Ethiopia's obsession with English..a dangerous flirtation with disasterous consequences for local languages

[xJamaax]

Ok.

[yosiast]

[QUOTE=FKebede;89905597]

Originally Posted by yosiast

There is already a Ge'ez keyboard, invented in Ethiopia just last year

that's a good news to hear Yosiast ,, coming back to the point ,, I believe our nation still need to achieve a stronger unity between the different ethnic groups in our country,, we should do that if we are serious about taking Ethiopia forward to the future,, and making it a prosperous and strong nation ,,,we have to use our official language for all secondary and higher education,, if we don't create a language unity then we will not achieve anything as a nation and our unity is only on paper and not real,,Amahric is chosen to be our official language in our constitution because in comparison to any other language in our country it has many speakers and understood by the majority and also used by almost all in their official affairs,, so I say its right it should be the language of learning too ,, we should leave behind all this narrow minded mentality we started to develop in Ethiopia regarding languages ,, and we need to start to see the greater good we can bring to the nation if we all choose to use our official language for education too. I think we should take a good lesson from the British regarding languages and how they created the United Kingdom and , how the Welsh, the Scottish, and the Irish,, adopted English as their official language for the sake of creating a strong union between them.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ጠንካራ የቋንቋ ኣንድነት ካላመጣን፣ ልንገነባ የምንፈልገው ኣገር አንደ ባቢሎን ግንብ በቋንቋ ኣለመግባባት የተነሳ በቁሙ ይቀራል ስለዚህ አናስብበት ነው የምለው።

That's exactly how I feel too. It's funny how a recent study on Ethiopia's language policy makes some very interesting observations. In short it shows that the present language policy is a clear mess that keeps getting even messier. To name a few:

1)there are twenty two languages which are currently used as media of instruction at primary school level. All these languages are also given as separate subjects in the primary education. In addition to the primary education, Amharic, Afan Oromo, and Tigrinya are being taught as subjects upto postgraduate level.
2) The implementation of the multilingual language policy has faced a very serious problem in the SNNPR region than in other regional states, specifically in the area of education. This is mainly due to small number of speakers for the majority of the languages. At the beginning, the problem was in preparing textbooks in the various mother tongues. There was accurate shortage of skilled human power to prepare the texts, and as a result the texts for first cycle primary education were first prepared in Amharic and then translated into the mother tongues by teachers who speak them. According to the officials in the Education Bureau of the SNNPR State, the serious problems that the region faced during the implementation of the multilingual language policy include

• a problem of choice of languages in areas where there are societies that speak two or more languages and in boarder areas
• unwillingness of people to send their children learn in their mother tongue
• high cost of printing textbooks in each language because the number of copies needed in each languages is small
• presence of many languages in a very small area
• confusion between dialects and languages Among these problems, the ones that are stated in (c) and (d) arose mainly due to the absence of routine practices that should be done in language planning. First of all the people were not asked whether they needed education in their mother tongues or not. In other words, the first step in language planning, i.e. need assessment was overlooked infavor of political decisions. Some minority societies were forced to educate their children in a language that is neither their mother tongue nor the default alternative (Amharic). The absence of conscious language planning also made the region pay a huge cost. A political decision to form a blended language called Wogagoda (from Wolayta, Gamo, Gofa and Dawro) and introduce it into the primary school education resulted in burning of textbooks worth 40 million birr, death of seven people, transfer of hundreds of teachers, and chaos that resulted in the demolition of infrastructures and even hotels. These problems could have been avoided easily, as a chief in Dorze put it, if the government asked whether the people needed education in such a language or not

3) In very pluralist societies like the SNNPR, given the countries’ socioeconomic development, it would be quite impossible to implement the multilingual language policy and satisfy the society at the individual level. Choosing one language over the other, thus, is inevitable. Clear criteria for selection of languages, need assessments conscious language planning in general would help reduce such problems to a great extent.

