Language Planning from Below: An Example from Northern Malawi

Kamwendo, Gregory

doi:10.1007/s10993-005-3514-8

Cited by 17 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Malawi transitioned into democracy in 1994 and democratic leaders have been more accepting of chiTumbuka linguistic independence. The first democratically elected president, Bakili Muluzi, returned chiTumbuka to official language status and all presidents after Banda have accepted that speeches they give in northern Malawi will be translated into the language (Kamwendo ). Education policy has changed to allow first language primary education and chiTumbuka is now aired on Malawian radio (Lora‐Kayambazinthu ).…”

Section: English Chichewa and Chitumbuka In Malawian Political Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When the government moved from having primary school taught in English to first language primary schooling Chewa railed against the idea. They feared that it would reduce the quality of their children's English and therefore their economic opportunities and social status (Kamwendo ). Tumbuka however embraced the policy.…”

Section: English Chichewa and Chitumbuka In Malawian Political Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

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English, community and opportunity in northern Malawi

McNamara

2015

Australian J of Anthropology

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The use of English in a northern Malawian village often represents a challenge to local norms and morality. This article examines the cultural meaning of the Northern Malawian chiTumbuka language; initially examining how suppression of this language has served as an institutional technique for marginalising Northern Malawians. It then explores how Chewas (the dominant linguistic group) understand English as a language of opportunity, demanding English-based education for their children and code-switching into English as a sign of prestige. The article provides ethnographic evidence of the relationship between language selection and morality among the Tumbuka, the largest northern Malawian cultural group. It demonstrates that the reduced economic opportunities that English mastery provides a Tumbuka means that they cannot use speaking English to claim prestige. Instead Tumbuka associate their peers' English use with a collection of transgressions against a morality that is linked to rigid social hierarchies and a static culture. When speaking English, a Tumbuka was often seen, at the very least, to be clumsily social climbing. They were also frequently understood to be overtly challenging their elders' ability to guide development and to be questioning the need for the continuation of a Tumbuka language and culture. By exploring how language selection is interpreted as communicating these moral contraventions, this chapter builds upon the volume's analysis of how language constructs morality. It demonstrates that language selection interacts with factors like history and economic opportunity to communicate various moral positions.

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Section: English Chichewa and Chitumbuka In Malawian Political Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: English Chichewa and Chitumbuka In Malawian Political Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

English, community and opportunity in northern Malawi

McNamara

2015

Australian J of Anthropology

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“…The final note about HLE policy research in Africa concerns the prominence of nongovernmental organizations in the promotion of indigenous medium-of-instruction policies. Kamwendo (2005) recounted the role played by the Chitumbuka Language and Culture Association (CLACA) in raising the status of Chitumbuka in northern Malawi. Although the analysis of CLACA's advocacy goes beyond school-based HLE policy advocacy, Kamwendo identified the group's efforts to standardize Chitumbuka orthography and create textbooks as an essential step in implementing the language as the medium of instruction in northern Malawi schools.…”

Section: The African Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

International Comparative Perspectives on Heritage Language Education Policy Research

Bale¹

2010

Ann Rev Appl Linguist

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As awareness of the unique abilities and needs of heritage language learners has grown, so too has recent research deepened our understanding of the dynamic between language policy and heritage language education (HLE). In this article, I review HLE policy research conducted in various international contexts. I begin by reviewing ongoing debates in the policy literature over definitions and adopt a broad understanding of the term so that we can glean as much insight as possible from the comparison of international contexts. I then turn to six international regions and countries that have been the focus of recent HLE policy research. Within each region, I apply the analytic framework proposed by Ricento and Hornberger (1996) to differentiate the multiple levels at which language policy functions. Finally, I identify common themes emerging across the research in these varied contexts and conclude with suggestions for future policy-oriented HLE research.

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“…There are approximately 18 languages spoken in Malawi: Chichewa, Cisena, Cilomwe, Ciyawo, Citonga, Cisenga, Cingoni, Citumbuka, Cilambya, Cinyika, Kyangonde, Cisukwa, Cindali, Cimambwe, Cibemba, Cinamwanga, Cnyakyusa, and Citumbuka-Citonga (CLS 2010: 40). This policy focus on English and Chichewa has resulted in a situation in which other Malawian languages, and speakers of those languages, are marginalised (Kishindo 1994;Kamwendo 2005). Ghana has 79 indigenous languages, of which nine are government-sponsored languages: Akan, Dagaare, Dangme, Dagbani, Ewe, Ga, Gonja, Kasem, and Nzema; and English as the official language (Dzahene-Quarshie & Moshi 2014; Yevudey 2017).…”

Section: Introduction and Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Language policy in Ghana and Malawi: differing approaches to multilingualism in education

Reilly¹,

ResCue²,

Chavula³

2022

JBA

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Despite substantial international evidence that children learn best in a language which they understand, language-in-education policies in much of Africa do not effectively accommodate the range of languages found in the classroom, instead prescribing dominant national languages and/or colonial languages such as English. Further, these language policies continue to reflect a monoglossic conceptualisation of languages and do not adequately account for the multilingual repertoires of individuals and communities. They do not reflect an understanding of the ways in which multilingual language practices could be harnessed for education. This article provides a comparative overview of the policy context in Malawi and Ghana, at the levels of legislation, practice, and attitudes. Through interviews, questionnaires, classroom observations, and classroom recordings in primary schools, we highlight the multilingual realities of educational spaces in each country. We highlight that, despite different sociolinguistic and legislative contexts, there are similarities between these contexts which emerge as important factors when considering multilingualism within education.

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Language Planning from Below: An Example from Northern Malawi

Cited by 17 publications

References 9 publications

English, community and opportunity in northern Malawi

English, community and opportunity in northern Malawi

International Comparative Perspectives on Heritage Language Education Policy Research

Language policy in Ghana and Malawi: differing approaches to multilingualism in education

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