The challenges of dropping French

Rica Rwigamba started learning English when she joined senior five in Kenya. She says it was difficult but not impossible to learn the queen’s language. Like many Banyarwanda, Rwigamba was born in exile but not in the Anglophone system like others. She was born in Kinshasha then capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As such French was the language of instruction in her early school years. But Rwigamba believes that learning English is easier than learning French. “I believe for the young generation, (the change) is going to be very easy but for the old generation, they may not necessarily find it easy to learn English”. However Rwigamba is optimistic, believing the policy has been adopted with what “we want for our children” in mind. She believes it is children and those who will come after us that are going to benefit from this “noble policy”. In the local language When one pays close attention to people speaking Kinyarwanda, one gets the impression that some French words are now embedded in some people’s daily Kinyarwanda conversations. Some have been wondering what the future will be like. But a number of people spoken to, believe this is immaterial and irrelevant; the policy was not adopted as a way of erasing everything in French but in the realisation that language can be a tool of production. And compared to French, English is seen as a superior tool of production internationally. At the same time many people seem to be used to French acronyms for organisations, be they in government, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) or in the private sectors. Sheila Umurerwa, 21, a Rwandan university student says, “I have spent most of my life time under the Anglophone education system and I have not had the opportunity to learn French. But at the same time, I find myself using French words when speaking my native Kinyarwanda. Some of these are abbreviations of organisations names.” Take for example ORTPN (Office Rwandais du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux), CAPMER (Centre d’Appui aux Petites et Moyennes Entreprise au Rwanda) or BRD (Banque Rwandaise de Développement); some of our most commonly used acronyms derive from French. BCR, Unilak, Ulk, BNR even FPR are all in French. Most schools in Rwanda have French names and Acronyms. Rwigamba contends that acronyms are simply a brand. So whether it is in English or French matters little. But with French so deeply imbedded, how easy will it be to completely move away from the French language and speech mannerisms? “People have an affinity to using French words in their daily conversations just like those from Anglophone countries use English words or expressions in the daily vernacular conversations,” says Umurerwa. Ends