4) In Addis Ababa, first cycle primary education is given in Amharic and second cycle primary education is offered in English. Considering the special interest the Oromia regional state has in Addis Ababa, the choice of language use seem to be still unsettled as there is a plan to open 10 schools that use Afan Oromo as a medium of instruction in the 10 subccities of Addis Ababaa.

5) In the Amhara region, except for Amharic, Afan Oromo, Awngi, Xamta were made to be medium of instruction in haste. There was no survey made to check whether the concerned people wanted the languages to be the medium of instructions. As a result there was a resistance to the use of Awngi and Xamta as a medium of instruction at the beginning. With regard to textbooks, there were no textbooks prepared beforehand in these languages. Therefore, the preparation of the textbooks was made by translating the textbooks prepared in Amharic to the other languages. This in turn was very problematic due to shortage of manpower in the region. The other problem seen was shortage of teachers, especially those who can teach those who can speak Xamta. The regional state used priests and other local people who were educated up to grades 8 or 6.

6) In Oromia, the suggestion by the federal government to offer 2nd cycle primary education in English, which is now the medium of instruction at secondary schools throughout the country and given as a separate subject at all levels from grade one, was rejected as a survey made by the region in cooperation with the Addis Ababa University showed that there is a great demand for the society that both cycles of primary education be given in Afan Oromo.
6) In the Southern region, 12 languages, including Amharia, are used as medium of instruction at primary schools from grades 1-4. An attempt to use Kebena and Koorete as media of instruction at 1st cycle primary schools failed mainly because of printing cost and shortage of skilled human power.

[FKebede]

[QUOTE=yosiast;89926858]

Originally Posted by FKebede

That's exactly how I feel too. It's funny how a recent study on Ethiopia's language policy makes some very interesting observations. In short it shows that the present language policy is a clear mess that keeps getting even messier. To name a few:

1)there are twenty two languages which are currently used as media of instruction at primary school level. All these languages are also given as separate subjects in the primary education. In addition to the primary education, Amharic, Afan Oromo, and Tigrinya are being taught as subjects upto postgraduate level.
2) The implementation of the multilingual language policy has faced a very serious problem in the SNNPR region than in other regional states, specifically in the area of education. This is mainly due to small number of speakers for the majority of the languages. At the beginning, the problem was in preparing textbooks in the various mother tongues. There was accurate shortage of skilled human power to prepare the texts, and as a result the texts for first cycle primary education were first prepared in Amharic and then translated into the mother tongues by teachers who speak them. According to the officials in the Education Bureau of the SNNPR State, the serious problems that the region faced during the implementation of the multilingual language policy include

• a problem of choice of languages in areas where there are societies that speak two or more languages and in boarder areas
• unwillingness of people to send their children learn in their mother tongue
• high cost of printing textbooks in each language because the number of copies needed in each languages is small
• presence of many languages in a very small area
• confusion between dialects and languages Among these problems, the ones that are stated in (c) and (d) arose mainly due to the absence of routine practices that should be done in language planning. First of all the people were not asked whether they needed education in their mother tongues or not. In other words, the first step in language planning, i.e. need assessment was overlooked infavor of political decisions. Some minority societies were forced to educate their children in a language that is neither their mother tongue nor the default alternative (Amharic). The absence of conscious language planning also made the region pay a huge cost. A political decision to form a blended language called Wogagoda (from Wolayta, Gamo, Gofa and Dawro) and introduce it into the primary school education resulted in burning of textbooks worth 40 million birr, death of seven people, transfer of hundreds of teachers, and chaos that resulted in the demolition of infrastructures and even hotels. These problems could have been avoided easily, as a chief in Dorze put it, if the government asked whether the people needed education in such a language or not

3) In very pluralist societies like the SNNPR, given the countries’ socioeconomic development, it would be quite impossible to implement the multilingual language policy and satisfy the society at the individual level. Choosing one language over the other, thus, is inevitable. Clear criteria for selection of languages, need assessments conscious language planning in general would help reduce such problems to a great extent.

