Over the independence holiday break I was pleasantly surprised to see some beautifully designed adverts of the different RB2 programs. These are showing on Btv. Whoever worked on those ads is a genius! They are clean, modern and catchy. For a while I thought someone had changed the channel.
It was only when the not-so-beautiful RB2 logo appeared after the stunning ads that I realised that I was still watching Btv. Yes I don’t like that RB2 logo ÔÇô there is nothing fresh about it. Someone please change it. I must say I am seeing consistent improvement of the government media ÔÇô especially in terms of design. Kutlwano magazine has been a front runner in this regard. The once dull magazine is now the best magazine nationally ÔÇô I think Russ Molosiwa deserves a Presidential Meritorious Award. He has dedicated his entire life to transforming Kutlwano magazine into the splendour that it is today. The daily news is also improving and sometimes I prefer it to the Mmegi daily especially that it is free. It can do better though in news coverage and I am hopeful that it will continue to improve.
While I was impressed by the RB2 program adverts, I was left wondering whether they are not sending a wrong message. I watched as bana ba rona ba bapatsa their programs. They are young people, most of them in their mid twenties. They are articulate and polished and I could recognise one of them from my fourth year Semantics class. RB2 is a commercial station which brings some money to the government coffers. One thing that has never ceased to amaze me is how the commercial qualities of RB2 have been linked to the English language. It seems that RB1 is not commercial ÔÇô therefore mainly in Setswana while RB2 is a commercial station which is mainly in English. Contrary to popular belief, I actually don’t think English makes much business sense in Botswana. It may indeed be true that big businesses may be led by highly educated people who may prefer English especially if they are expatriates. These same powerful people are the ones who are most likely to put the adverts on the newspapers. However the adverts are not targeting the advertisers. They are instead targeting the semi-literate person who most of the times prefers to code-switch, code-mix and speak in Setswana. It is these peculiar language practices of language mixing which advertisers must use and target. Two key companies which I have seen exploiting these unique linguistic capabilities of Batswana are Mascom and bMobile. Ntshware, Nshape, mphamphe e a lapisa… are some of the few language usages which I have observed which tap on the local culture. RB2 as a national radio station will do best to help demonstrate that the Setswana language is a mature enough language to conduct business in. I have seen some amazing Setswana adverts on SABC1 and heard some on Motsweding FM. These have demonstrated to me that we don’t have to go outside the Setswana language to do business. The language is rich; it just needs people who are skilled to create catchy and memorable ads. Such capability is also not beyond the skill of our talented advertising companies.
When I saw the amazing RB2 adverts, I was very impressed, but I wondered whether the same message couldn’t have been passed in Setswana. In any case the message is targeting you and me, that is, those who are native speakers of the Setswana language. I am always amazed by the idea of Batswana speaking to one another in a foreign tongue, which they understand poorly. I have taught English at university for many years. One thing that is not in doubt is that Batswana have an incomplete knowledge of the English language ÔÇô even the English majors themselves. Most of them are incapable of communicating exclusively in the English language without dropping some Setswana words in the middle of their sentences. Code mixing and code-switching are the order of the day. Sadly, they are also incapable to converse exclusively in the Setswana language as well. We have engineered an incompetent hybrid that is incompetent in both languages! Linguistically there is nothing shocking about this phenomenon; it just indicates the knowledge of two languages ÔÇô a scenario in which the second language was learnt before the mastery of the first language was complete; and the first language interfering during the learning of the second language. The matter is a source of headaches for those involved in language preservation since it means indigenous languages are not given enough space to flourish and develop. For those who militate for the mastery of the English tongue find the current language environment unhelpful since children turn to their native tongue before they master English. For the advertising agencies, the complex local linguistic environment is creatively interesting since there are no linguistic restrictions to individual creativity.
Advertisers can tap on both the Setswana and English idiom in the design of adverts. The best people to lead us in this area are perhaps government advertisers. Their adverts can capture and reflect the rich national linguistic environment. That is why I found the RB2 ads catchy but lacking the national language. Advertising agencies should learn from developments in South Africa where local languages are put to full use. Developments in the music industry are also informative. Some of the old bands such as Tribal Monks used to deliver their material almost exclusively in English ÔÇô and they didn’t make much business. Compare these to O icheke then you will understand why local languages are profitable.
