Abstract

Language policy in Benin: contributing to national development

After decolonisation, Dahomey, now Benin, chose the colonial language as the language of administration and school. Economically and psychologically, this seemed at the time a rational choice for most countries and ensured continuity between the country and the ex-coloniser. However, this choice marginalised large sections of the population, unable to participate in national debates due to lack of linguistic skills and knowledge in the language inherited from colonisation. Language policy in Benin is, therefore, anything but a development policy, but it is performative. A language policy is not a separate, exclusive policy. It links languages to the integrated process of national development: economic, social, cultural and other policies.

Per citare questo articolo:

Moufoutaou ADJERAN, « Politique linguistique au Bénin pour une contribution au développement national », Repères DoRiF,  n. 21 – Langues, linguistique et développement en milieu francophone. Des terrains africains, DoRiF Università, Roma, settembre 2020, https://www.dorif.it/reperes/moufoutaou-adjeran-politique-linguistique-au-benin-pour-une-contribution-au-developpement-national/

ISSN 2281-3020

Quest’opera è distribuita con Licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione – Non commerciale – Non opere derivate 3.0 Italia.