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Janko
Gambia
1267 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Mar 2006 : 18:31:37
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The basics of dialog is to "look before you leap. To respectfully take part in a discussion starts with understanding the issue on the floor........the ethics of dialog and discussion. .......so please lets be constructive
gambiabev:
/---/Mandinka is, as that is the Majority language....but would that allienate other pupils that arent Mandinka more than english...I am not sure /---/ Is that not contradicting with .......I think most Gambians are incredibly skilled at languages, often speaking several.....
Please explain; what do you mean by "but would that allienate other pupils that arent Mandinka more that english"
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Clean your house before pointing a finger ... Never be moved by delirious Well-wishers in their ecstasy |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2006 : 19:46:25
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| I am not sure if Swahili can be considered an African Language. I came into contact with Swahili speaking people in Tanzania in 2001.You cannot but see that it is very Arabic. The counting and a lot of the words are not African. It is a blend betwen african and arabic. If we need a common language then it should be indegineous. |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
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kassma
334 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2006 : 21:03:50
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i think for Gambia, we really are in a good position. a lot of people are multilingual, choosing one or two languages to teach in school really should not be a big issue since it won't interfer with the languages spoken at home. i don't think it would be unfair if a child is taught in Mandinka and she or he is Serrer. i think that would be much healthier than english. and like someone mentioned here, english can always be thought on the side. but i feel that having our own languages will be one of the most important things we can do to stop this dependence on the west.
now a common language for all of africa would be great! what should it be, i don't know. i think we underestimate children a lot. if one language is chosen, or multiple ones (lets remember Africa is different from the west, we need to come up with our own unique education system) i think it would be pretty easy to teach children, by tv, school, music, children are sponges. |
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kondorong
Gambia
4380 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2006 : 22:34:51
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Teaching the local languages as the medium of instructions in schools is a dangerous idea. Right now all our languages are diluted. Wolof Mandinka etc are hardly spoken in their original form and to have some one to teach that language means all the techers have to go back to the class rooms. Do you know the cost of such an idea.
How much time do we have.
We are now in a Global Village and please do not take us back and loose in the international competition. I have no objection if the local languages are taught in school as a side subject.
Ask the tanzanians. They have learnt their lessons. many only speak Swahili in School until they get to College and it has affected them in terms of jobs. infact the senior public officials are taking their children to Kenya and Unganda to be schooled in English and they are the ones running the government in Tanzania.
It is a dangerous idea. Besides not all gambian speak the same language and so are our teachers. How about text books who will print them. How about the alphabet. Do you have one in place or are we sing the western characters. THIS IS A VERRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYY DANGEROUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUS IDEA AND SHOULD BE NIPPED IN THE BUD |
“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always.” |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2006 : 22:50:38
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I am finding this one of the most complex issues......
I think it is a key thing for the educators in gambia to acknowledge and make a decision on. These are very difficult but important decisions. |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 06 Mar 2006 : 22:52:58
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| Say as a Jola child, you may speak some Mandinka...but if you go to school and Mandinka is the main language that all subjects are taught through that MIGHT be more difficult and antagonistic for the jola child than being taught in English....I am not sure, I am just putting it forward as an idea. |
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kassma
334 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2006 : 02:46:51
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quote:
Originally posted by gambiabev
Say as a Jola child, you may speak some Mandinka...but if you go to school and Mandinka is the main language that all subjects are taught through that MIGHT be more difficult and antagonistic for the jola child than being taught in English....I am not sure, I am just putting it forward as an idea.
that doesn't make any sense, as a Jola child taught in Mandinka all her life, how will it be more difficult and antagonistic when she probably knows Mandinka people who have been speaking to her in Mandinka all her whole life. at least they're familiar with the language. in Gambia, nobody spoke english at home but it wasn't a problem to learn in english. if that was possible, how in the world will it be difficult for a Jola girl or anybody else to be taught in a dirent language when it already happens. gambiabev, honestly, think about what you're saying, try and really think about what you are saying cause it does not make any sense and it is prejudice if you think about it. |
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Janko
Gambia
1267 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2006 : 12:28:49
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English is not a common language in the Gambia.
The percentage of Gambians speaking each others language is much higher than the percentage of Gambians speaking English. The languages in the Gambia are not as isolated from each other as some of the implications herein would like us to believe.
Secondly the Gambian languages are much closer to each other than anyone of them to English. Why should English be more unifying and less alienating than Gambian languages? The languages spoken in the Gambia share the same cultural and moral values, have the same worldview, mostly the same history of origin and share the same everyday reality, therefore the implication that teaching in one of the Gambian languages is more alienating than English is not only contradictory and false but out of touch with the everyday reality in the Gambia, and an argument of resistance.
Thirdly; to implicate that using Gambian languages more actively would make us lag behind in development is to misunderstand the issue and to be forgetful of the fact that most of the fast developing countries in the global economy today have English as a second language not as a first language.
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Clean your house before pointing a finger ... Never be moved by delirious Well-wishers in their ecstasy |
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Babylon
Sweden
691 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2006 : 12:56:00
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May I just jump in and ask a quick question?
I was wondering if the Mandinka spoken in the Gambia is the same Mandinka spoken in countries outside Gambia, Ivory coast for example?
I think the dialect is different and that it is not always easy to understand eachother? |
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Janko
Gambia
1267 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2006 : 17:41:35
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You answered your own question; maybe you wanted to make a point
Question... the Mandinka spoken in the Gambia is the same Mandinka spoken in countries outside Gambia, Ivory coast for example?