4) In Addis Ababa, first cycle primary education is given in Amharic and second cycle primary education is offered in English. Considering the special interest the Oromia regional state has in Addis Ababa, the choice of language use seem to be still unsettled as there is a plan to open 10 schools that use Afan Oromo as a medium of instruction in the 10 subccities of Addis Ababaa.

5) In the Amhara region, except for Amharic, Afan Oromo, Awngi, Xamta were made to be medium of instruction in haste. There was no survey made to check whether the concerned people wanted the languages to be the medium of instructions. As a result there was a resistance to the use of Awngi and Xamta as a medium of instruction at the beginning. With regard to textbooks, there were no textbooks prepared beforehand in these languages. Therefore, the preparation of the textbooks was made by translating the textbooks prepared in Amharic to the other languages. This in turn was very problematic due to shortage of manpower in the region. The other problem seen was shortage of teachers, especially those who can teach those who can speak Xamta. The regional state used priests and other local people who were educated up to grades 8 or 6.

6) In Oromia, the suggestion by the federal government to offer 2nd cycle primary education in English, which is now the medium of instruction at secondary schools throughout the country and given as a separate subject at all levels from grade one, was rejected as a survey made by the region in cooperation with the Addis Ababa University showed that there is a great demand for the society that both cycles of primary education be given in Afan Oromo.
6) In the Southern region, 12 languages, including Amharia, are used as medium of instruction at primary schools from grades 1-4. An attempt to use Kebena and Koorete as media of instruction at 1st cycle primary schools failed mainly because of printing cost and shortage of skilled human power.

It is really saddening to witness that we as a nation ,,are failing to look beyond our ethnic identity and envision an even greater identity and unity , an identity that is left as a vision by those pioneers in the past who dared to challenge European imperialism and lay the foundation for our nation, we can make federalism work positively to bring us even closer than ever or we can let federalism destroy what we hope to be a great nation one day. Ethiopia has the potential to be a great nation we could be a good example for the world and specially for the rest of African continent that suffered a great deal from the scourge of narrow minded tribalism "strength of unity" ,, for that we have to sacrifice what we hold dear now all that loyalty we have to our ethnic identity must be replaced by even greater Ethiopian identity.. I believe we can achieve that with the right education and we can start by choosing to use our national language in every field,,

[abesha]

I don't see anything wrong with using native languages for schooling. We are a multi-ethnic country - we can't pretend there's only one language there. I see nothing wrong with Oromos learning in Oromifa, Tigrays learning in Tigrigna, etc. As long as everyone also learns Amharic as a subject, and Amharas learn one other national language as a subject, then there's no issue. People also perform better in school when learning in their mother tongue - that's a well-known fact. I don't think it hurts unity in any way.

[yosiast]

[QUOTE=FKebede;89937881]

Originally Posted by yosiast

It is really saddening to witness that we as a nation ,,are failing to look beyond our ethnic identity and envision an even greater identity and unity , an identity that is left as a vision by those pioneers in the past who dared to challenge European imperialism and lay the foundation for our nation, we can make federalism work positively to bring us even closer than ever or we can let federalism destroy what we hope to be a great nation one day. Ethiopia has the potential to be a great nation we could be a good example for the world and specially for the rest of African continent that suffered a great deal from the scourge of narrow minded tribalism "strength of unity" ,, for that we have to sacrifice what we hold dear now all that loyalty we have to our ethnic identity must be replaced by even greater Ethiopian identity.. I believe we can achieve that with the right education and we can start by choosing to use our national language in every field,,

