African language: commonalities are an asset.

I was most interested to read that Microsoft are launching a Kiswahili version of their Word software (Microsoft launches Swahili Word--African Business, February 2006).

It is commonly thought that the profusion of languages in Africa might make the development of software for various African languages too daunting a prospect. But in fact, a recent UNDP study revealed evidence of considerable convergences and structural similarities for superficially distinct cultures, clans and languages.

Colonial administrators and missionaries often elevated small dialects to the status of languages and narrow local groups to the status of tribes. Just as colonial-era ethnologists would eagerly 'discover' tribes that were often more appropriately parts of much larger groups, so languages in Africa have much greater affinity to each other than is commonly believed.

Most of what are counted as distinct languages in Africa are actually dialects of core languages. As first, second or third language speakers (most Africans are multilingual), more than 85% of Africans speak one of 15 core languages: as well as Swahili, we find Nguni, Soth-Tswana, Amharic, Fulful, Mandenkan, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Luo, Eastern Inter-lacustrine and Western Interlacustrine (Kitara), Somali-Samburu-Rendille, Oromo-Borana and Gur. Though explicitly different, these languages are similar morphologically, syntactically and phonologically.

Mr Bill Gates please note: continue the good work and develop more software for Africa. If you and linguists across the continent were to work together to standardise vocabularies, it would be possible to use these languages to teach not just in the first three grades of primary school, but eventually in higher grades. Imagine what that could do for pan-African unity and economic growth!

Jerome Diallo

Bamako, Mali