From: shemlon@occlusal.rutgers.edu (Shiyghan Shemlon)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african
Subject: Re: soc.culture.african.french
Date: 15 Dec 92 23:48:39 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

In article <1gho0gINNfri@sbusol.rz.uni-sb.de>, olinga@sol.cs.uni-sb.de (Guy Francois Olinga) writes:
> Salut!
> 
> J' ai 'et'e agr'eablement surpris par les nombreuses r'eactions
> `a mon article proposant la cr'eation d' un "nouveau" newsgroup
> soc.culture.african.french. Force est constater que beaucoup
> d' africains croient en UNE Afrique. Je ne peux que m' en rejouir.
> Ce parce que je ne trouve pas que nos a^in'es actuellement au 
> pouvoir ne nous montrent pas combien il est imp'eratif pour
> l' Afrique de former un tout pour pouvoir tenir t^et^e aux autres
> grandes puissances mondiales, dans tous les domaines j' entends. 
> 

TRANSLATION-------------------------------------------------------------

I was pleasantly surprised by the plethora of responses to my proposal
to creat a new news group for francophone Africans. I am happy to
realise that many Africans are thinking about ONE Africa. Our current
leaders have amply demonstrated the urgent need for such action from
Africans, if we are to sit at the same table with current world powers
in the world of tomorrow.

> N' allez pour autant pas croire que je n' ai pas vraiment
> pens'e ma proposition. Bien au contraire je croyais ainsi 
> permettre `a ceux d' entre nous qui ne voudraient pas se casser
> la t^et^e `a apprendre toutes les langues de faire entendre 
> leur voix. Toutes les langues parce que moi par exemple j' ai
> atteint la saturation quant `a ce qui est du nombres de langues
> (africaines et europ'eennes) que je peux parler ou 'ecrire. Ma 
> modestie en prendrait un coup si je les 'enumerais ici.
> 

TRANSLATION-----------------------------------------------------------

However do not leave with the impression that I didn't sufficiently
reflect before making my proporsal. On the contrary I was thinking
about those amongst us who would hate the inconvenience of having to
learn a zillion languages before being able to express their opinions.
I for one have reached the saturation point in the acquisition of
linguistic competence in both European and African languages. In
respect of the laws of human modesty I will refrain from listing all
the languages I know here.

RESPONSE **********************************************************
Dear Brother what can I say, I only wish that in this multitude of
languages that you have mastered, that you perfected your knowledge of
the ENGLISH LANGUAGE, because at the moment whether we like it or not,
it is the most important language in the world, perhaps until the year
2350 when Japanese will probably take over. I only hope African
languages will still be spoken then.

> Vous avez bien devin'e cher compatriote Shemlon, je suis Camerounais. 
> Je me garde d' ouvrir un d'ebat sur la r'ealit'e bilingue dans 
> notre pays. Je puis tout simplement vous rassurer que comme tout 
> bachelier de notre pays, j' ai d^u suivre des cours d' 
> anglais au moins pendant 7 ans. Malheureusement ces 
> connaissances ne me paraissent pas suffisantes pour pouvoir
> me sentir `a l' aise dans cette langue. Ceci s' est encore empir'e
> avec l' apprentissage obligatoire de la langue allemande que j' ai
> d^u faire pour ^etre `a m^em^e d' 'etudier en RFA. 
> 

TRANSLATION-----------------------------------------------------------

You guessed rightly fellow country man Shemlon, I am a Cameroonian.
I will not start a debate on the realities of bilingualism in
Cameroon, but I assure you as someone who schooled at home that I did
have 7 years of "English language training". Unfortunately despite
this, my knowledge in the language is still  not sufficient to inspire
confidence in my linguistic competence in this language. This has
again been worsened by the language requirements for those of us who
must study here in the FRG in the German language.


RESPONSE **********************************************************
I do agree with you dear brother that opening a debate on Cameroonian
bilingualism on this net may not be very wise. I will however remark
that the authorities have put things in place for any young
Cameroonian who wishes to be bilingual to achieve their goal. It is
only the laxity from some instructors and the negative attitudes of
some students that has made the 7 years  of language training an
exercise in futility. Those of us who have had the opportunity to see
the world should acknowledge the advantages of being multi-lingual
in the present day world and encourage young Cameroonians to take
advantage of what they are being offered because the country's future
also hinges on this. 
 
> Dans le fond, je suis convaincu par l' argument principal de vos
> r'eponses: UNITE DE L' AFRIQUE. Je me demande juste dans quelle
> mesure la structuration linguistique de notre groupe serait
> un frein `a cette noble aspiration. Certes l' Afrique a beaucoup
> de langues parl'ees. Mais combien d' entre elles sont aussi
> 'ecrites? Et quand bien m^em^e elles le sont, sont elles
> enseign'ees dans nos 'ecoles et lyc'ees? Que nous fassions
> un groupe dans lequel chacun peut s' exprimer dans la langue 
> de son choix ou que ce regroupement linguistique soit fait
> (pour peu que certains lecteurs le sollicitent), je trouve que
> ce n' est pas l`a que commence l' unit'e de l' Afrique. 
> 
TRANSLATION-----------------------------------------------------------

Deep inside me, I am convinced by your arguments for AFRICAN UNITY.  I
am only wondering in what ways the current linguistic structure of
Africa may slow down our noble aspirations. It is true that Africans
speak a multitude of languages, but how many of these languages are
written. And even in cases where they are, are they thought in
secondary and high school? I personally do not think that African
unity will come from a belonging to a single group where each and
every one can express themselves in the language of their choice and I
may belong to the minority that also believes that grouping of
Africans on linguistic lines will not destroy that unity either.

