The BA in Language and Development is a useful and important innovative program. It is congruent with the position of UNESCO in its famous policy document ‘Education in a Multilingual World’ (UNESCO 2003) which extols the merits of the instrumentalisation of ‘mother tongues’ for development communication. It also satisfies the aspirations and recommendations of the African Union in its language policy document ‘Language Plan of Action for Africa (AU 2006) which emphasises the ideology of ‘Africa’s languages for Africa’s development’. This has led to the problematisation of language and development in what has emerged / is emerging as a sub-discipline of the Science of Language known variously as ‘Development Communication’ or simply Language and Development. This new discipline involves a compendium of Linguistics, Languages (MT+OL), Communication and Development theory and practice put together in different doses to produce not pure Linguists nor Applied Linguists but linguists and language experts using language to enhance and leverage the development of the masses of the rural population who use essentially or uniquely a local language. This is intended to counter the unidirectional transmission and communication in the official language alone mastered by less than 40% of the population, a practice which maintains the majority 60% of the population in ignorance poverty and want. It is now well known that Development is best achieved not by a unidirectional unilateral communication in the official language to the masses (who can’t understand that language) but by a social dialogue involving a bilateral top-down and bottom-up partnership in the use of both the official languages and local languages to ensure that knowledge relevant to development is understood and appropriated by the target populations who need the knowledge to alleviate poverty and misery. The goal of this program then is to train specialists in development Communication. Train Language Professionals armed with a compendium of skills and knowledge based in Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Language Education, Communication and Development relevant to the enterprise of ensuring that development endeavours are brought closer to local populations as articulated for the collection of government. Graduates of this program are expected to be: Mediators in the use of participative communication to ensure the success of government policy of participative development in the 2004 Law on decentralization. The products of this program will also work in different ministries with outreach activities such as Health, Agriculture Animal Husbandry, and Environment etc. to ensure that efforts of field workers are effectively anchored in the rural communities and among local population in a medium they understand. Others will earn useful employment with various NGOs that have an outreach goal of implementing International Development projects in the Communities.
Duration: 3 years
