dutch. Laponce has attempted to elucidate the core­

periphery relations prevlent in the region, taking the

language divide as a basis. 31 As mentioned earlier, the

immigrants, the majority of whom are Germans, Italians,

31. J.A. Laponce, op.cit.

67

Ukraianians, Portugese and Chinese generally view with

disfavour the unequal relations prevailing as far as French

is concerned especially outside Quebec. The feeling is

strongest in western Canada. Among the immigrants, English

is generally looked upon with favour.

French in Canada is disadvantaged as it has no

neighbouring country of Francophones to draw strength from.

French immigration to Quebec is negligible.

Though the language issue is one of prime importance in

Canada, it is unlikely to lead to fragmentation of the

country. 32 Similar examples of coexistence of Anglophone

& and Francophones can be had from Camroon and Vanuatu.

2.7 Africa

The processes of colonialism and neo- colonialism that

have been active over the subcontinent especially sub-

Saharan Africa have given to the whole region, with minor

variations, an outward uniformity and homogeneity as far as

language policies and prevalence of multilingualism is

concerned. As most African states have only recently emerged

from colonial status, the type of national consciousness as

32. For a detailed account see John Mallea, op.cit.

68

is prevalent in Europe is not generaly encountered here.

Though a limited degree of resistance and armed struggle

underlie any movement for independence, the struggle did not

take the shape encountered in India, Indonesia and certain

other Asian countries. It was more of a post World War II

phenomenon. Most African countries are thus not as averse

to retaining the languages of their colonial masters (in

most cases English or French) for transaction of official

business as also the medium of education. Within the

territory where it is understood, a tribal language or

vernacular would be the usual medium for day to day non­

specific communication. The two other languages that have

become very important are Arabic (especially in the

countries of northern Africa) and Swahili.

It has been said that more than a thousand languages

are spoken in Africa and of ten they are mutually

unintelligible. At different periods there have been large

movements of population which had resulted in a "Tower of

Babel" situation. In fact many Africans are themselves

multilingual but divisiveness over language was generally a

non-issue. When colonization of Africa, took place in the

eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, there did exist well

organised tribes like the Masai, Katanga, Oyo, Ashanti Tule

etc. There were extensive trade routes along the coasts and

69

routes to

religion -

the interior. Another pervasive entity was the

Islam especially in the north and along the fast

coast.

Prior to full scale colonisation, the major contact

with Europeans was through the medium of trade, especially

with the Portugese, English, Dutch and French and the areas

most in contact were the coastal regions. For communication

thus in this region, there developed a number of pidgins.

When the Europeans decided to carve up Africa amongst

themselves, most of the new colonies were arbitrary

creations.~ 33

The colonial administration had to thus first consider

a workable language policy. In most cases, the European

language was introduced in varying degrees at least for

administrative work. When to a large measure independence

was achieved in the latter half of the twentieth century,

certain features such as an European language and a

rudimentary infrastructure for administrative purpose was

generally encountered.

33. Hausa is found in Nigeria and Niger, Yoruba in Nigeria and Benin, Wolof in Senegal, Gambia and Mauritania, Fulani in West and Central Africa. The list is much longer.

70

In Africa today, a variety of linguistic

characteristics may the observed. According to Alexandre34 ,

there are four linguistically homogeneous states, all are

rather small, Rwanda, Burundi, Botswana and Lesotho, There

are states which are linguistically heterogenous but have

one or several dominant languages. Nigeria has Yoruba, Ibo

and Hausa, which could serve well for educational purposes

if only on a regional basis. Swahili is spoken extensively

in Tanzania35 and to a a lesser extent in Kenya and Uganda,

Nyanja in Malawi etc. Certain states have no immediately

useful language eg. Gabon, Mali, Burkino Faso etc. States

like Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cameroon Ivory Coast etc. have

greater linguistic heterogeneity. Here it is not surprising

that often the European language is the only form of

communication amongst the native elite.

A study of the colonial language polices may help

explain the linguistic scene prevailing on the continent at

present. Different colonial powers had different attitudes

towards the vernacular language and perception of the

language of official communication. The British, German and

Belgian colonies often made an attempt to learn the

34. P. ~lexandre, An Introduction to Languages and Literature in Africa, London, 1972.

35. Abdulaziz Mkilifi M H A, Triglosia and Swahili English Bilingualism in Tanzania, pp.129-49.

71

vernacular language and conduct official business at least

to a certain extent in that language. The French attitude

was different. They looked with contempt at all native

languages. France adopted similar language policies in its

colonies as at home.

