This paper focuses on Swahilization in the Tanzanian legislature and examines the question of language in a parliamentary setting. That Tanzania stands out as one of the few exceptions to the general rule that in most African countries the language of the legislature is the language of the former colonial power (Mazrui and Mazrui 1998: 85) is unequivocal. However, the country has not fully exploited the potential to make Swahili a veritable medium of communication in all aspects of public life, and the legislative process in particular. In Tanzania, parliamentary debates are conducted either in Swahili or English, while parliamentary bills are drafted exclusively in English. The continued insistence on the exclusive use of English in legislation has prompted a series of polemical discussions far beyond the confines of parliament. In addition tobeing restricted as a co-language of parliamentary debates, Swahili risks further marginalization in parliamentary debates due to the increasing encroachment of English which manifests itself in code mixing, code-switching and other instances of non-normative use of Swahili. Starting from the viewpoint that the asymmetrical and compartmentalized coexistence between English and Swahili in a parliamentary setting is a reflection of inequalities in different individuals’ and groups’ access to linguistic resources in Tanzanian society as a whole, this paper aligns itself, to a large extent, with the views propagated by both the language ecology movement (LE), and the linguistic human rights movement (LHR). Nevertheless, it does not fully espouse the movements’ basic approach to the core of linguistic inequalities, especially the much-criticized tendency to present a ‘preservationist’ and ‘romanticist’account of indigenous languages and their marginalization and eventual loss. This paper examines the increasing preponderance of English over Swahili, and other indigenous African languages, in various domains of public life, by considering the degree of accessibility to linguistic resources. Access is a key term for understanding the overall sociopolitical structures and processes that produce, reproduce and reinforce the inequalities in different individuals and social groups. This paper looks at the extent to which Swahili is used in the legislative process and analyses the implications of a full adoption of Swahili as a language of the law. This analysis is in line with the principle that people should have access to the legislative process in their language or languages of greater competence. For participatory democracy to prosper, what is discussed and legislated in parliament has to be rendered accessible to the general public. Previous studies (e.g. MacWilliam and Chuwa, 1990; Mwansoko and Tumbo-Masabo, 1996) paid much attention to the normative aspects of language use in parliament. A normative approach by itself is also important in the sense that the legislative body is a public institution charged with the task of facilitating communication by means of proper use of language(s). However, as has often been noted, what goes on in parliament is closely interlinked with the overall sociopolitical changes and processes that Tanzanian society has been undergoing. The conspicuous demonstration of English by the privileged power elite in Tanzania is in constant conflict with the limited accessibility of linguistic resources by the majority of its citizens. Parliament is not an exception to this phenomenon. Parliamentarians, who are well aware of the prestige functions attributed to English, tend to be under externally-driven or self-imposed pressure to use English in Parliament. This is largely due to the fact that the general association of English with being educated, competent, intelligent, etc. is widespread in Tanzanian society. Data for this study come from a range of sources, including media reports and parliamentary questions and answers obtained from the official website of the Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania (tovuti rasmi ya Bunge la Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania). To sum up, English as a lingua franca of the emerging global village continues to be equated with higher learning, globalization and intellectual capacity and thus perceived as a tool for upward social mobility in Tanzanian society as a whole and as a gateway to the world. As a result, a sense of reality in a positive sense of meaning and false consciousness in its negative sense of meaning seem to mold many Tanzanians’ mindset, culminating in a pejorative characterization popularly dubbed as utumwa wa kifikra (mental slavery). Parliament is a public milieu in which the compartmentalized and asymmetrical coexistence between English and Swahili is brought into focus with regards to the democratic access or accessibility to linguistic resources as well as to the legislative process. What takes place with respect to language use in Tanzanian Parliament has to be viewed in the overall context of sociopolitical changes and processes that have been taking place in Tanzania.