Yes, for such a multi-ethnic, diverse, and intermarried society, this is a bit much narrow-minded focus on ethnicity. A uniform language policy can be implemented while respecting all the other languages. When you're trying to teach 80million citizens in 80+ languages, I don't see what the economic or social benefit is. Ethiopians of all ethnic groups have always had a strong sense of national unity, hence, why some communities even refused the implementation of this "mother-tongue language only" policy as they looked beyond such a narrow-minded political initiative, valuing the benefits of having their children study in the working language of the nation which will only benefit them in the long-run. Otherwise, how is the country supposed to function as a nation if everyone is studying, speaking, and conducting business in different languages...where is the national identity in that? Like you said, Federalism can work for such a diverse country as Ethiopia, if implemented properly. The present ethnicity-focused arrangement however only loosens the national identity of its citizens, which in the long run might lead to increased conflict and instability. For example, I am Oromo, Amhara, and Tigre....where the heck am I supposed to belong if everyone is supposed to live and work in their ethnic region. do I have to renounce two of them and just choose one? All regions of Ethiopia belong to all ethnicities, not just one or the other. I am an Ethiopian first and foremost not Oromo, Tigre or Amhara. The implementation of the present language policy is destroying the national identify and only hastening the eventual arrival of language/ethnicity based conflict that will have no winner.

[yosiast]

Originally Posted by abesha

I don't see anything wrong with using native languages for schooling. We are a multi-ethnic country - we can't pretend there's only one language there. I see nothing wrong with Oromos learning in Oromifa, Tigrays learning in Tigrigna, etc. As long as everyone also learns Amharic as a subject, and Amharas learn one other national language as a subject, then there's no issue. People also perform better in school when learning in their mother tongue - that's a well-known fact. I don't think it hurts unity in any way.

That's already happening, i.e, Oromiffa and Tigrigna is offered from Grade 1 upto University level in Amhara region for example; Tigrigna and Amharic is offered in Oromia; and so on.........while each region is teaching students primarily in its own language.

[FKebede]

I agree very much with you Yosiast , I have no problem with teaching Orominya and Tigrinya or other languages ,as a language in schools as Abesha suggested but what i am saying is the national language of the country Amharic should be the language of instruction specially in higher education , students should be thought their other subjects in the national language of the country primarily because it will strengthen the unity of our nation. As a nation we need to attain some sort of uniformity in language, it will help bring together the bright minds of our nation by making communication easy, if communication is made easy between us, our understanding between us will be increased, our national achievement in terms of science and technology will be increased, it will speed up our enlightenment, and we will achieve a great deal in the fields human development. That is why I say if we are serious about the future of Ethiopia and believe in its renaissance , we need to leave behind the narrow mentality of taking pride in the small ethnic identity and take pride in the greater Ethiopian identity,, I am not saying that Ethiopian Identity is an Amhara identity,, I am saying that because the Amahric language is already widely spoken and widely accepted throughout the nation, weather it was forced on the people in the past or it was just embraced and chosen by the people, we have to recognise the fact that it is the most widely spoken language in Ethiopia by all ethnic groups,, so there for it makes sense that it should be the language that should unite us a nation,, by unite us I mean in education, in politics and in business.

[mwanamwiwa]

Originally Posted by FKebede

Yes, for such a multi-ethnic, diverse, and intermarried society, this is a bit much narrow-minded focus on ethnicity. A uniform language policy can be implemented while respecting all the other languages. When you're trying to teach 80million citizens in 80+ languages, I don't see what the economic or social benefit is. Ethiopians of all ethnic groups have always had a strong sense of national unity, hence, why some communities even refused the implementation of this "mother-tongue language only" policy as they looked beyond such a narrow-minded political initiative, valuing the benefits of having their children study in the working language of the nation which will only benefit them in the long-run. Otherwise, how is the country supposed to function as a nation if everyone is studying, speaking, and conducting business in different languages...where is the national identity in that? Like you said, Federalism can work for such a diverse country as Ethiopia, if implemented properly. The present ethnicity-focused arrangement however only loosens the national identity of its citizens, which in the long run might lead to increased conflict and instability. For example, I am Oromo, Amhara, and Tigre....where the heck am I supposed to belong if everyone is supposed to live and work in their ethnic region. do I have to renounce two of them and just choose one? All regions of Ethiopia belong to all ethnicities, not just one or the other. I am an Ethiopian first and foremost not Oromo, Tigre or Amhara. The implementation of the present language policy is destroying the national identify and only hastening the eventual arrival of language/ethnicity based conflict that will have no winner.

