Language Policy of the Colonial Authorities in Congo Using the Lingala Language as an Example

One of the urgent problems of African studies is related to the description of the language policy of the colonial authorities in Africa. The expansion of Portugal, France, Belgium, and England to the African continent had not only political and economic consequences, but also influenced the culture and languages of Africans. The article is devoted to the language policy of the colonial authorities of France and Belgium in the Congo, using the Lingala language as an example. Its implementation was conditioned by the complex ethnolinguistic situation in Central Africa. The origin of the Lingala language dates back to the second half of the 19th century, so the description and study of its history is closely related to the colonial period in Africa. The origin and development of the Lingala language is in many ways similar to the history of other new languages of the colonial era, but it is the most representative. The paper provides a detailed analysis of several hypotheses of the origin of this language. The article describes the language reforms carried out by Catholic and Protestant missionaries in relation to the Lingala language. The role of missionary organizations in Africa in the field of education and in the choice of the language of education and science is analyzed. Currently, the language situation in the developing countries of Africa is difficult and painful due to historical reasons and the peculiarities of the ethnolinguistic situation.