This paper focuses on Swahilization in the Tanzanian legislature and examines the question of language in a parliamentary setting. That Tanzania stands out as one of the few exceptions to the general rule that in most African countries the language of the legislature is the language of the former colonial power (Mazrui and Mazrui 1998: 85) is unequivocal. However, the country has not fully exploited the potential to make Swahili a veritable medium of communication in all aspects of public life, and the legislative process in particular. In Tanzania, parliamentary debates are conducted either in Swahili or English, while parliamentary bills are drafted exclusively in English. The continued insistence on the exclusive use of English in legislation has prompted a series of polemical discussions far beyond the confines of parliament. In addition tobeing restricted as a co-language of parliamentary debates, Swahili risks further marginalization in parliamentary debates due to the increasing encroachment of English which manifests itself in code mixing, code-switching and other instances of non-normative use of Swahili. Starting from the viewpoint that the asymmetrical and compartmentalized coexistence between English and Swahili in a parliamentary setting is a reflection of inequalities in different individuals’ and groups’ access to linguistic resources in Tanzanian society as a whole, this paper aligns itself, to a large extent, with the views propagated by both the language ecology movement (LE), and the linguistic human rights movement (LHR). Nevertheless, it does not fully espouse the movements’ basic approach to the core of linguistic inequalities, especially the much-criticized tendency to present a ‘preservationist’ and ‘romanticist’account of indigenous languages and their marginalization and eventual loss. This paper examines the increasing preponderance of English over Swahili, and other indigenous African languages, in various domains of public life, by considering the degree of accessibility to linguistic resources. Access is a key term for understanding the overall sociopolitical structures and processes that produce, reproduce and reinforce the inequalities in different individuals and social groups. This paper looks at the extent to which Swahili is used in the legislative process and analyses the implications of a full adoption of Swahili as a language of the law. This analysis is in line with the principle that people should have access to the legislative process in their language or languages of greater competence. For participatory democracy to prosper, what is discussed and legislated in parliament has to be rendered accessible to the general public. Previous studies (e.g. MacWilliam and Chuwa, 1990; Mwansoko and Tumbo-Masabo, 1996) paid much attention to the normative aspects of language use in parliament. A normative approach by itself is also important in the sense that the legislative body is a public institution charged with the task of facilitating communication by means of proper use of language(s). However, as has often been noted, what goes on in parliament is closely interlinked with the overall sociopolitical changes and processes that Tanzanian society has been undergoing. The conspicuous demonstration of English by the privileged power elite in Tanzania is in constant conflict with the limited accessibility of linguistic resources by the majority of its citizens. Parliament is not an exception to this phenomenon. Parliamentarians, who are well aware of the prestige functions attributed to English, tend to be under externally-driven or self-imposed pressure to use English in Parliament. This is largely due to the fact that the general association of English with being educated, competent, intelligent, etc. is widespread in Tanzanian society. Data for this study come from a range of sources, including media reports and parliamentary questions and answers obtained from the official website of the Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania (tovuti rasmi ya Bunge la Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania). To sum up, English as a lingua franca of the emerging global village continues to be equated with higher learning, globalization and intellectual capacity and thus perceived as a tool for upward social mobility in Tanzanian society as a whole and as a gateway to the world. As a result, a sense of reality in a positive sense of meaning and false consciousness in its negative sense of meaning seem to mold many Tanzanians’ mindset, culminating in a pejorative characterization popularly dubbed as utumwa wa kifikra (mental slavery). Parliament is a public milieu in which the compartmentalized and asymmetrical coexistence between English and Swahili is brought into focus with regards to the democratic access or accessibility to linguistic resources as well as to the legislative process. What takes place with respect to language use in Tanzanian Parliament has to be viewed in the overall context of sociopolitical changes and processes that have been taking place in Tanzania.

대부분의 아프리카국가들에서는 독립 이후의 시기에도 특히 공식적 영역을 중심으로 식민종주국의 언어가 가장 중요하고 선호되는 언어로서 지속적으로 사용되고 있는 것이 현실이다. 식민종주국의 언어에 대한 이러한 선호와 의존적 상황의 지속은 일반대중과 정치엘리트들 사이의 괴리를 더욱 심화시키는 근본적인 요인이 되고 있다. 국민의 대표기관이자 민의의 전당이라고 불리는 의회는 국민과 함께하는 의정활동을 펼치기 위해 일반 국민들이 쉽게 이해할 수 있는 언어로 국정에 관해 논하고 법률안과 안건을 처리해야 한다는 것은 기본적 전제이다. 때문에 서구의 많은 국가들에서는 통과된 법률안이나 논의된 내용들을 이주민들의 언어로 작성하여 공지하기도 하며 시각장애인들이나 청각장애인들과 같은 사회적 약자들도 의회의 활동을 알 수 있도록 실질적인 편의를 제공하고 있다. 이러한 맥락에서 의회에서의 언어사용에 관한 문제는 국민의 대다수가 이해하는 언어를 통해 의정활동을 해야만 한다는 당위의 문제이면서 동시에 정치적 참여와 소외에 직결된 문제이기도 하다. 언어는 국민의 대표기관과 국민을 연결시켜주는 통로이기 때문이다. 탄자니아는 이러한 점에서 분명 다른 아프리카국가들과 대비되는 국가였다. 독립 이후 의회에서의 논의와 토론에서 스와힐리어와 영어를 사용할 수 있도록 규정함으로써 다수의 국민들이 정치적 논의과정에 참여할 수 있는 가능성을 열었다. 그러나 의회에서의 토론에서는 영어와 함께 스와힐리어가 사용되지만 법률안 작성은 전적으로 영어에 의존하고 있다. 비록 스와힐리어를 의회에서의 토론과 법률안 작성에서 전적으로 사용함으로써 다수 국민의 정치적 참여의 기회를 제고하자는 요구가 꾸준히 있어왔지만 실질적인 변화는 없었다. 이 글은 탄자니아의회에서의 언어사용에 관해 개략적으로 기술하고 독립 이후의 시기부터 시작된 스와힐리어화에 대해서도 고찰한다. 탄자니아의회의 의사록에서 의회에서의 언어사용과 관련된 질문과 답변 및 주요한 견해들을 정리함으로써 쟁점을 분석하고 향후의 전망을 위한 기반으로 삼았다.

스와힐리화, 언어논쟁, 접근가능성, 불평등, 탄자니아국회