Resumen de Language policy and the foundations of democracy: an African perspective
Since 1990 the political landscape in Africa has been undergoing sorne change äs autocratic regimes have increasingly come under pressure from the populär momentum for political pluralism. The question that concerns us in this essay is whether language can, in fact, be planned to help in preempting a reversal to an autocratic political order and in guiding Africa in its path toward democracy. Do certain language choices have greater Potential than others inpromoting a democratic tradition? Democracy itself can be seen äs bullt on four interrelated foundations: systemic, material, social, and cultural. A discussion ofthe nature ofeach of these foundations leads us to the conclusion that, ultimately, democracy would develop on a firmer base if African nations pursued language policies that reduced dependency on Western languages and sought to consolidate the use and develop· ment of some oftheir local languages of wider communication.
