Swahili in Spaces of War: A Sociolinguistic Odyssey

Description

This monograph examines the roles and functions of Swahili in war/conflict situations, and the impact of wars on the destiny of the language. Covering a period of over a century, the monograph explores this sociolinguistic theme in the context of six wars/conflicts: the Maji Maji resistance against German rule, the two World Wars, the anti-colonial resistance to British colonialism, the wars of the Great Lakes region, the cold wars, and the ongoing war against terrorism. In geographical focus, some of the war situations explored here are “local,” others are “transnational,” and others still rather “global” in scope and ramifications. In the final analysis, the monograph provides important snapshots of the conflict-based history of the Swahili language, demonstrating once again that language is a malleable tool that can be appropriated and galvanized to serve the interests of either party in a conflict and sometimes as a means of creating hegemonic and anti-hegemonic meanings. Acknowledgments Contents List of Figures 1: Introduction Expansion of Swahili Language and Nationalism: Between Internal and External Wars Functions of Language in War and War’s Impact on Language War and the Swahili Literary Imagination Outline of the Book Terminology: Between Swahili and Kiswahili References 2: Swahili and the Maji Maji Resistance Against German Rule The Quiet Entry of German Rule in East Africa The Rise of Maji Maji Disentangling Language Choices German Reaction to the Maji Maji War Swahili Words in Action References 3: Swahili in Military Context: Between World War I and World War II World War I and Its Aftermath World War II and Its Aftermath Conclusion References 4: Swahili and Imperial Britain: Colonial Creation/African Appropriation The (Re)Construction of African Languages and Identities Dis-Islamization/Europeanization of African Languages Swahili and the Foundations of Anti-Colonial Nationalism Parties, Periodicals, and Protest Conclusion References 5: Swahili and the Wars of the Great Lakes Region Uganda and the NRA Effect Rwanda, Burundi, and the RPF Effect From Zaïre Back to the DRC Swahili, Refugees of Wars, and Regional Integration Conclusion References 6: Swahili in the Context of Cold Wars The Ideological Cold War The Ideological Cold War in Swahili Translation The Racial Cold War The Economic Cold War Conclusion References 7: Swahili and the War on Terrorism Swahili and the War on Terrorism in East Africa US Policy and Foreign Language Education After 9/11 The US Swahili Initiative to Win Hearts and Minds Local Reactions to the American Initiative References 8: Conclusion References Index