Answer:I think the dialect is different and that it is not always easy to understand eachother? As much as the different dialects of Swedish; Skånska, Varmlandska, Norlansdka and Riks Svenska(the written official Swedish)
There are many dialects of Mandinka but understand each other better than anyone of them understands, English, French, German ect....... They share the same heritage and story of origin. Mandingka is spoken in Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Burkina Faso, Liberia, S-Leon
In England written English is different from everyday spoken English. The different classes live within the same lingual atmosphere, under the same rule of law (cultural and moral values) Irish is been reintroduced in schools and its official status is gaining over English by the year and so for.
Let me clarify that nobody is advocating that Mandingka, wolof, Jola or anyother language is to be the single official language of the Gambia as some of the posts imply. Rather this post is a brain storm of idears as to how we can use our languages effectively in a way that gives every Gambian an equal opportunity to express his or her self on key issues pertaining to the development and the wellbeing of the Gambia. |
Clean your house before pointing a finger ... Never be moved by delirious Well-wishers in their ecstasy |
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Babylon
Sweden
691 Posts |
Posted - 07 Mar 2006 : 18:48:02
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| Ok, thanks for clarifying. I also wonder if Jola and Mandinka are related languages, it´s not the same language right? I´m a bit confused here. One over here says that Jola and Mandinka is the same. |
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kassma
334 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2006 : 01:10:57
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quote:
Originally posted by Janko
You answered your own question; maybe you wanted to make a point
Question... the Mandinka spoken in the Gambia is the same Mandinka spoken in countries outside Gambia, Ivory coast for example?
Answer:I think the dialect is different and that it is not always easy to understand eachother? As much as the different dialects of Swedish; Skånska, Varmlandska, Norlansdka and Riks Svenska(the written official Swedish)
There are many dialects of Mandinka but understand each other better than anyone of them understands, English, French, German ect....... They share the same heritage and story of origin. Mandingka is spoken in Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Burkina Faso, Liberia, S-Leon
In England written English is different from everyday spoken English. The different classes live within the same lingual atmosphere, under the same rule of law (cultural and moral values) Irish is been reintroduced in schools and its official status is gaining over English by the year and so for.
Let me clarify that nobody is advocating that Mandingka, wolof, Jola or anyother language is to be the single official language of the Gambia as some of the posts imply. Rather this post is a brain storm of idears as to how we can use our languages effectively in a way that gives every Gambian an equal opportunity to express his or her self on key issues pertaining to the development and the wellbeing of the Gambia.
i think since our situation is different from most western countries (they originated as states with one main nationality) we should be creative with our education system. since multilingual schools already exist and are effective in educating, we can establish the same thing in Gambia. what we should do? i think we should choose 2 languages to teach in, other languages, should be taught as literature or even as language class. i feel that we should just try and see. others have tried teaching in their languages, we should too |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2006 : 08:29:27
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I think this could be an interesting experiment. Perhaps starting in one or two high schools and then if successful replicated through the country.
Care would have to be taken that the 'minority tribes' didnt feel alienated from the education system. So IF woolf and Mandinka were chosen as the languages to teach through Jola, Fula etc children would have to be carefully monitored to make sure they did make expected progress becuase they would clearly be at a disadvantage.
I still worry that this system might create one tribe feeling superior to another as their language becomes the chosen language.
If it was simple and Gambia had one main language, of course the children should be taught in that and not english..... I still wonder if English is the best choice because of the diversity......it is a leveller and a unifying force.......
Anyway, back to the original point......it could be interesting to try and see what happens...... |
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gambiabev
United Kingdom
3091 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2006 : 08:33:37
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| As you can see I keep changing my mind on this issue. It is SO complex...... English is the world language and for people to do well on the world stage they need it.... But that doesnt necessarily mean that subjects such as maths or history need to be taught in English...you could just have english language lessons..... |
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Janko
Gambia
1267 Posts |
Posted - 08 Mar 2006 : 18:46:21
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This issue is not only complex but demands a genuine knowledge of the relationship between Gambian languages
My explicit meaning of alienation is;
- the individual losing the feeling of connection to his / her surroundings, the loss of moral feelings of connectedness, the body's loss of control over its physical surroundings. The Gambian educated in English is alienated because the products of his / her education has no direct relation to the past or the present context, here and now which is replaced by "foreign", "alienated" contexts (e.g. English customary laws and moral values). In this connotation, alienation means historical discontinuity, loss, and despair, with rejection not only historically, but also socially from one’s society, without previous attachments.
“I think this could be an interesting experiment. ---’minority tribes' didn’t feel alienated from the education system………….because they would clearly be at a disadvantage.
……………………………………. this system might create one tribe feeling superior to another as their language becomes the chosen language...... I still wonder if English is the best choice because of the diversity......it is a leveller and a unifying force.......
You keep changing your mind on this issue not only because of its complexity but also your lack of adequate knowledge of the relationship between the languages of the Gambia...... don’t you think. Your stance is polarising,your binary pairing of mandinka/jola, inferior/superior and diversity/unifying is a clear indication. Not encouraging; that the languages of the Gambia share the same lingual atmosphere describe the same reality and are not isolated entities from each other.
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Clean your house before pointing a finger ... Never be moved by delirious Well-wishers in their ecstasy |
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