Cross-language communication in West Africa: An overview

Socio-economic development of Africa's human resources is tied to language policies that are undergoing global pressures. Though the languages of colonization are the official and dominant languages of education and communication, African countries recognize the importance of promoting their indigenous languages. This descriptive study is an overview of cross-language communication as it relates first to the colonial heritage and then to changes brought about by globalization. Themes explored include literacy, democratization, evangelization, judicial processes and media. Information was compiled from literature on translation and multilingualism in Africa, recent conferences and personal experiences. The focus is on Cote d'lvoire, Ghana and Nigeria, which are representative of the language situation in West Africa. A few references are also made to other sub-Saharan African countries so as to show the intertwined regional phenomena of translation and interpretation. Currently, technology is being applied to linguistics, translation and terminology of indigenous languages to build knowledge societies. Translation and terminology development are empowering speakers of African languages to participate fully in the development of their communities.