Chad is making Arabic equal to French in schools: the politics behind the move

By Helga Dickow, Associate Researcher at the Arnold Bergstraesser Institut, Freiburg Germany, University of Freiburg

In most multilingual African countries, language policy is a highly charged and controversial issue. It touches on regional identity, religion and political power – as is evident in Chad, in central Africa.

Around 130 languages are spoken in the multi-ethnic and multi-religious Chad. The two official languages are Standard Arabic and French. Neither has its origins in the country and neither is the mother…

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