Aníbal Neves, Elisa Guirrungo, Felisberto Tomas, Olga Njovo, Paulo Daniel, RofinaSaveca,

ValterMatlhava

Topic:

English in Mozambique in colonial and post-colonial attitudes towards

Pedagogical University of Maputo

Year: 2024
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Aníbal Neves, Elisa Guirrungo, Felisberto Tomas, Olga Njovo, Paulo Daniel, RofinaSaveca,
ValterMatlhava

2nd year - Labour

Resach paper to be presented as a paartial

assessment requirement at the FCLA in the
subject of History of English

Lecturer:
Dra. Maria

Pedagógical University of Maputo

April, 2023
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Índice
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 3
1.1 Study subject ....................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Problem ............................................................................................................................... 4
1.3 Justification ......................................................................................................................... 4
1.4 Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER II........................................................................................................................................... 6
ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN MOZAMBIQUE COLONIAL ............................................................. 6
2. Contextualization: ....................................................................................................................... 6
2.1 Basic Data on Mozambique ................................................................................................ 6
2.2 Mozambique´s linguistic landscape in the colonial era ...................................................... 6
2.3 Influence of neighbouring colonies on the spread of English in Mozambique;.................. 7
2.4 Features of language in colonial era.................................................................................... 7
2.6 The influence of English on Bantu languages in Mozambique, (for example: search –
procurar em changana; xipone = spoon, etc) .................................................................................. 8
CHAPTER III ......................................................................................................................................... 9
3. ENGLIH IN MOZAMBIQUE POS-COLONIAL ATITUDES TOWARDS ............................. 9
CHAPTER IV ....................................................................................................................................... 11
4. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 11
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CHAPTER I

1. Introduction

The History of the English Language in Mozambique in the colonial period and in the post-

colonial period, looking at current attitudes, constitutes a field of study that our group

proposes to carry out. We aim to find answers in relation to various aspects inherent to the

language in a region, predominantly, of Bantu languages. We will analyze, among other

aspects, the influence it had on local languages, the level of acceptance among the local

population, the impact it has, as well as the perspectives of this language in relation to what

happens in everyday life.

Wehope to present an overview of different languages spoken in Mozambique and explaining

how Bantu languages, Arabic, Asian languages, Portuguese, English, and French came to be
spoken in the country, and came to be either marginalized or valorized. Thus, we summarize
the history of English in this different period: Colonial and post-colonial in Mozambique.

According to Lakatos and Marconi (2007:157) “scientific research is a formal procedure with
a method of reflective thinking that requires scientific treatment and constitutes the path to
knowing reality or systematizing partial truths.”

In this vein, this project addresses the topic “English in Mozambique colonial and pos-
colonial atitudes towards”.

The overall vision of this project comprises the Introduction which referring to the
justification, problem and objectives; 2 chapters distributed in well-related content: the first
being )i) English in Mozambique in colonial era; the second: (ii) English in Mozambique pos-
colonial era, atitudes towards; lastly we have the Conclusion and Biblography..

1.1 Study subject

 English Language in Mozambique in colonial and pos-colonial atitudes towards
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1.2 Problem
The integration of a foreign language in a bantu society reveals a challeger because it has to
respond various questions such as: how important it is to that community; is it useful for that
community, etc.

Access to knowledge is, as in all societies, crucial for the intellectual development of the

individual, but the relationships between the various participants in the process of its

acquisition prove to be fundamental to the success of this aim.

When Bantu societies felt forced to learn new foreign languages and have their own relegated
to the background, it may have been a reason for them to become aware of the colonial nature
of the entities that imposed these same foreign languages.

There was, then, a need to show how pertinent it was to learn those foreign languages for
mastering science and technology, distancing oneself from the nature of the explorer's
language.

1.3 Justification
In Mozambique, there is adverse behaviour regarding the introduction of foreign languages
within communities. It is in order to prove that linguistic competence in a foreign language is
not synonymous with subservience, tacit submission to the dominance of people who speak
that language, but a need to facilitate communication and integration in the increasingly
globalized world.

It is therefore important that Mozambican society faces the linguistic issue with greater
responsibility that is, accepting foreign languages, however, without neglecting the use of
local languages that constitute the country's cultural identity.

Constituiu, também, motivação para a realização deste trabalho, a necessidade de conhecer a

realidade sobre a história e o impacto da língua inglesa em Moçambique bem como as suas
perspetives. .

