Language is generally defined as a tool of communication, cultural expression and creativity. The ability to speak is the result of human evolutionary process that took millions of years to materialize. There has never been a single language for diverse human communities. Linguistic differences are thus natural but, as history has also witnessed, they can also become sources of conflicts and animosity under specific historical conjectures.
There may be few countries in the world where language has created more problems than it solved in what is generally known as an ethnic-based federal system whereby language plays a key role in defining identity. There is a general consensus as to the need for reform of the federal system along democratic lines. The task of creating a balanced and equitable representation of linguistic entities within the federal system has also proved a daunting task as some academics and experts who studied the problems often maintain.
In the final analysis, the ongoing linguistic imbroglio in Ethiopian politics is hardly a man-made malaise. According to one view, “Like most African nations, Ethiopia brims with difference and diversity. Among our 100 million people, we have around 80 ethnic groups and nearly a hundred languages. These variations in identity form the centre around which much of today’s politics revolve. Ethiopia’s controversial federal structure is just one example of its attempt to recognize complex internal differences while remaining united.”
The above quotation perfectly summarizes the gist of the matter or the crux of Ethiopia’s politico-ethnic dilemma. A related complexity of Ethiopia federal politics is, according to the same view, the irrationality of Amharic being the sole national language. It says, And yet, among all this swirling diversity, one particular language has come to dominate this complex country. Unfortunately, it has also led to polarization and conflicts as when it comes to how linguistic diversity could be properly managed. This is highlighted by academicians who wrote about the issues involved. As one writer says, “Although the Amhara are just one of Ethiopia’s myriad ethnic groups – and only the second largest, accounting for 27% of the population in the 2007 census – Amharic has become the country’s official language. (This is a rarity in Africa, where most official languages are that of the former colonizer.)
“Across Ethiopia, regional governments may use different languages appropriate to their constituencies, but the federal government operates in Amharic. The vast majority of the population speaks Amharic, either as a first or second language. The nation’s working language in commerce is Amharic.
Those who studied the rise of Amharic to the status of national language tell us that Emperor Teweodros was the first to make Amharic a literary language, elevating it into written form and that Emperor Haile Selassie declared Amharic Ethiopia’s official language. The ideology behind the policy was to create a centralized homogenous state. Amharic was treated as a symbol of unity, and language was utilized as a tool for nation-building. Many, however, criticized the way in which it forced people to assimilate. They felt alienated by the favoring of one Ethiopian language above all the nation’s vast array of others.
These is of course the narrative that was later on taken up and reinforced by the so-called ethnic nationalists who saw in the making of Ethiopia’s linguistic history not a natural phenomenon but a plot to make one language shine above the others and led to political oppression.
This narrative may have some truth in it but not the whole truth. The main intention or motive behind making Amharic a kind of “superior language” may be although this may by untenable in reality. Whether a historical injustice was done or not, the main task at hand now is how to rectify this injustice and let the wound of the past heal be replacing the alleged monopoly of Amahric as a national language and replace it with an alternative that reflects the linguistic diversity the country is endowed with.
As many people agree, “the ideology behind the policy might indeed have been to create a centralized homogenous state and that Amharic was treated as a symbol of unity, and language was utilized as a tool for nation-building. Many, however, criticized the way in which it forced people to assimilate. They felt alienated by the favoring of one Ethiopian language above all the nation’s vast array of others.”
As another critic says, “Today in Ethiopia, the legacy of this history lives on. Amharic has become the country’s lingua franca and one has to master it to climb the political ladder. The language dominates politics, education and the media. It is generally perceived to have more prestige than other local tongues.”
Whatever the case may be, the present has more urgency than the past. As there are many critics of the so-called dominance of Amharic over the other languages, there are also more balanced minds that are trying to have a realistic and more sober perspective on the issue. As one writer noted, “Managing linguistic diversity in such a multilingual country is an integral part of a nation-building process. Failure to do so will result in instability, civil wars and disintegration of the country.
“The history of Ethiopia shows that language policy, political movements and civil wars are closely related. For instance, the question of language identity was one of the reasons for the 1960’s anti-government movement by university students and people from all walks of life. The different ethnic groups had felt that the language policy of the time was discriminatory.”
There is actually a consensus around the issue of making more languages working languages of the federal government in order to end the perceived monopoly position of Amharic. This consensus also involves the need to reform the federal system of governance itself so that it would serve the needs and aspirations of modernizing the country by overcoming past linguistic or other political inequities.
This is actually the vision that has been articulated by the federal government in order to remove the cracks and fissures that have appeared on the façade of the federal system that in turn led to unnecessary strains and stresses that cost the nation a great deal. According to a recent report, preparations are nearing completion to legally and/or constitutionally approve the inclusion of Afan Oromo, Tigrigna, Somali and Afar languages as federal working languages in addition to their being the national languages of their respective territorial, demographic and political constituencies.
The work of democratizing the current federal system would not however end here. It would also involve the cracks that have appeared on the way elections will take place in the future. Important amendments are expected to be made by the winning party after the election. The face of the new parliament will also be different from the rubber stamp institution of the past. Debates within the House of Representatives will also be radically changed so that all representatives would have equal opportunities to air their views and influence policy decisions. In short many surprises are in store for next September when the new parliament will convene with new faces and new policies.
The post-election time will unquestionably be a very busy time for whichever party is going to win the ballots. For those who think that electoral victory is about a time of enjoying “the booties of power” as in the past, the complexities Ethiopian politics provides a lesson to the contrary and a warning that electoral victory is about more work than rest and recreation. In fact there has never been a time of recreation even for those who in the past, arranged their victories in whichever way they wanted it. Anyway, things are expected to be different this time around and campaign as promises would be closely watched by freer and more critical media. Demagogy and empty rhetoric of the past will certainly give way to serious reckoning as many things will not be business as usual.
Ethiopia is an exceptional country of immense abundance and opportunities as well as outstanding problems and challenges. Fast forward to September 2021, what are the daunting tasks the victorious party or coalition of parties is going to face? Rising inflation, growing unemployment because there will be more mouths to feed than hands to work with, closing the gap between the haves and the haves not, use impatience, constitutional amendments, building a democratic federal system…the list might be longer indeed.
A plan is underway to add four more languages to Amharic in order to create a linguistic system that would unite the nation and its people than divide them. This will no doubt be one of the hardest bets in Ethiopian politics, post-election.
The Ethiopian herald 13/2021
BY MULUGETA GUDETA
