Tanzania
When Tanzania gained independence in 1961 the government faced the dilemma of which language to choose as its official national language.
From over a hundred indigenous languages, each associated with a particular tribe, would have simply provoked discontent, if not inter-tribal warfare. The Frist President of Tanzania , Julius Nyerere , choice Swahili, a language of the Bantu language family , which was used throughout the country as a lingua franca in many contexts. There were some obvious reasons for his choice. Some were pragmatic. Swahili was already the medium of primary education , for instance , and all Tanzanians learned the language at school. Other obvious reasons were more ideological. Ninety-six per cent of Tanzania’s languages are Bantu languages , like Swahili, so it could be clearly identified as an African languages are Bantu languages , like Swahili , so it could be clearly identified as an African language.
Condifying and elaborating Swahili
The process of standardising Swahili was begun by the British administration well before independene . The fact that it was being used in primary education and for administration meant standardization was essential. Its condification involved developing a standard spelling system,describing the grammar of the variety selected as the new standard,and writing a dictionary to record its vocabulary. in 1961, Swahili was used in more and more contexts for education, administration, politics and law. Its vocabulaly was expanded to meet the demands of new contexts by borrowing freely from Arabic and English as appropriate. Swahili-medium education to secondary and tertiary education. English has been retained for these levels.
Attidudes to Swahili
The role of Swahili in unifying the people of Tanzania to work for independence guaranteed it prestige and positive attitudes. He used it in domains where formerly English had been used exclusively- he also translated Shakerpeare’s Julius Caesar and the Merchant of Venince into Swahili –and this too increasted its status. People have often seen the success of Swahili as the national language in Tanzania as due to its’ neutral status –it is not identified with a particular tribe. But its widespread acceptance was also due to the fact that Tanzanians developed a strong loyalty towards the language which united them in working towards uhuru (‘freedom’). The story of the acceptance of Swahili as the national language of Tanzania is therefore an interesting one. Swahili serves as a lingua franca in a country with hundreds of different tribal vernaculars. It provides a culturally acceptable symbol of unity. It is potentially divisive. Swahili has provided a very convenient compromise in Tanzania. But finally it is important to remember that the story of how Swahili became the national language of Tanzania might be told rather difference by a group whose tribal vernacular was a competing lingua franca