That seems like common sense to me.

[Kata-2]

Originally Posted by FKebede

I agree very much with you Yosiast , I have no problem with teaching Orominya and Tigrinya or other languages ,as a language in schools as Abesha suggested but what i am saying is the national language of the country Amharic should be the language of instruction specially in higher education , students should be thought their other subjects in the national language of the country primarily because it will strengthen the unity of our nation. As a nation we need to attain some sort of uniformity in language, ...

That is why I say if we are serious about the future of Ethiopia and believe in its renaissance , we need to leave behind the narrow mentality of taking pride in the small ethnic identity and take pride in the greater Ethiopian identity

First off, Amharic is already the OFFICIAL(not national) language of the country & I don't get why some of you even raising this question. What you are talking here is already there and Amharic subject is taught in every grade schools of the country. Now, if you are suggesting Amharic should be taught in college, ...that's just not gona happen, ever.

Just like Amharic, Afan Oromo is also widely spoken in the country and there is nothing wrong with having two official languages. Afan Oromo is already the working language of the 35% of population and most of Ethnics that border Oromia speak the language.

If being proud of my mother tongue make me narrow mentality, let me(& millions other) be it. Just so you know, for majority of ethnics(mine included), their loyalty/allegiance is first to their ethnicity and Ethiopia comes after that. That is not going to change in your/my life time and people like you should embrace that and try to deal with it or otherwise it will leads us to uncharted territory.

[FKebede]

Originally Posted by Kata-2

First off, Amharic is already the OFFICIAL(not national) language of the country & I don't get why some of you even raising this question. What you are talking here is already there and Amharic subject is taught in every grade schools of the country. Now, if you are suggesting Amharic should be taught in college, ...that's just not gona happen, ever.

Just like Amharic, Afan Oromo is also widely spoken in the country and there is nothing wrong with having two official languages. Afan Oromo is already the working language of the 35% of population and most of Ethnics that border Oromia speak the language.

If being proud of my mother tongue make me narrow mentality, let me(& millions other) be it. Just so you know, for majority of ethnics(mine included), their loyalty/allegiance is first to their ethnicity and Ethiopia comes after that. That is not going to change in your/my life time and people like you should embrace that and try to deal with it or otherwise it will leads us to uncharted territory.

If that is how we want to build the future Ethiopia,, as a second class identity ,next to our ethnic group,,,, then that dream of great Ethiopia we have cannot happen ,, If we cannot have one national identity, that means somthing to us ,,that is real, solid and more than just a name on a passport,,,,if we cannot have one common tongue we all can use for learning and teaching with each other,,, then the dream of a great nation which one day we all hope to happen cannot happen,,,just because we refuse to rise above ethnic identity to embrace a greater national identity,,,, what could be a great nation from its concept will be doomed to fail,,,,we have so much to loose if Ethiopia fails as a nation,, just because we as an individual cannot see beyond what is small and ethnic, ,, the only way to avert that destiny, is like I suggested on my other comments by adopting our official language Amahric instead of the foreign English to be our language of instruction in education,,,, that does not mean the end of all other languages in the country, I believe we will and should make sure they are preserved for generations to come through learning and literature, the Amahric language will serve as a bridge between the other languages by making them more accessible for learning. think about it Kata ,, ,, I am also half Oromo though I cannot speak the language myself half my family is from Wellega,,but I am primerily Ethiopian not Oromo or Amhara ,,,

[mwanamwiwa]

