The Globalized World Languages: The Case of Kiswahili

Abstract

The dictionary meanings of the term globalize is ‘make something become adopted on a global scale’. The term global has two interesting meanings: (1) “relating to or happening throughout the whole world, and (2) “taking all the different aspects of a situation into account” (Source: “Globalization” 1999:759). Most scholars who have written about globalization bear out some of these meanings in the definition of globalization. In his discussion on globalization and discontents, Joseph Stiglitz (2003) notes that globalization has been celebrated because of its assumed potentials. Not only is globalization a means to reduce the sense of isolation of those living in the developing world but also a conduit for the world’s access to knowledge and innovations in technology. Globalization is seen as a means to forge closer integration of countries and peoples of the world by affording them unrestricted transportation and communication and by eliminating economic barriers that restrict a free flow of goods, services, capital, and knowledge. Jagdish Bhagwati (2004) notes that globalization has economic potentials that are evident in the way local economies have been integrated into international economies. Cumulatively, these considerations give us a foundation for the discussion on the role of language in globalizing the world and the potentials for the 99% of the world languages that have not been integrated in the global market. The potentials for Kiswahili as a global language reside in the ability to attain and sustain prominence in the world as a global language. There is a difference between developing a language for global use and developing a language as an ideological tool. Global usage of a language enhances global understanding. However, when it is used for ideological purposes its function assumes an imposing and threatening value to the culture of other group of speakers. A shared language should be a bridge between cultures, a bridge that connects speakers and allows people to share cultural values, diverse views and knowledge, and promotes a global understanding and a polycentric society. If the ideology behind the spread of a language is to demonstrate power (military or economic), or to secure a competitive edge, or to manipulate a system at the expense of the less politically and economically powerful, then the global function of that language is defunct and the possibility to be globally acceptable is lessened. Before we discuss the potentials for Kiswahili as a global language, we need to examine the influencing power of the English language, the language of choice during the colonial period in East Africa where Swahili now serves as either an official language or a national language and in some cases as both.