The need to understand the reality of the history and impact of the English language in
Mozambique, as well as its perspectives, also constituted motivation for carrying out this
work.
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1.4 Objectives
a) General
 To understand the existence of English as a spoken language in Mozambique since
colonial and post-colonial attitudes towards.

b) Specifics
 Analyze the uses of English language in colonial era in Mozambique and its impact;
 Analyze the uses and perspectives of English language in post- colonial atitudes
towards
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CHAPTER II

ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN MOZAMBIQUE COLONIAL

2.1 Basic Data on Mozambique;
2.2 Mozambique´slinguisticlandscape in the colonial era;
2.3 Influence of neighbouring colonies on the spread of English in
Mozambique;
2.4 Features of language in colonial era
2.5 Characteristics of English in Mozambique in colonial era;
2.6 The influence of English on Bantu languages in Mozambique, (for
example: search – procuraremchangana; xipone = spoon, etc)

2. Contextualization:
2.1 Basic Data on Mozambique:
The Republic of Mozambique, according to INE, has a population of 32 million inhabitants
with a surface area of 801,590km2.

According Maciel, 2007: 11, Mozambique is a former Portuguese colonized country which is
located in thesoutheastern coast of Africa. The country is surrounded by former British
colonizedcountries that use English as their official language: Tanzania on the north; Malawi
andZambia on the northwest; Zimbabwe, the Republic of South Africa, and Swaziland on
thewest. It is also bordered by the Republic of South Africa on the south (see the map
ofMozambique in Appendix A). The majority of people in Mozambique speak
Bantulanguages, which are the indigenous languages of the country. Yet the knowledge
ofEuropean languages, particularly Portuguese and English, is associated with better
socialand economical rewards.

2.2 Mozambique´slinguisticlandscape in the colonial era

From 1498 to 1885, Mozambique's first contact with foreigners was recorded, namely the
Portuguese, through the expedition of the navigator Vasco da Gama and, due to the influence of
that group for centuries, part of the coast of Mozambique, almost 3000 km to the valley of the
Zambezi was influenced by the Portuguese language.
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With the Berlin Conference, which decided that colonial territories will be recognized by
international public law if they are not only discovered but that de facto public authority is
exercised by an administrative structure, police and armed forces. Only at that time did
Portugal exhaustively occupy Mozambique territorially, in the south through the use of
military force.

2.3 Influence of neighbouring colonies on the spread of English in Mozambique;

 Until 1942, parts of Mozambican territory were under the control of majestic colonial
societies with sovereign powers conferred by the Portuguese State.
 During the armed struggle, Frelimo's main rearguard was Tanzania, an English-
speaking country, but there were also some guerrillas who had command of English
due to intensive contact with that language in some neighboring countries where they
had been. However, Frelimo defended, from the beginning, Portuguese as a unifying
link, a language of national unity with a view to avoiding the emergence of a tribal
mentality among the people
 The migrations of people from Mozambique to South African mines.

2.4 Features of language in colonial era

 There were different language spoken in Mozambique such as bantu language,
Arabic, Asian languages and European languages.
 Until 1961, 1% of the Mozambican population considered civilized mastered both
oral and written Portuguese.
 The official and teaching language regulated throughout Mozambican territory was
Portuguese and this was extended to the various missionary schools established by
Christian missionary societies.
 They also validated French and English in the formal system of education. The
Portuguese strongly marginalized all non-European languages spoken in the country,
they gave more prominence their own language, the Portuguese.

2.5 Characteristics of English in Mozambique in colonial era;

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 Few people of bantu origin could speak English except those who had contact with
the englih in the majestic companies, those who had to emigrate to English speaking
countries for several reaons; those who studied in issions where English was learnt.
 English was not one of the main languages spoken in Mozambique.
.

2.6 The influence of English on Bantu languages in Mozambique, (for example:

search – procuraremchangana; xipone = spoon, etc)
Mozambican Bantu languages borrowed many words from English. For example, as Firmino
writes, in Xichangana, there are words such as xipuni borrowed from “spoon,” buku
borrowed from “book,” bayibele borrowed from “bible,” and penicela borrowed from
“pencil” (99).

The Xichangana language has borrowed English lexical units in order to fill in gaps. In fact,
English is a language that is integrated into almost all languages, driven by prestige and new
communication and information technologies. Words like pendrive, show, pendrive, bullying,
delivery, shopping (TIMBANE, 2012a, p. 8) reveal the prestige that English has. These are
words integrated in such a way that they do not cause strangeness in the speech of many
Mozambicans.

