Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | French language speakers in Uganda have welcomed the endorsement of French as the third official language of the East African Community-EAC. Currently, English and Swahili are the official languages under the Ugandan constitution.
But the East Africa Community-EAC Council of Ministers has recommended the adoption of French as a key language within the bloc, after another country, the Democratic Republic of Congo was validated to become the 7th member of the community. DRC will become the third French-speaking country to join the bloc after Rwanda and Burundi.
Several Ugandans have commended the move saying it presents an opportunity for the young generations to diversify and prepare for employment prospects. But some commentators think it’s a move targeting to propagate the neo-colonial doctrines.
Thomas Magezi, a French language teacher at Seroma Christian High School says that adopting French for Uganda, a landlocked country, surrounded by Rwanda, Burundi and DRC – all Francophone countries is good for business communication.
His counterpart, Robert Adubango Opiyo, another French teacher at St. Pope Paul II College in Gulu says French is inevitably becoming a global language. He notes that while French has been optional, it should be considered compulsory in the Ugandan curriculum.
Patrick Robert Larubi, a rights activist and renowned media blogger asserts that French is one of the planet’s leading languages of communication and that Uganda needs to promote it for its diplomats, business professionals among others, to enhance influence in cases of imperative negotiations, crisis and conflict circumstances, investment opportunities, and even cracking intelligence information.
Meanwhile, Nwoya District Woman MP Peace Judith Achan, also a member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee discerns that Uganda can pursue its strategic interest in the bloc by expanding her linguistic diversification capability, but conversely warned of cultural imperialism.
Agatha Tumwine, the newly elected National Chairperson of the Association of Teachers of French in Uganda says the benefits of the French language are enormous on the global stage because it is the main language of the United Nations, the European Union, and other international organizations.
Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, Uganda’s 1st Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister for EAC affairs says that the Council of Ministers in its 41st Ordinary summit in Arusha, Tanzania in November endorsed French under the proposed Amendment of Article 137 of the official languages.
In July 2020, the French Ambassador to Uganda Jules Armand Aniambossou said that the French Embassy was working to expand the learning and teaching of French in Uganda. He said the French Embassy would facilitate training of more teachers of French, offer scholarships to students and introduce inter University exchange programmes to promote French.
Globally, French is one of the most spoken languages in the world with over 260 million speakers after English, Chinese, and Hindi among others. It’s also used as the main language in 29 countries, and the main language of the United Nations, the European Union, and other dozen international organizations.
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