Bilingual French-English Nursery School “Les Joyeuses Coccinelles” in Cotonou, Benin. From a young age, parents are hoping their children will learn English alongside French in school to give them more opportunities. Image from Diane SEGBO, used with permission.

Fongbe (Fon) is the most widely-spoken local language in Southern Benin, including in the major cities of Cotonou, Porto Novo and Ouidah. But this local language is gradually losing its place as a mother tongue to the detriment of foreign language teaching.

As a mother and native Fon speaker, Arielle Codjia made the decision not to teach her children her mother tongue. Instead, Codjia chose to raise her three girls speaking French at home and sent them to a French–English bilingual school where they live in Cotonou, Benin. She said:

Nous parlons le français à la maison parce que c’est plus facile et rapide, le français offre plus d'opportunités de communiquer avec tout le monde au Bénin, mais si on comprend l’anglais en plus ça permet de voyager et d'étudier d’ailleurs.

We speak French at home because it is easier and faster. French offers more opportunities to communicate with everyone in Benin, but if you learn English also, that allows you to travel and study elsewhere.

Traditionally, Fon and other African languages were spoken socially and in homes in Benin, while instruction in schools was strictly in French. While this is still often the case, many families are now opting to communicate in French at home, choosing not to teach their children their local languages. For the current generation of youth in Cotonou, it is common to have a low to intermediate level of understanding of Fon.

French has served as the only official language of Benin since colonization by France in the late 19th century. In colonial times, French was presented as the language of the scholarly elite, marginalizing populations who did not have access to a French education.

Even today, those who speak French at home tend to come from educated backgrounds, said Lanzi Atamao, who works at the Benin Excellence multilingual library in Cotonou.

“You will notice that most of the people who are highly educated, they will have a degree at university, and when they have kids, most of the time it is French at home,” Atamao said.

Causes and effects of local language demise

The increasing use of French — and, more recently, English — contributes to a decline in local languages.

Ernest Sesselede, English director of Les Joyeuses Coccinelles Bilingual French-English Nursery School in Cotonou, said that, nowadays, everyone wants their children to start learning English. “English is the principal language that joins everyone everywhere. That is why they are trying to learn at the English bilingual school.”

A survey of students conducted across Benin’s 12 regions found that 78 percent considered English significant to enhancing their academic performance. Those interviewed considered learning English a gateway to global opportunities and an indicator of overall academic success.

In 2013, the Beninese government attempted to introduce local language instruction in schools on an experimental basis.

However, the high number of languages spoken throughout Benin has posed challenges to these language preservation initiatives. In Cotonou, Fon is the most commonly spoken language. But many individuals from across the country who have moved to the city come speaking their own local languages with no Fon background at all.

The use of French as a common language in education has allowed for equal communication among those of different linguistic backgrounds. This avoids the issues of regionalism and ethnocentrism, as one local language is not favored over another in schools.

Many other African nations have been faced with this same dilemma: operate in the language of the ex-colonizer for national or regional integration, or fully commit to local languages in order to better connect with African cultural identity.

Sesselede said he worries about the future survival of local languages in Benin. “If we don’t speak our local language, it means that our culture is disappearing, we are disappearing.”

Africans respond to local language loss

African populations across the continent are grappling with the endangerment of their local languages. Africa is home to 2,000 of the world’s 6,000 total languages. However, many of these languages are in danger of extinction due to the inaccessibility of education in local languages.

Some African nations have taken language preservation measures into their own hands. Several countries, including Rwanda, Madagascar, Somalia and Zimbabwe, have officially reinstated native languages at a national level. Some have replaced English and French as official languages altogether, while others have added native languages at the official level and now have several.

African Language Digital Activism is an African-led X account that fights for the preservation of African languages. It aims to revitalize indigenous languages via online platforms and technology.

Fon activist Mahuton Bienvenu Possoupe is celebrated on African Language Digital Activism for his launch of Wikipedia in Fon.

Mahuton Bienvenu Possoupe @b_mahuton https://t.co/YuUVhRxcJN is a founding member of Beninese Wikimedians User Group @wikimediensBJ and in 2018 during a Wikimedia Hackathon in Barcelona, he started a Wikipedia in #Fon https://t.co/E6hGJnpFkW #Benin #FIFAfrica20 pic.twitter.com/4ViM8P5Zos

— African Language Digital Activism (@DigiAfricanLang) September 29, 2020

Writing dictionaries and digitizing African languages are at the forefront of language preservation efforts on the continent. Initiatives centered on safeguarding languages in writing and online are critical for their survival.

Megan Fahrney is a U.S. Fulbright fellow. The views expressed are solely the author’s and do not represent the views of the United States government.