EXPOSITION OF DATA, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS
6.8 Respondents· proficiency in another indigenous language
6.9.6 Attitudes towards other Malawian languages, their speakers and the use of language on the radio, TV and in print media for mass
6.9.6 Attitudes towards other Malawian languages, their speakers and
wider means of mass communication among speakers of a common language than the use of English and Chichewa for grassroots communication as in the previous era. There was also a general view that the inclusion of local languages provided their native users with their own identity first before identifying themselves at regional or national levels through a second language.
The reasons that subjects gave for their attitudes towards other languages and their speakers were thus accommodating. The support for the inclusion of these languages for use in the mass media was based on sentimentalist arguments in the context of language development. A number of the respondents, particularly speakers of the non-Chewa dialect of Chinyanja and those ofYaoand Tumbuka origins, felt that the time had come to reinstate their language rights by including them as national languages. The communication argument was also advanced along with the value argument on the issue of the broader scope of indigenous languages.
Responses from adults, including parents and the general public, expressed stronger sentiments than those from learners in high school or in primary school. Adults seemed most concerned about the inclusion of their mother tongues in mass communication.
These were, to a large extent, sentimentalist and value-oriented feelings. When one respondent was asked how she felt about other local languages and their speakers, she said:
Let each group use its own language. I feel I am not myself without the use of my home language and among my people. I would thus also want it tobeused for communication on the radio so that our people in the village can know what is going on in the country. Chichewa was used like this for years; why not Chiyao, Chitumbuka to their respective speakers and my
language too? •
A considerable number of respondents claimed that they knew at least one more Malawian language or at least a smattering of it apart from their mother tongue. Some
claimed to be conversant with the three languages proficiently, especially the spoken mode.In a country where oral communication is widely used by the majority, this was most desired. We thus note that the reasons for the inclusion of local languages in mass communication were for practical exigencies, such as communication in the work place among speakers of a common language, for cultural identification, for pleasure and freedom of expression.
However, there were a few respondents who did not like the use of a diversity of languages in mass communication. They were particularly resentful of the ascendance of the Chinyanja dialect as opposed to the Chewa dialect on the radio. These were Chinyanja speakers of the Chewa dialect that was dominant under the former govemment. Besides, they detested the elevation of Chiyao, Chitumbuka, Chiyao, Chilomwe, Chitonga and Chisena as official languages. For them the Chewa dialect of Chinyanja was in a state humiliating retreat and heading for some form of relegation into oblivion. This was only understandable, given the symbolic role that Chichewa had in the pre-1994 period.
We have suggested that respondents' attitudes to Malawi's six main languages elevated to the official position - Chinyanja, Chiyao, Chitumbuka, Chilomwe, Chitonga and Chisena - were based on sentimentalism, and instrumentalist and communication values.
Sentimental and value attitudes are essentially intrinsic views oflanguage. This is in spite of the observation that almost all respondents expressed the wish to have their respective languages used on the radio and in print media. With regard to instrumental and communication attitudes, we could argue that these are extrinsic views of language, which serve private and public purposes.
From a cognitive perspective, attitudes seemed fairly similar among different groups towards particular languages and their groups. General members of different groups seemed to have judged the original need for the development of their mother tongues for self-expression and communication. There was also the broader argument that they would provide a focus for regional identity and subsequently a national identity. In a similar
vem, learners' and parents' attitudes towards English were based on reasons of expediency. They viewed it as a language of wider communication, particularly in education, international diplomacy, in political rallying and in the eventual attainment of national unity. They saw English as rising above ethnic affiliations and individual ethnolinguistic groupings.
While most respondents understood the reasons why the government chose a former colonial language, English, for documentation of all official records, they expressed dismay and strong opinions as to why a single local language achieved official and national status which, even after the 1994 democratic elections, played such a superior role in high domain functions. This, they argued, was because other indigenous languages were neither being developed nor given such a role, particularly in mass communication on the radio. This does not mean, however, that they were entirely comfortable with the role played by English. Occasional views were expressed by some who felt threatened by the dominance of English, but this did not amount to a general concern.
In view of the attitudes toward other local languages and their groups, it is the affective- conative variable that emerged showing Malawians' impassioned concern for the inclusion of indigenous languages in mass communication; they also felt that viable regional and national languages deserved a place in high domain functions. There is thus room to argue that both traditional and modernizing considerations demand some measure of equity and equality in the role that these languages should play along with English, the language of power. Traditionalists strongly expressed concern about cultural reasons of ethnic authenticity and preservation of these values, and used these as an argument for national unification. They saw that national unity was attainable from the respect accorded to each language, culture and its group, and a recognition of the
• diversity of languages and their cultures in harmonious co-existence.
Between what we have described as traditional and modem elements there was, however, little expression of ambivalence toward English. Respondents largely saw it as a dominant language having extrinsic merit. Leamers, teachers, parents and the public
generally viewed English as an important language in various spheres of life and with unquestionable international credentials. Thus, while they saw the value of indigenous languages at grassroots level and the need to develop them for ethnic affiliation and identity into nation-building, they also showed sufficient pragmatisminregard to the role of Englishinthe national life.
While a considerable number of respondents recognised and widely endorsed English as a significant language for instrumental purposes, many still felt that local languages, stilI played a crucial role, particularly in the work place. They therefore argued that the official view of relegating themto a secondary role was merely an illusion.
Crawhall (1992) (in Heugh (1993) notes that in Zimbabwe, people displayed a much stronger preference for the use of Shona, whereas initially speakers of Shona believed that English was the more important language in providing access to rewards. Besides, the rest of the Anglo-phone Africa has this attitude towards English. We might note that only Tanzania has a literacy rate of above 75% in its national language, krSwahili. This is largely attributed to Nyerere's Ujamaa philosophy, which empowered the majority of the population to use kiSwahiIiinparticipating fullyin the national life (Mbise, 1999).
We may also note that English language programmes have never proved successful in empowering marginalised communities anywhere (Tollefson, 1991).
Inthis regard, respondents felt that all viable local languages needed to be promoted and used in the work place to ensure that there was no undue ethnolinguistic advantage in security of employment for particular groups on account of any viable language's pre- eminence.