BURKINA FASO: For Greater Literacy, Go Local
Tiego Tiemtore
OUAGADOUGOU - In 1990, Burkinabe linguist Benoit Ouoba used his own funds to set up a teaching programme with a difference: it focused on using local languages to develop literacy, rather than the customary French.






http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=30339

This is great. It helps speed up literacy and learning for all of Burkinabepeople. And best of all it was started locally, where you understand the true needs and now expanding nationally. This is in my opinion, the makings of proper strides towards the future.

I am about to buy Ngugi Wa Thiongo's decolonising the African Mind which alsodeals with the importance of language and culture. I thought of this thread because it proves what many conscious African academics have been saying for decades now, we are better off getting rid of colonial languages in Africa and learning in our own respective languages.

Apart from a few minority countries in Africa such Nigeria, Congo(Brazzaville) Cameroon, Ivory Coast etc, most countries actually do have one national language that connect them all out of the tribal ties.

I don't understand why many of us ignore this important factor that we will have to face sooner or later. Its obvious that our progress is and has always been hindered by our love of languages that were forced upon in our own countries. Personally i do not think we will ever complete our independence if we do not deal with the language issue once and for all.