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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Conflict of Ethnic Identity and the Language of Education Policy in Contemporary Ethiopia
Author:Wagaw, Teshome G.ISNI
Year:1999
Periodical:Northeast African Studies
Volume:6
Issue:3
Pages:75-88
Language:English
Geographic term:Ethiopia
Subjects:language policy
languages of instruction
Ethnic and Race Relations
Education and Oral Traditions
Politics and Government
External link:http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/northeast_african_studies/v006/6.3wagaw.pdf
Abstract:Ethiopia has more than ninety language groups. The current language policy has tried to cater for as many of these groups as possible by ensuring that children receive their first six years of education in their native tongue, and only then learn Amharic which, with more than a third of the population as native speakers, is the national language and has been since 1270, when it replaced Ge'ez. Between 40 or 50 percent of the population speak a variant of Oromigna ('gna' is a suffix indicating language). Tigrigna is spoken by about 6.07 percent, and there are three other languages with more than a million speakers: Somaligna, Guragigna, and Sidamigna. Amharic and Tigrigna are both closely related to Ge'ez, still the language of the Ethiopian Church. Of all the languages only Amharic, Ge'ez, and Tigrigna are written. Despite its numbers, Oromigna does not have its own alphabet and at the moment there is a controversy about whether it should be written in Latin or in Amharic script. Although it is good to teach small children in their mother tongue and praiseworthy to try to cater to all the different language groups, realistically it should be remembered that to succeed in life children will have to master Amharic. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]
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