Focus : Rwanda’s bi-lingualism; French lost in translation

Failing to sustain a conversation with a Francophone Rwandan on many occasions The Sunday Times George Kagame visited several language schools in Kigali and found out why many urban dwellers in Rwanda are joining them. Is it to fit in with the Jones, the need to take advantage of the East African Community or simply just adventure? “I didn’t grow up speaking my ancestral language - Kinyarwanda and English; in fact I only began speaking it recently,” says Anita Mugabe, one of the language students at Amahoro Stadium. The language school at the stadium is one among many small groups of other centres set up in all parts of the country. Most of these gatherings, for one reason or another, are trying so diligently to learn a second language. At most community gathering centres in many of Rwanda’s urban centres, are posters mounted on walls and electricity poles advertising language lessons in ‘Kicyongereza’ or ‘Igifaransa’. Some have gone an extra step using radio commercials to attract anyone interested in learning ‘an international language.’ Today the country, at least unofficially, has almost two distinct yet mutual lingual communities; Anglophone and Francophone. Many at times have lost to job interviews because they cannot speak either English or French-even when they have other necessary skills and qualifications. Rwanda like Australia is being trapped in the language of the ‘Default Country’; living in one country, and using the language originating in another. Mugabe was born and bred in DR Congo; she only relocated to Rwanda when she got employment in what is commonly known as an Anglophone company. To maintain her job, she had to take on English lessons. For Robert Uwayesu learning French in a Remera building next to Hitech Hotel is a priority. ”French is very important in Rwanda because most of the archival documents in my office and many other offices in the country are in French, therefore it essential.” Uwayesu used to study French at the Rwanda-French Cultural Centre, now defunct. However, speaking to one Rwandan who speaks French, he was displeased that the official language of the country has been pushed out by English; he argues that Rwanda should not be different from other African countries where colonial languages are still used as official languages. “And it would be wrong to deny the insecurities niggling away at some of us. Awkward questions like how and why the language has not been retained….And there is the shame which, unbidden, wrongly insinuates itself into our answers.” Peter Kabera an Anglophone studying French says he is studying it because he just enjoys it, “Some of us want to just know it. For some, it’s a constant reminder of how tenuous is an indigenous identity, without a language -- other than the discourse of politics - with which to affirm it.” However, many Rwandans still find difficulty in learning French, says Claude Habimana, a French teacher at Amahoro stadium. He says there’s an element of psychological alienation too, “I think, in using French language to render the sounds of words and tongue twisting is interesting.” He says it is more challenging for people who spoke English as their first language, “It is more fun when one with a Kinya-rwanda accent tries so much to learn French. Of late, as English language begins to be valued as cultural capital, it also becomes part of the exchange between societies, and the business of cultural specialists. There’s no statistical data available to show the percentage of Rwandans that can speak French or English, according to the Education Sector Review 2005, it is clear, given the economic dynamics of the region with few jobs opening for young adults, the education sector aims at developing a bilingual immersion program to develop the students’ comparative advantage in accessing international jobs in the region. Their ultimate goal is to keep these young people in the region, for economic vitalization, by developing businesses and corporate organizations operated in both French and English.Some commentators and academia refer to all this as a kind of battle for Rwandan identity. But the only battle visible is the one between the dialects. Absent are conversations on the impact of English on the fate of Kinya-rwanda. The current trend in Rwanda’s employment sections which has placed so much importance on fluency in English or French will taint the ultimate understanding of the true Rwandan identity. In trying to become Anglo or Francophone, most effort has been placed on professional or social advancement higher than promoting cultural and linguistic heritage-not that any local sociolinguist should take notice, of course. The positive note here is that the ability of Rwandan Franco-Anglophone people to get along well is evidence of the success of the much referred to Global village. To be an integral part of such a place involves acquiring a solid sense of your own language and culture first. Rwanda is slowly but surely getting anglicised for all the good reasons. However there could be some behaviour that might never fade away from the country’s midst. As an example, the French are ‘very lovely and very romantic’, taking their time to enjoy the luxuries of life. They tend to ‘appreciate’ an almost aristocratic life, while the English or Anglophone are always running around, speaking with a fast drawl and giving little attention to detail especially how they dress. Most Francophone women wear makeup and always care about how they appear before the public. There are banks, offices you walk in to in Kigali and you wonder how much time these women spend decorating themselves as though they are brides. There is no problem in doing that, but at the same time, this may explain the late coming and laxity to open offices after lunch. Anglophones are sometimes more aggressive and never seem to have a lot of time on them as their counterparts.However, whether Rwanda is Anglo or Franco, the economy is steadily growing and bi-lingualism should just be embraced and held in high esteem because it holds Rwanda and Burundi at a higher advantage in the region. Ends