The main aim of the colonisers as far as language

policies were concerned was to create a resource of low­

level functionaries for day to day administrative

functioning. British colonies: In the British colonies, the

English language was spread through a limited number of

schools. It was a subject of instruction rather than the

medium. It did not encourage a very high standard of English

proficiency. The few who graduated from secondary schools

where English was the medium of instruction were better

versed and it is from their ranks that the local elite came

to be constituted. The goal was the inculcation of values of

the colonial society and training of personnel to serve the

colonial state. The African subjects of the British

generally wanted their children to be educated in English.

This they got from some of the missionary schools, but the

missionaries were more keen to use the vernacular as medium

of instruction. In the twentieth century, colonial

educational system developed and English gained in

importance.

72

On independence, the former British colonies had

varying attitudes to the English language. Some felt that it

was an useful language and possibly the most important in

the world today and should be learnt for its value without

going into symbolic details. Others prefered to value

vernacular education to reach a large number of people.

The Belgians, like the British favoured a limited use

of the vernacular in education. Their goal was to keep the

African subservient and allow only a few access to French.

Thus, they encouraged, use of Lingala, Kikongo, Ciluba,

Swahili etc. in schools of the Belgian Congo. Belgians

working there were encouraged to learn verncular. The French

colonialism had a different attitude towards language.

Education was to be the same outside France as it was

within.

In the French colonies therefore, French was to be

language of instruction in whatever education was given to

natives of Africa. Mother tongues could be used only in

Koranic Schools for religions education etc.

Though initially a rarity, ability to speak French soon

became prestigious and the demand from parents for more

French education for their words grew. Generally, it was

73

spoken French and not real literacy that was given emphasis.

A very few speakers were encouraged to attain a high degree

of proficiency in the language.

However, unlike the English who never considered giving

equal status even to any educated natives, the French with

their concept of their civilizing missions, envisaged

awarding full French citizenship to any individual who could

provide evidence of being "civilised". French colonies were

regarded as a part of France itself.

Countries that were colonised by Portugal did not have

much contact with any European language. The German colonies

also were not much interested in the languages of their

colonial masters as the Germans carried out the bulk of

their administrative work through Swahili.

Many of the former colonies retain the languages of

their colonial masters. The areas of law, administration and

education are still the preserves of the colonial Language.

At times it takes care of ethnic conflict. Choosing a

vernacular may often give rise to factionalism. An European

language is generally a good neutral choice. Literature on

science and technology is more easily available in these

languages. English is winning many converts from French as

it is considered the language of progress and prestige.

74

English and French are learnt at school but languages such

as Arabic, Swahili, Wolof etc. are learnt outside.

After achieving independence, the government of each

sub-Saharan country had to make an immediate decision as to

the language it would use in internal communication.

The language were almost always English or French

barring Tanzania. The government of Tanzania chose Swahili

as the official language. Even countries like Burundi

.~ Lesotho and Rwanda chose an European language, Kirundi,

A_

Lesotho and Nyarwanda respectively. The European language is

generally declared as official language rather than the

national language.

The movement to designate more indigenous languages as

national languages proceeds slowly. Botswana designated

Setswana, Central African Republic - Sango, Ethiopia and

and Kenya substituted Amharic and Swahili respectively for

English and Nigeria adopted English and Hausa, the latter

only in the northern region.

Any move to promote use of vernacular languages must

~------~ take into account the fact many countries have may a dozen

or more of such languages. The potential for interethnic

conflict must be realised. In Africa several languages have

75

a widespread spatial distribution. Swahili is spoken in

Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Lingala ~

is spoken in Zaire and Congo, Kikongo is spoken in Zaire,

Congo and Angola, Peul is spoken in Mali, Burkina Faso,

Nigera, Benin, Cameroon. Other names may be added to this

list.

After the UNESCO Report of 1953, the use of vernacular

languages in education was published there has been

consdiderable pressure to promote vernacular languages in

different states of Africa, but till date the progress has

been slow and haphazard chiefly due to the multiplicity of

languages and their different stages of development.

2.8 Conclusion

Multilingualism is encountered throughout the world,

yet its character differs. In certain areas there is some

sort of harmonical coexistence of the different languages,

in others violent conflicts may result. In most of the South

East Asian and African countries multilingualism has not

resulted in separatist tendencies, whereas in some of the

developed countries like Canada and Belgium, language

tensions have threatened to break up the nation. Other

countries like USA prefers -to ignore the societal

76

multilingualism as far as policy matters go. While a country

like Singapore and the Basques in Spain choose to look for

other symbols of unity and identity, Canada and Belgium set

a great store by linguistic identification.

77