how do you think this helped anglophone countries developed economically quicker than francophone? was there more knowledge transfer since brits tend to be more hands off?
mbewane
Knicks: 93 til infinity
Actually not, since you would still have African Lusophoen states. Angola, Mozambique, Cabo-Verde and Guinee-Bissau. That's still a lot of people, on different continents.
Part of Belgium (EU founding member), part of Switzerland (one of the richest countries in the world), part of Luxemburg (banking/financial center) all speak french, so again that influence would still be around, def in Europe. To this day french is the 2nd most taught foreign language in a lot of European countries, french's influence predates the colonial era. Africa surely helps to maintain it at a global level, but in Europe it was way before.
Colonial systems were different, and obviously speaking the same language as the most powerful country (the US) helps A LOT. It also helps that that the UK started playing second fiddle to the US, which was not seen as the colonizer, since it wasn't. Relations between France and Francophone Africa are forever tainted (both ways) by the past, as opposed to relations between the US and Anglophone Africa. And the UK didn't need to get involved as much in Africa to remain "relevant", since they were following the US. France is its own player, so it needed to stay involved (=exploit/control) more in its former colonies to stay relevant. The UK didn't need to do that, and Portugal couldn't. France did need it, and had the means to do so.
And one can't compare UK white former colonies (Australia, New-Zeland, the US) because those were colonies intended to be populated that evenually become independent. No such thing has happened in any francophone colony (one could argue about Québec, but it's a particular situation, since it's part of Canada, majority anglophone. And it's small anyway) so there's really no point talking about those countries in the comparison.
I can't believe this fukking thread 
cement your mode of identity and communication in colonial languages brehs
cement your mode of identity and communication in colonial languages brehs
mbewane
Knicks: 93 til infinity
I can't believe this fukking thread
cement your mode of identity and communication in colonial languages brehs
You're writing in one
You're writing in one
Yeah but I'm not out here suggesting we learn MORE of them
didn't we get enough of that shyt in grade school? There's reason you know... and it's not just for the sake of convenience 
mbewane
Knicks: 93 til infinity
You didn't say anything about learning languages or not in the post I quotedYeah but I'm not out here suggesting we learn MORE of them
You do know that you can learn a language while still keeping your identity though?
All liberation movements leaders also spoke the colonial language, just as all Black leaders in the US speak English. And as you probably know during the 60s and 70s all liberation movements in Africa were often working with each other and were using those very languages to communicate among themselves.
You have African Lusophone and some Asian Lusophone (Goa and Macau) but the language would definitely take a hit without Brazil.
Colonial systems were different said:
You didn't say anything about learning languages or not in the post I quoted
You do know that you can learn a language while still keeping your identity though?
It's a philosophical issue for me
you can certainly have liberation movements and leaders under a colonial language, but your identity and mindset remain colonized. French and English are expedient in connecting the diaspora because of Colonialism, y'all are effectively proposing we embrace it and get behind the driver's seat of colonized communication, which leads to commerce and education, political structures and to a degree value systems, etc. People aren't going to Senegal to study French, or Nigeria to study English, etc.
It's a philosophical issue for me
That may be true, but remember that language is one thing that ties different people together as a group. There are far too many local languages that all groups within a country knows. That why English and French cerole languages were created.
There are far too many different cultures of black people to have a single unified language.
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what languages should black people speak thenIt's a philosophical issue for me
and how exactly is French and English different if the issue is French commerce and education, political structures and to a degree value systems.
First off, I'm not advocating for a single unified language. I'm arguing that we value communicating with one another in African languages period. It would do wonders in reclaiming our identities and restructure/diversify the way we engage in commerce/education with one another. That being said, it's not exactly a matter of 'choosing' which languages to use, but which reach the farthest and/or have the strongest economic power-- Kinda like these colonial languages ya'll are pushing for. As it stands, Swahili and Yoruba seem to fit the part.
Brehs, I understand how expedient it would be to continue to adopt French and English, but that's not the same as being beneficial to our own wellbeing
Question: Are any of you familiar with "Decolonising the Mind" by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o? It's WELL worth a read, if ya'll are really interested in this type of shyt. The first part especially. 
this is all nice and i understand what youre getting at but I'm more interested in something more practical. Swahili is the only African language spoken as a lingua franca over multiple nations. but it is still only spoken in Eastern Africa.First off, I'm not advocating for a single unified language. I'm arguing that we value communicating with one another in African languages period. It would do wonders in reclaiming our identities and restructure/diversify the way we engage in commerce/education with one another. That being said, it's not exactly a matter of 'choosing' which languages to use, but which reach the farthest and/or have the strongest economic power-- Kinda like these colonial languages ya'll are pushing for. As it stands, Swahili and Yoruba seem to fit the part.
Brehs, I understand how expedient it would be to continue to adopt French and English, but that's not the same as being beneficial to our own wellbeing
black people are more than capable of being multilingual (as many are). many posters in this thread seem to think i'm saying we should all only speak french and are criticizing me while speaking in a colonial language, which is hilarious. this thread is mostly a reaction to demographic trends.
this is all nice and i understand what youre getting at but I'm more interested in something more practical. Swahili is the only African language spoken as a lingua franca over multiple nations. but it is still only spoken in Eastern Africa.
black people are more than capable of being multilingual (as many are). many posters in this thread seem to think i'm saying we should all only speak french and are criticizing me while speaking in a colonial language, which is hilarious. this thread is mostly a reaction to demographic trends.
Ukitaka, naweza kusema Kiswahili. Nimejifunza kwa mwaka mmoja. I've studied Yoruba too but I'll need more time to practice it
We're speaking in a colonial language because of slavery. For the broader diaspora, African languages were suppressed in place of colonial languages, economies and education systems were rebuilt on them-- none of that was meant to benefit us. Any demographic trends in succession of still aren't beneficial to us, they're just expedient and that's because they were meant to be expedient, that's how imperialism works breh...eventually, you don't have to force your language on people, they'll do it for you out of perceived inferiority of their own tongues. There's no African "lingua franca" (a latin phrase) therefore that means it can't happen (even though that sentiment was designed ahead of time)
Ukitaka, naweza kusema Kiswahili. Nimejifunza kwa mwaka mmoja. I've studied Yoruba too but I'll need more time to practice it
We're speaking in a colonial language because of slavery. For the broader diaspora, African languages were suppressed in place of colonial languages, economies and education systems were rebuilt on them-- none of that was meant to benefit us. Any demographic trends in succession of still aren't beneficial to us, they're just expedient and that's because they were meant to be expedient, that's how imperialism works breh...eventually, you don't have to force your language on people, they'll do it for you out of perceived inferiority of their own tongues. There's no African "lingua franca" (a latin phrase) therefore that means it can't happen (even though that sentiment was designed ahead of time)
Even Yoruba for example is not even spoken outside nigeria.
There's no African lingua franca with Swahili at the closest ever going to happen. The continent is just too diverse and large to have a common African language all countries share.
Colonial languages are used as a connector because all countries speak one or two of them already.
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