Oral Societies and Colonial Experiences: Sub-Saharan Africa and the "de-facto" Power of the Written Word

Autor/in	Abdi, Ali A.
Titel	Oral Societies and Colonial Experiences: Sub-Saharan Africa and the "de-facto" Power of the Written Word
Quelle	In: International Education, 37 (2007) 1, S.42-59 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0160-5429
Schlagwörter	Stellungnahme; Oral Tradition; African Culture; Foreign Countries; Foreign Policy; African Languages; History; Standards; Alienation; Time; Economic Development; Second Languages; Poetry; Language Usage; Written Language + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Oral history; Mündliche Überlieferung; Africa; Culture; Afrika; Kultur; Ausland; Außenpolitik; Language; Languages; Sprachen; Afrikanische Sprache; Geschichte; Geschichtsdarstellung; Standard; Entfremdung; Zeit; Wirtschaftsentwicklung; Second language; Zweitsprache; Lyrik; Poesie; Sprachgebrauch; Geschriebene Sprache
Abstract	Pre-colonial traditional societies in Sub-Saharan Africa were mostly oral societies whose languages were not written. In the African context, especially, it was clear that the mostly oral traditions of these societies' languages were neither being appreciated nor promoted as media of communication, or means of education by the invading Europeans. As such, for the European powers that were in control of African life in the colonial relationships, only written literature (in colonial languages) was to be regarded as meaningful literature. The point presented in this essay is not to "radically and irrationally" blame the historical and current impositions of European languages and cultures for everything that is wrong with the old continent. It is simply to suggest that if the language of development, the standards of development, the history of development as well as the social-psychology of development are all imported via the expressive and descriptive platforms that are both ontologically and existentially alienating, the results cannot bode well for Africans and others in similar intersections of historiographies and their actualities. (Contains 1 note.) (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 420 Claxton Complex, 1126 Volunteer Boulevard, Knoxville, TN 37996. Tel: 865-974-9505; Web site: http://cehhs.utk.edu/publications/default.html
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10