RESPONSE **********************************************************

  I sure beg to differ with you here dear brother. Africa is already
divided enough for us to continue dividing ourselves on linguistic
lines that are even alien to us.  If we take the opportunity of
turning this net into a mini confluent point where a few individuals
can take the pain of tranlating certain articles into different
languages (I will gladly do so if someone were to ask), we shall be
doing more towards acheiving African unity. Dividing ourselves on
European linguistic lines only helps to disunite us and promote
European hegemony.
  I agree with you that it is a pity that major regional and
international African languages are not being taught in African
primary, secondary and high schools. Some countries are waking up and
trying to correct this, but a lot still has to be done.

> L' occasion m' est d' ailleurs donn'ee de demander vos avis
> sur le probleme des langues en Afrique `a l' exemple du
> Cameroun. Ce pays de pr`es de 12 millions d' habitants est
> souvant pr'esent'e par les historiens comme 'etant "L' Afrique 
> en miniature". Ils en veulent pour preuve ses diversit'es 
> ethniques, climatiques, geographiques, ... et linguistiques.
> Eh oui! 12 Millions de Camerounais se partagent 230 langues
> (ou dialectes). Au nom de l' int'egration nationale, certains
> Camerounais estiment qu' il faudrait choisir une de ces
> langues (laquelle) pour en faire une langue nationale.
> Ce serait tuer notre patrimoine linguistique, estiment les
> adversaires de la premi`ere these.
> 
TRANSLATION-----------------------------------------------------------
I would like to seize this opportunity to ask your opinion on the
language problem in Africa. Taking Cameroon that many historians have
referred to as "Africa in miniature" as an example, we have about 230
different ethnic languages for 12 million people. ****I, Shemlon
believe the biblically famous tower of Babel might have been built in
Cameroon***. In the name of national unity many Cameroonians have
suggested that one of these languages should be chosen as the National
language, but which one should be chosen? The opponents of such an idea
believe such a move would be tantamount to the assasination of our
linguistic heritage.

RESPONSE *****************************************************
Many African countries experience the same problem and I believe this
is one of the reasons they all adopted European languages at
Independence because none of them was ready to lose their language in
favour of the other's. Surprisingly they all preferred to lose all
their languages in favour of the "whiteman's". In fact in Africa this
is the greatest evidence to support my claim that the European
brainwashing machinery was so effective that it continues to control
us to this day. One unfortunate thing about European colonization is
that it came too early. If you gave the turmoil in Africa around the
1600s two more centuries with no external interference, some large
empires would have been reconstituted and single languages would have
been built for large regions or ethnic agglomerations. Just remember
it took Charlemagne a couple of decades to build the French language
and a century more to consolidate it. There is evidence that this was
already happening. The example of Hausa in west Africa is evidence of
this. If you also study ethnic groups like the Nso in the North
West Province of Cameroon that started from a tiny group of less than
500 people around 1340 to roughly 1 million in 1990 you will see how
they linguistically assimilated the others. It is my belief that many
African languages that are spoken by less than 500,000 people
presently will eventually die out in favour of the stronger languages
(the law of the jungle is everywhere you know). I will suggest that
all these languages be seriously documented and kept as part of our
linguistic heritage just like we now view Latin, Aramaic, Ancient
Hebrew, Scottish, Welsh etc. In Cameroon I support the idea of some
intellectuals that regional languages be selected based on ethnic
numbers and taught in every region of the country and from this a
national language will be born. In addition I will advice that an
international African language like Swahili or Hausa be taught in case
Africa is united before the dream of linguistic integration is achieved
in Cameroon.

> Entout cas la question que j' aurais donc d^u poser serait 
> de savoir si l' on peut poster des articles ou des r'eponses 
> au sein de notre groupe dans toutes les langues.  De toute 
> 'evidences la r'eponse c'est donc oui. Je demande compr'ehension 
> `a ceux qui pensent que cette question n' aurait pas d^u ^etre 
> pos'ee puisque je suis lecteur du groupe depuis 2 semaines seulement.  
> A moins que des arguments pour une telle initiative se fassent 
> entendre plus fort,je me resouds `a participer aux debats 
> d' id'ees en francais.  
>
>
TRANSLATION-----------------------------------------------------------

I now think the question I should have asked should have been if one
could post articles in this news group, in any language of their
choice. From the responses so far received I think the answer is "yes".
I only started subscribing to this group two weeks ago, and so I would
ask those who didn't expect such a question to be understanding. Unless
I encounter any future opposition, I plan to participate in future
debates in French.

---- 
> > Guy F. Olinga Technische Fakultaet 
> 		Fachbereich Informatik 
> 		Universitaet des Saarlandes-RFA 
> 
>email: olinga@sol.cs.uni-sb.de 
>       olinga@minisun.cs.uni-sb.de

RESPONSE *****************************************************
Very well said brother. Will you be kind enough to translate a few
articles once in a while from English to French, for the benefit of
novices?



SHEMLON WO WAN WAN VIBAN
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.african,soc.culture.bangladesh