The Politics of National Languages in Postcolonial Senegal By Ib ...

to offer any socioprofessional or economic value. As a result, literacy in the national languages is remarkably low despite the fact that these are the languages spoken by the majority of people in most private, social, and public settings. The paradox is that literacy in the official language—the language of power used for socioprofessional mobility, education, access to services, and international communication—also continues to be extremely low. This situation has widened the sociocultural, economic, and intellectual gaps between an elite class that is educated in the colonial language and a majority that is illiterate in the language of the former colonial power. Not only does this demonstrate that socioeconomic inequalities are reinforced by the unequal distribution of language resources, but it also highlights the failure of the country's language and education policies as well as the malfunction of the government institutions created to provide all Senegalese people with education and literacy skills in accordance with social justice and democratic participation. In Senegal, language resources, like health care, water, education opportunities, telephone connections, and electricity, are unequally distributed.

This book shows that the language policy inherited from the colonial masters has not changed considerably in Senegal despite the official rhetoric and the political agitation the country has experienced during the attempts that have been made to empower the national languages since achieving independence. In reality, the status of the French language established during the early colonial days has remained unchanged, even though the country has gained sovereignty. French remains the only official language of Senegal, and the highest status to which the local languages can aspire is to that of being a national language, without any significant official power.

The three administrations since Senegal gained its independence have drafted policies to promote the national languages and give them a significant role in the media, education, and the administration, but these policies remain ineffective. Significant advances have been made to promote the national languages and increase literacy in them—namely, the creation of public institutions to promote the national languages as