Kiswahili as a Language for All Africa: The West Africa Challenge

Abstract

The endorsement of Kiswahili as an official working language in AU meetings, conferences and communications gives Kiswahili a big boost. This comes amid another milestone in which World Kiswahili Day was set aside as July 7 by UNESCO. These are not only positive gestures in the right direction; they also constitute great prospects and a brilliant trajectory for Kiswahili to be an international language with a global status. The AU did not only endorse Kiswahili as a language of official communication, but it also added a resolution that by 2063, all African countries (member states) must have implemented full learning of Kiswahili language to have the language as the official language of Africa. People coming to Africa will have to learn Kiswahili as a language of communication. The question then is, are all African countries ready for Kiswahili? Are there challenges that can be foreseen even before the implementation of this policy? The paper investigates the unprecedented challenges that may arise in the bid to make Kiswahili the language of Africa with specific reference to West Africa. The choice of West Africa is a purposive sampling methodological approach. This paper employed the socio-psychological theory by Lambert and Gardner (1959) which is one of the theories used in second language learning. The outcome of this research will be essential in formulating the way forward in the implementation of the policy and designing strategies to make Kiswahili a working language for Africa with fewer challenges.