Some thoughts on language

The workshop I am attending in Kenya is part of a project called “Strengthening Higher Education Stakeholder Relations in Africa”. The project is a joint venture between the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) and the Association of African Universities (AAU). It is partially funded by the Government of Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency – CIDA have contributed about $2 million to this 3 year project.

The project involves a series of partnerships between African and Canadian universities. There are a total of 12 Canadian and 15 African universities involved, with 61 participants from 12 different countries present here in Nairobi. It has been a great opportunity to share ideas, particularly around the two major themes of strategic planning and improving the commercialization and marketing of university-generated ideas.

This is the second major event I have attended recently where I have noticed a disconnect between the rhetoric of the speakers and their actions.

In Beijing, at the annual dinner of the Canada China Business Council, the talk was of ways to engage Canadian businesses in the booming Chinese economy. The good relations between Canada and China were touted, and the importance of understanding Chinese culture and context was stressed. The speakers addressed around 400 of their Chinese partners. Greetings were brought in both French and English, but not a word of Mandarin crossed their lips. Even the Chinese speakers spoke in English, and there were headphones for the simultaneous translation.

Here in Nairobi we have been talking of the links between Canadian and African universities. We have talked about learning from each other, and adapting our work to provide balance between western and African models. Here we were also provided with headphones, and there was simultaneous translation into English or French, but there was not a word of Ki-Swahili.

If language is to be communicative and not wholly political, then to offer bilingualism is a benefit which can only be enhanced through the inclusion of local languages. To welcome participants in the dominant language of the place which is hosting the event is surely not a major issue. For years, events in New Zealand have begun with a greeting from the local people, who recount the names of their river and their mountain in an effort to establish their place.

If Canadian events in Beijing began with a few words of Mandarin, or in Nairobi with a few words of Ki-Swahili, then this would position Canada well in the global village of the 21^st century. It would be known to all that Canada recognizes, acknowledges and values language for its communicative, as well as its political, purposes.

Don’t we?