Originally Posted by FKebede

If that is how we want to build the future Ethiopia,, as a second class identity ,next to our ethnic group,,,, then that dream of great Ethiopia we have cannot happen ,, If we cannot have one national identity, that means somthing to us ,,that is real, solid and more than just a name on a passport,,,,if we cannot have one common tongue we all can use for learning and teaching with each other,,, then the dream of a great nation which one day we all hope to happen cannot happen,,,just because we refuse to rise above ethnic identity to embrace a greater national identity,,,, what could be a great nation from its concept will be doomed to fail,,,,we have so much to loose if Ethiopia fails as a nation,, just because we as an individual cannot see beyond what is small and ethnic, ,, the only way to avert that destiny, is like I suggested on my other comments by adopting our official language Amahric instead of the foreign English to be our language of instruction in education,,,, that does not mean the end of all other languages in the country, I believe we will and should make sure they are preserved for generations to come through learning and literature, the Amahric language will serve as a bridge between the other languages by making them more accessible for learning. think about it Kata ,, ,, I am also half Oromo though I cannot speak the language myself half my family is from Wellega,,but I am primerily Ethiopian not Oromo or Amhara ,,,

Well said.

[Yoniii]

Originally Posted by Kata-2

Just so you know, for majority of ethnics(mine included), their loyalty/allegiance is first to their ethnicity and Ethiopia comes after that.

If this is the truth for the majority, then I'd say fuck it, this isn't the Ethiopia I'd like to call home so chop it up and throw it away.

[FKebede]

Originally Posted by mwanamwiwa

Well said.

thank you for agreeing with me in this mwanamwiwa ,, we the Africans have suffered for long enough because of ethnic politics ,, and if we need to achieve something as a nation we need come out of this age old custom that made us humiliate and massacre each other for many centuries,, we sold each other as slaves for European and Arab slave traders,,we committed genocide on each other and we reduced and humiliated our selves below the rest of humanity ,,,and all because of ethnic ,tribal and clan politics we hold dear to ourselves,,we couldn't form a strong political union to take us to enlightenment .. that's got to stop because we are no less human than the rest of humanity ,,

[The Nomadic Warrior]

Originally Posted by Kata-2

First off, Amharic is already the OFFICIAL(not national) language of the country & I don't get why some of you even raising this question. What you are talking here is already there and Amharic subject is taught in every grade schools of the country. Now, if you are suggesting Amharic should be taught in college, ...that's just not gona happen, ever.

Just like Amharic, Afan Oromo is also widely spoken in the country and there is nothing wrong with having two official languages. Afan Oromo is already the working language of the 35% of population and most of Ethnics that border Oromia speak the language.

If being proud of my mother tongue make me narrow mentality, let me(& millions other) be it. Just so you know, for majority of ethnics(mine included), their loyalty/allegiance is first to their ethnicity and Ethiopia comes after that. That is not going to change in your/my life time and people like you should embrace that and try to deal with it or otherwise it will leads us to uncharted territory.

Excellent realist post. You are not blinded by false nationalism and are able to understand the realities of the country without being emotionally charged. Some people can actually learn from you

[mwanamwiwa]

Originally Posted by The Nomadic Warrior

Excellent realist post. You are not blinded by false nationalism and are able to understand the realities of the country without being emotionally charged. Some people can actually learn from you

Learn what?Ethnic bigotry?

[mwanamwiwa]

Originally Posted by FKebede

thank you for agreeing with me in this mwanamwiwa ,, we the Africans have suffered for long enough because of ethnic politics ,, and if we need to achieve something as a nation we need come out of this age old custom that made us humiliate and massacre each other for many centuries,, we sold each other as slaves for European and Arab slave traders,,we committed genocide on each other and we reduced and humiliated our selves below the rest of humanity ,,,and all because of ethnic ,tribal and clan politics we hold dear to ourselves,,we couldn't form a strong political union to take us to enlightenment .. that's got to stop because we are no less human than the rest of humanity ,,

You are welcome.Keep up the good work,true patriot.

[African Lion]

Come on People it is simple. English must be the Official language of ethiopia. Thats it. People can also learn their own "ethnic language" or any other languages they please.

English is the offical language of Education, Business, Science, Internet, International politics.

Our economy will grow stronger and so will Ethiopianess, because amharic has too much of an "Amhara chuvinist" past oppresor energy to it. If all the 80 tribes speak English then we can all talk to each other effeciently as well with the rest of the world. Traditional languages will still florish because we can be bilingual. There will be no bickering and grudges over official languages and one native language wont be put on a pedestal.

