It is not me who posed the rhetorical question. It was Jody McIntyre, writing in the British newspaper, The Independent. McIntyre, unlike me, is not fighting for the promotion of the Setswana language. But what he does successfully is rant against the British monarchy and imperialism.
For him, the British monarchy is the symbol of British imperialism. “The same imperialism which continues today through our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, our soldiers stationed across the world, and the superiority complex that stipulates “we” must show “them” how to live their lives.” What arrested my attention however were not his views on imperialism.
It was his identification of the role played by language in countries such as Botswana and Swaziland. He writes: “Is it only me that finds it strange that countries from Botswana to Belize, and from Sierra Leone to Swaziland have English as an official language?┬á Could we ever imagine this being acceptable the other way round? ┬á
Setswana being declared the official language of the United Kingdom? ┬áOf course not.” To his first question, my answer is this, “Mr. McIntyre you are not alone. The bizarre state of affairs continues to torment the citizens of Botswana. We have elected men and women into parliament and for the past 45 years, they have failed to ensure that the Setswana language becomes an official language of Botswana.” It could never happen and it is beyond imagination to have Setswana as the official language of the United Kingdom. The proud English men and women would not allow it.
The mighty British forces would go to war to defend the British badge ÔÇô the English language. It would be un-British, unpatriotic, treasonable and scandalous to even imagine another language functioning as the official language of Britain. Even French.
This reminds me of the views expressed by Richard Chenevix Trench of the Philological Society in November 1857 in a paper titled, On Some Deficiencies in Our English Dictionary. Winchester writes that Trench together with his contemporaries was persuaded that: “some kind of divine ordination lay behind what seemed then the ceaseless dissemination of the English language around the planet. God ÔÇô who in this part of London society was held to be an Englishman ÔÇô naturally approved the spread of the language as an essential imperial device; but He also encouraged its undisputed corollary, which was the worldwide growth of Christianity.
The equation was really very simple… the more English there was in the world, the more God-fearing its peoples would be.” That is the voice of men who believed in the importance of their tongue. Such voices seem to be lost locally amongst some of our political leaders and those whose opinion matters.
However, this hasn’t been always the case. The 1977 education commission chaired by Prof. Torsten Husen, Director of the International Education, University of Stockholm, Sweden, had at the core of its recommendations an aim to redress the historical imbalances brought about by Botswana’s position as a British protectorate.
Torsten decried the debilitating colonial effects on the country: “Not surprisingly, the institutions and culture of the colonial power were imposed on the country. To some extent the indigenous culture became submerged and many Batswana were encouraged to believe that their own cultural inheritance was inferior to that imported by the British.
With Independence has come the opportunity to reassess this situation, to reassert the national identity, and to build a society which gives expression to the noblest values from the past” The professor was right then, and his statements are relevant now. Torsten argued further: “Language is one means by which cultural identity is strengthened, but education provides other ways to inculcate in every Motswana a sense of pride in and identification with his or her cultural heritage. …
The education system should orient young people toward the social, cultural, artistic, political and economic life of their unique society and prepare them to participate proudly in it”. That was 33 years ago in 1977. The 90s were different. Fragmentation of the country became rife. The matter of national unity came under tremendous challenge and stress.
It was no wonder that the Kedikilwe commission observed: “The Setswana language is not viewed as an important factor in the contemporary economic and cultural life of the country and it is not seen as a vehicle for secondary or even tertiary education.” Those were cutting words of human lostness ÔÇô they articulated images of the prodigal son recklessly wasting away his heritage on a foreign land.
From then forward, we have been like a ship without a rudder, traversing the choppy cultural waters of the 21st century without direction.
Even the South Africans who attained their independence in 1994 have been bolder, establishing 9 official African languages to function in their country. Their system is an imperfect one, but it demonstrates their resolve on African languages. When shall we be bold men and women ÔÇô and cease to oscillate and prevaricate? Currently our language leaders are not our members of parliament. No, those are weak and ineffective. We are still waiting for a spark of brilliance from one soul.
Our language leaders are the artists. They are our local poets such as Moroka Moreri and musicians, with a guitar and a microphone. They are the hip hop artists such as Eureka the cover boy (Ka Setswana ba re o leka Modimo), HT, and HHP. They are the jazzy sounds of Lister Boleseng, Shanti Lo and Mr. Rain.
The future of the country’s language has been left in the hands of teachers who toil under large classes and BEC and union politics. Ba lemogile fa setlogelwa ‘tsatsing se ikisa meriting, e bile maropeng e se maleng mme go boelwa.
We lack a robust national language research centre. We are still dazed by the diamond sparkle to see the critical importance of our tongue. There is no greater heritage than a people’s language and culture. The mines will get depleted. The cars and buildings will waste away. If we fail our children and their children now by neglecting our tongue, we deliver them to an uncertain future ÔÇô a hostile tomorrow, in which they will be forever foreigners.
Let this be a lesson and a warning to all of us. Times of indecision are over.
The time to establish Setswana as Botswana’s national language is long overdue.
