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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Language and Politics: On the Cultural Basis of Colonialism
Author:Jinadu, L. Adele
Year:1976
Periodical:Cahiers d'études africaines
Volume:16
Issue:63-64
Pages:603-614
Language:English
Geographic term:Africa
Subjects:languages
colonialism
Ethnic and Race Relations
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
History and Exploration
External link:https://doi.org/10.3406/cea.1976.2517
Abstract:Discussion of the claim, most powerfully made by Frantz Fanon, that language was and still is a potent vehicle for cultural and political domination in a colonial situation. Argued is that, although there is something in the claim that the structure and lexicon of one's language affects or influences one's perception of the world, it is a completely different thing to say either that those perceptions would be different were one to speak another language or that to speak another language was ipso facto to subscribe to a different world view or culture. This is to argue in effect that language is not primarily an agent or vehicule of racial and cultural imposition in the colonial situation. The paper also examines the contemporary relevance of the language question to the politics of post-colonial Africa. In this respect, emphasis is placed upon the implications of Fanon's discussion of the language question for the understanding of African politics and the place of Africa in the wider world community. Notes, French summary.
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