This seems so obvious, English can strenghten Ethiopia not weaken it. English is the new and improved Pan ethiopian language. Get over it.

[abesha]

No, absolutely not.

I would support having several local languages made official, but never ever English.

[FKebede]

Originally Posted by African Lion

Come on People it is simple. English must be the Official language of ethiopia. Thats it. People can also learn their own "ethnic language" or any other languages they please.

English is the offical language of Education, Business, Science, Internet, International politics.

Our economy will grow stronger and so will Ethiopianess, because amharic has too much of an "Amhara chuvinist" past oppresor energy to it. If all the 80 tribes speak English then we can all talk to each other effeciently as well with the rest of the world. Traditional languages will still florish because we can be bilingual. There will be no bickering and grudges over official languages and one native language wont be put on a pedestal.

This seems so obvious, English can strenghten Ethiopia not weaken it. English is the new and improved Pan ethiopian language. Get over it.

English has been the language of education for ages in Ethiopia,,the result of that is clear to see ,, that education system is failed because even after 100 years we still failed in making any scientific or social advances. even though Amahric was and is always the de facto language of communication between Ethiopians for at list 120 years , its never been used for education ,Since it is our official language lets use it for education too, Now how Amahric came to be the de facto language of the people of Ethiopia ,,is it by choice or by force???, that is debatable,, I personally don't take this "Amhara chuvinist" argument as anything but some baseless political propaganda tool that is increasingly being used by groups such as OLF and the likes. ,,,,,,,,,,,,My reasons for saying that Amahric should be the language of learning in high education is not because I feel a special attachment to the Amahric language and I despise the other languages,, it is purely because of the fact that Amahric is spoken more widely than all the other languages we have in our country,, and compared to English which is only understood by few in the country Amahric is understood by almost all,,, those are the reasons I based my argument that if there is any language we should use for education in Ethiopia it should be the Amahric language
1- because we need a common tongue that will unite us in every field, politics, business and education.
2- Amahric language can serve as a bridge between the different ethnic groups making their languages more accessible for learning
3- I reject the use of English as our language of education ,,
A- because we were never part of the British empire
B- Because the use of French or English in education failed to bring us any success for over 100 years.
c- Because Amahric is better known and understood by us than English,, wherever ethnic group we come from in Ethiopia.

I think most of you who reject this idea are either influenced by ethnocentric political ideas( you just cant see any thing beyond ethnic lines) or you are just one of those people who believe wisdom is measured by the knowledge of English.,,,,, so if you are ethnocentric politicians there is no cure I can give you for that ,, because whatever I say you will think I am speaking for the benefit of this or that ethnic group,,, but for those of you who think speaking English is speaking wisdom,, then just look at all the developed nations of Europe and Asia who use their own languages for education and who achieved so much as nations, unlike us, in science and in social development alike.

[yosiast]

REALLY WELL SAID FK. It's outrageous to even suggest that English should be the country's official language. I don't know why many Habeshas have this mentality that English is the international language of business, education etc.....It really is not. Our exposure as a people either at home or in the diaspora has mostly been limited to English speaking nations, hence, we are assuming that English is the 'universal language'. That can not be any farther from the truth. I've said it before and I'll say it again: countries in South America or Asia or even parts of Europe and the Middle East didn't become well-developed by adopting English as their 'everything' language. You want to do business in South America? You better learn Spanish and/or portuguese....English won't get you anywhere. You want to work with the South Koreans, Japanese or many of the other highly-developed Asian nations, you better know their local language or you'll be out of the game faster than you can blink....I hate it when people suggest such rubbish as making English a national language....knowing English is not a sign of knowledge/awaqinet. We were never subjects of the British empire either....we have always been a proud independent nation with our own intricate socio-economic issues. And the last 20 years of experimenting with ethnic-centred socio-political order has only loosened any sense of national identity we had. We can not keep experimenting forever while our nation is striving to develop.