| ID | 172348 |
| Title Proper | Democratic Republic of the Congo’s linguistic temptation |
| Other Title Information | a comparative analysis with Rwanda’s switch-to-english |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Eyssette, Jeremie |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | The aim of this article is to assess whether the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) is likely to upgrade the status of English by constitutional or educational means. Indeed, neighboring countries such as Rwanda and Burundi adopted English as their official language in 1996 and 2014, but less writing in English is devoted to a potential linguistic transition in DR Congo, the most populous French-speaking country. This article will gauge DR Congo and Rwanda against the four criteria that arguably triggered Rwanda’s switch-to-English: historical factors in current linguistic trends; the role of charismatic leaders in sudden language policy changes; language-in-education policies; and economic incentives. The results of this interdisciplinary investigation into the language dynamics of the Great Lakes region indicate that, reflecting the vehicles of DR Congo’s domestic and regional evolutions, its leaders might be tempted to enhance the status of English as an official language in a way that, contrary to Rwanda’s radical switch-to-English, is more compatible with other languages. |
| `In' analytical Note | Journal of Asian and African Studies Vol. 55, No.4; Jun 2020: p.522–535 |
| Journal Source | Journal of Asian and African Studies 2020-06 55, 4 |
| Key Words | Rwanda ; Democratic Republic of the Congo ; East African Community ; Official Languages ; Switch - to - English ; Language - in - Education Policies |