Page 231 - Handbooks of Applied Linguistics Communication Competence Language and Communication Problems Practical Solutions

Lingua franca communication in multiethnic contexts 209

inal languages is 47,000, according the Ethnologue). German, Italian, Arabic
and Chinese are the immigrant languages which have the largest speech commu-
nities. In Canada and Australia the fact that these were originally British settle-
ments with British citizens and their descendants eventually outnumbering the
Aboriginal population is the key factor determining the language policy in these
nations. This is not the case in the following two countries: India and Nigeria.
In post-colonial countries, a number of factors have influenced the decisions
to choose a European language as the official language. Webb and Kembo-Sure
(2000: 11) point out that nation-building is one of these factors, since the pro-
cess necessitates the choice of an integrative language.

As a result, political leaders usually decide to promote the ex-colonial language of
the pre-independence era (English, French, or Portuguese) as the ‘language of
national integration’, arguing that these languages are socio-culturally neutral and do
not have the potential for stirring up conflict, as they are nobody’s primary language.

For India, the Ethnologue states that approximately 415 languages are in daily
use. India’s constitution designates Hindi as one of its official languages, to-
gether with English. The official language act of 1963 (as amended in 1967)
makes provisions for the use of Hindi as the official language of the country. At
the same time it allows for the use of the English language alongside Hindi for
all the official purposes of the Union for which it was being used immediately
before that day and for the transaction of business in Parliament. Also, the
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languages act makes provisions for the use of additional official languages in
the individual states of India. The national languages of the country are Assa-
mese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani,
Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, San-
thali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu. English has been kept as an associate official
language far beyond the originally intended period, i.e. up to 1965, due to the
Dravidian south’s opposition against Hindi. But English not only serves as a lin-
guistic tool for administering the country. It also functions as a lingua franca for
social interaction across speech communities and in education.
Just as India, Nigeria is another example of a post-colonial nation which em-
braces a large number of ethnicities and, thus, of individual speech communities.
The Ethnologue currently lists 510 living languages for Nigeria. Hausa, Igbo,
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and Yoruba are the three indigenous languages which have large speech commu-
nities in the country. Their importance is reflected in the fact that these three lan-
guages are co-official languages in Nigeria. The Nigerian constitution makes
provisions for the use of languages in the National Assembly and the House of
Assembly. It gives clear preference to the English language, for example in ar-
ticle 55, which states: “The business of the National Assembly shall be conducted
in English ….” However, the constitution also states that Hausa, Ibo and Yoruba
shall be used “when adequate arrangements have been made”. 13