Africa is home to over 2,000 of the world's estimated 6,000 spoken languages, meaning the continent accounts for 1/3rd of spoken languages. A huge social capital if utilized well.
UNESCO, however, has expressed fear that if care is not taken, half of the world languages (spoken presently) will extinct by the end of the 21st century. The West African region is set to lose 50 of its languages by the end of the century. Evidences of language extinction are obvious. Many ethnic minority groups have being assimilated by major ethnic groups like Themne, Mende and Krio. For instance, the number of Limba and Loko speaking groups are observably dwindling, majority of whom are now speaking Themne-- the dominant group in the North and West of the country. It's also hard to come across people who speak Vie language (I am not sure the spelling is correct) and other minority groups. Some of our Fula relatives (early settlers) that made contact with the Themnes in the North in the early 19th century also suffered similar consequences, the abandoning of their language- this could result to strained relationship with their fula relatives who would enter the country in later years. They discriminated against each other (many say the later entrants couldn't accrue their predecessors the full trust they deserve).
But here is one thing you should note about the Fulas, we are a predominantly herding group with hardly any specific homestead or regional origin. Most accounts of us say we originated from Tekrur, Senegal (several other accounts giving us different origins also exist) . Of course we are a negro ethnic group. Our skin colour/tune of our skin is purely African. Being herders, traders, and Islamic scholars, we hardly could settle down in one specific area. Hence, something should be done to preserve our language lest we are assimilated and extinct. A feeling of insecurity (over possible loss of language) surely could strike such a nation, the result is what we see today: a structural phenomenon called conservative/traditionalism enforced through dignification and honoring of conservatism, especially in terms of marriage. Hey, but let no one tell you it has been so all the time. Before now, religion has been used as a criteria for qualification (especially for the girl child). That would explain why so much Intermarriage is seen occuring between the Fulas and Mandinka people (my maternal grandmother, for instance, is Koranko). Today, it's not uncommon to see Fula women given in marriage to other nations, too; the same with the men, many are taking other nations for wife. Islam is bridging that gap (Islam is deeply entrenched in the Fula tradition).
So the claims about our conservatism is to some extent not true. Yes, true, we mostly emphasize marriage between family members or tribesmen, but marriage intermarriage is also allowed and widely practiced. We however should not make irrelevant the consequences of both choices. Family marriage has its medical as well as its social disadvantages, but to every advantage there is/are advantage(s).
I can argue that the Conservative nature of the nation has to a greater extent helped save its language from extinction. Being a predominantly herding group with nomadic tendencies, the group will risk losing its language and eventually cultural tenets if it practices more of Intermarriage than family marriage. The Fula ethnic group, unlike many other groups, hardly have metropolitan dominance to influence other minority groups into their culture. The few strategic locations they have managed to establish dominance (in terms of number) are mostly suburbs or village settings with lesser economic activities to attract settlers, especially the Sierra Leone context. Hence, they are mostly forced into assimilation for business and social gains. That's the case why majority of Sierra Leonean born Fulas cannot speak Fula; likewise majority of Nigerian born Fulas (they mostly speak Hausa Language). You now start to understand why the Themnes, Krios, and Mendes have withstood the test of time to be the dominant cultures in Sierra Leone. Most metropolitan areas are in their hold. As such, acculturation processes would favour them at the expense of minority groups, like the Fula, Limbas, Loko, etc.
Intermarriage (as within the same nation) is one way to save a language from extinction, especially in our fastly urbanizing societies of today. Every group has right to their identity and belonging. One should feel confident to speak the language their parents speak; they should be proud to be uniquely gifted with a language thay embodies the historical struggles and achievements of their fathers and forefathers. One's language should be a blessing and not a liability. We need to feel confident about whom we are. As noted by UNESCO:
"Every language reflects a unique world-view with its own value systems, philosophy and particular cultural features. The extinction of a language results in the irrecoverable loss of unique cultural knowledge embodied in it for centuries, including historical, spiritual and ecological knowledge that may be essential for the survival of not only its speakers, but also countless others."
Hence, as suggested by Anthony Woodbury (n.d.), languages are an embodiment of cultural, spiritual, and intellectual life of nation, any alterations to this will directly impact the way such people experience prayers, myths, ceremonies, poetry, oratory, technical vocabulary, unique terms of habits, behaviour, and emotions. The loss of such a culture is mostly accompanied by struggle to fit in properly. For instance, a Fula would hardly sound exactly as a Krio in accentuating Krio, or exactly like a Themne or Mende in accentuating those languages. When you realize you are not completely English or Krio and are also far lost from your true ethnic identity, you then would struggle to refashion a new culture for your family to make them more socially confident. But in either case, they will struggle more in enhancing the required language skills to compete with those who are truly English or Krio. This is the case of our education system in Sierra Leone, you realize that we spend years in school learning how to speak English, while our Western counterparts spend those years mostly learning livelihood skills or technical support knowledge. In Sierra Leone, for instance, competency is measured in terms of one's level of fluency in English and not necessarily the quality of human capital produced to transform the society.
As Anthony Woodbury would also warn: "Some say that language loss is an inevitable consequence of progress and promotes understanding among groups. But this goal can be met by the learning of second and third languages, not by the loss of first languages. As anthropological linguists have shown in a variety of cases, language loss is far more directly a consequence of intolerance for diversity, particularly when practiced by the powerful against the weak."
Therefore, instead of putting pressure on a minority group to abandon their conservative practice (as in marriage), we should encourage people to learn their culture and maintain their cultural heritage. We also should create necessary sociopolitical atmosphere for languages to strive whilst at the same time promoting intercultural understanding and respect. We should encourage communities to fashion alphabets and symbols to facilitate learning and preserving their language. We should encourage multilingual formation for respect and understanding. You would learn to understand and respect a group (the more) when you learn their language (language is the backbone of culture). It has its social as well as economic potentials.
The problem of Africa is not its diverse languages, but the bad policies and the lack of leadership. Don't let someone deceive you info thinking that another nation is your threat. Our actual threats are our attitudes, with which we impact our younger generation of leaders. We need to teach our children to respect others; we need to teach them that success is not measured in terms of how many cars or homes you own, but by how impactful you are to your society. We need to teach them to be just and God fearing (not just being prayerful). We need to teach them that the country is greater than your ethnic group and your self desires. We must teach them to be charitable and helpful towards each other. And most importantly, we must teach them to be disciplined and honest.
The Conservative nature of the Fulas is not the cause of our bad governance; it's not the cause for our failing economies; it's not the cause of our bad roads and poor infrastructure; it's not the cause of unemployment or poverty; and it's surely not the reason why we should deny them the right to political franchise and association. Yes we have a people with superiority complex (narrow mindedness), but I assure you majority are tolerant. In fact, over 50% of our people cannot speak the language, which is not bad for the republic. But we also should be mindful of the pressure we exact on minority groups to blend with majority groups. We should think about the consequences to such a group.
~Amadu Wurie Jalloh
