Language Politics and National Identity in Malawi

Moyo, Themba

doi:10.1080/02572117.2002.10587515

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…This is because Nyanja is a cross-border language, spoken in Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe (Kamwendo 2002;Moyo 2002). To be specific, it is the dominant language in Malawi; it is the third-largest language in Zimbabwe, after Shona and Ndebele, and it is spoken in three out of 11 provinces in Mozambique, namely Tete, Niassa and Zambezia (Ngunga 2002).…”

Section: Political Influences On the Dominance Of Isizulu And Nyanjamentioning

confidence: 96%

“…This leads to language conflict at societal level. The reorganisation of the provinces, based on linguistic factors, in Zambia and South Africa, was intended to have a beneficial effect on multilingualism (Timpunza-Mvula 1992;Makoni 1996;Moyo 2002). This resulted, however, in the emergence of dominant languages in some provinces.…”

Section: Role Of Language In Building Unity and Nationhoodmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…One language is for ethnic identity, another for business transactions, another for official dealings, another for entertainment, another for rituals, and so on. Identity is not restricted to ethnic identity alone (Moyo 2002;Carter and Aulette 2009) and a speaker may carry different identities in different social contexts. He or she may use different languages to exhibit these different social contexts (Dua 1982).…”

Section: Prominence Of Nyanja and Isizulumentioning

confidence: 99%

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The power and authority of the dominant to name: a case study of selected Nyanja and isiZulu linguistic expressions regarding ‘national assets’

Amtaika

2013

Journal of African Cultural Studies

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There is a connection between chosen linguistic elements used in national assets, the ruling party and a group understood to be dominant. Within this connection are a series of activities that lead to excluding minority language groups. Such exclusionary practices may lead to perceptions of a devaluation of ethnolinguistic groups that are neither in the majority nor are significantly represented within the ruling party. In this article I present selected examples of what I term 'national assets' as evidence of instances where dominant groups in South Africa and Zambia have used their linguistic elements to name national assets. I reason that the manner in which national assets are named endorses the dominance of the dominant groups in national affairs, while at the same time excluding linguistic minorities -a practice that runs against linguistic human rights, to which both countries overtly subscribe. Within a limited space, the article investigates the impacts of dominant languages on the plight of the languages of minority groups in multilingual societies/communities, such as South Africa and Zambia.

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Section: Political Influences On the Dominance Of Isizulu And Nyanjamentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Role Of Language In Building Unity and Nationhoodmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Prominence Of Nyanja and Isizulumentioning

confidence: 99%

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The power and authority of the dominant to name: a case study of selected Nyanja and isiZulu linguistic expressions regarding ‘national assets’

Amtaika

2013

Journal of African Cultural Studies

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“…The regional boundaries produced regional ethnic identities which, though not as strongly felt, could be evoked in times of crisis (as I will elaborate later in the article). Chichewa was adopted as the national language in 1967, at the expense of all other languages in Malawi, engendering accusations of tribalism on the part of the Chewa, which also happened to be President Banda's ethnic group (Kishindo 1994;Moyo 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Corruption, tribalism and democracy: coded messages in Wambali Mkandawire's popular songs in Malawi

Chirambo¹

2009

Critical Arts

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Popular music in Malawi cites corruption and tribalism as amongst the major threats to democracy in the country. Corruption, which involves the plundering of national public resources by a few individuals, affects the distribution of and access to these resources by the majority of Malawians. Tribalism, on the other hand, threatens the social and political stability of the multi-ethnic nation, and democracy itself. However, despite the relative freedom of speech Malawians enjoy at present, critical discussion of these issues in public is often stifled by censorship. This is because such critical discourse challenges the dominant view of the ruling groups, which denies the prevalence of corruption and tribalism in the country. In other words, talking of corruption and tribalism amounts to an indictment of the political leadership, and is not easily tolerated. This article examines corruption and tribalism as coded messages in deliberately ambiguous metaphors in Wambali Mkandawire's popular songs. It argues that Wambali's presentation of corruption and tribalism as evils in Malawi constitutes a counter-discourse of the dominant view of the ruling social groups.

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“…For example, in Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta is accused of having promoted Kikuyu culture into a national culture (Kirk-Greene 174). In Malawi, Banda is accused, of establishing Chewa hegemony through the adoption of Chichewa as the national language, among other things (Kishindo 1994, Moyo 2002. In other words, by promoting their ethnic cultures, these leaders suppressed other cultures of their countries.…”

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confidence: 99%

Democracy as a Limiting Factor for Politicised Cultural Populism in Malawi

Chirambo

2009

Africa Spectrum

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Though Malawian democracy could still be described as in transition from authoritarianism, it has enabled an atmosphere for critical debate of and dissent against seemingly popular opinions, which was not possible during the authoritarian rule of former life president, Dr. H. K. Banda, 1964–1994. This article examines politicised cultural populism in Malawi under the dictatorship and democracy in comparative terms. President Banda, as a political populist, appropriated culture to legitimate and validate his political power as well as to cultivate popular support from the majority of ordinary people. Following reforms towards democracy since 1992, his successors have also tended towards populist politics by similarly appropriating culture and cultural activities, among other means, to cultivate popular support from mostly ordinary people for their regimes. Such politicised cultural populism involves adopting traditional roles, cultural symbols and images of power such as praise-titles, and participating in cultural activities such as traditional dances. This article examines the efforts of President Bingu wa Mutharika in the democratic dispensation to appropriate cultural artefacts used by Banda during a dictatorship in order to cultivate popular support for his regime. The article argues that Bingu's efforts at politicised cultural populism are constrained, among other factors, by the nature and climate of democratic politics mainly because democracy, unlike a dictatorship, enables critical debate and the questioning of political leader's behaviour and their motives.

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Language Politics and National Identity in Malawi

Cited by 7 publications

References 1 publication

The power and authority of the dominant to name: a case study of selected Nyanja and isiZulu linguistic expressions regarding ‘national assets’

The power and authority of the dominant to name: a case study of selected Nyanja and isiZulu linguistic expressions regarding ‘national assets’

Corruption, tribalism and democracy: coded messages in Wambali Mkandawire's popular songs in Malawi

Democracy as a Limiting Factor for Politicised Cultural Populism in Malawi

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