The English language has contributed to several loanwords and loanwords in almost all
languages, as discussed Timbane (2012a) em “Osestrangeirismos e osempréstimos no
portuguêsfaladoemMoçambique”. See some examples: bixopo = bishop= vabixopo , 2xipunu
= spoon vs svipunu ‘ thaye = gravata, from inglês tie vs mathaye . pompi from inglês pump
vs mipompi , watchi (classe 1) = relógio, do inglês watch vs mawatchi (classe 6) = relógios,
bòtì = barco, do inglês boat vs mabòtì, djèki = blusa/ casaco de frio, do inglês jacket vs
madjèki (classe 6)=blusas/casado
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CHAPTER III
3. ENGLIH IN MOZAMBIQUE POS-COLONIAL ATITUDES TOWARDS

3.1 What is English over the world

It is:

 the main foreign language;

 Diplomacy and international trade ;
 it is also used as an official language in the SADC;

3.2 English in Mozambique education after independence

English in Mozambique presents 2 differents curriculums, the first one some years after
independence and the second one in 2004.

First curriculum characterises:

 English was Introduced in third level of secondary education and taught from grade 7
to 9;
 There were no english courses at high schools, which was grade 10 or 11;
 Colleges just had English in the first year;
 Private schools gave English in grade 5, 6 or 7;

Second curriculum characterises:

 English thaught in grades 6 or 7 at primary schools;

 English is taught in all grades in secondary schools( privates and public ones);

Therefore, it is possible to see that english after independence was weak in Mozambique,
which means there were few people speaking and center to learn it, but after some years it
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spread over the country and the people speaking enhence as well as the centers of english
teaching.

3- what reinforced English in Mozambique

 Social communication( Radio Mozambique used to broadcasts national news, BBC

news, interviews, English lessons etc);
 New curriculum implemented in 2004;
 Demands of actual jobs markets;
 End of the civil war;

4-People speaking English in Mozambique

 The few Mozambicans who speak English learned this language in formal contexts ;
They are able to read and write in English;
 Many people prefer to learn and speak English rather than their Bantu languages;
 it is currently spoken in elite and rich families, among those families whose children
study at schools which use English as the language of instruction or among those
parents who are willing to send their children to study abroad.;
 Speaking English is also associated with a higher status, which is why it is sometimes
used simply to display one's social prestige (Firmino, 2005). The only place in the
whole country where two in four young people speak English is at the KaMubukwana
District (at Inhagoia), where English feeds the youth entrepreneurial spirit and it is
used for normal social interaction and not for showing higher social status as such
(Nhapulo, 2011).

However, the English is used in international meetings and workshops or for

communication/negotiation with foreign investors or international agents, that is, in domains
that qualify this language as high.
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CHAPTER IV

4. CONCLUSION
The present study culminated in worrying results that lead to conclusions according to which:

Portuguese language, which already makes their migration to Europe much easier, but the
English language opens up a world of opportunities for residents not only in Mozambique,
but around the world.

As there is great poverty in Mozambique, migration is very high, which is why those who
speak English can get jobs outside that country, thus increasing the possibilities of improving
their quality of life, obtaining more jobs.

Thus, the main impact is the migration of people from that country in search of a higher
quality of life.

The benefits of learning English go beyond simply mastering a second language. In fact,
studies show that learning a foreign language can improve students' cognitive ability,
strengthen problem-solving skills, and increase creativity

AsaconclusionwecansaythatalthoughEnglishhas influenced
ourBantulanguagesinMozambiquethenumberofEnglishspeakerswhithinthecountrywasveryfew
duetothePoliceofthePortuguese.

AfterindependencetherewasaspreadofEnglishsincethe government
understoodthevitalimportanceofEnglishforthedevelopmentofthecountrysinceitssoroundedbyE
nglishspeakingcountries.Englishisnowtaughtindiferentelevelsandanyonewillingtolearnitmaye
venlearnwhereverhewants.
WithimigrantsandtouristscomingtoMozambiquemanypeoplearegetting newjobs.
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Englishisseenasalanguagethatopensupaworldofopportunitiesforthepeople.

5. BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) Libaneo, J.C, Didática . São Paulo: Cortez, 1994

2) Maciel, C. M.A. Bantu Oral Narratives in the Training of EFL Teachers in
Mozambique. “Languagesand Oral Traditions in Mozambique.” Tese.
Doutoramento em Estudos de Língua Inglesa. Illinois StateUniversity, 2007. Pp.
7-51.
3) Bantu_oral_narratives_in_the_training_of.pdf
4) Teacher_and_learner_beliefs_and_expectations_about.pdf
5) http://www.OSEMPRSTIMOSDOPORTUGUSEDOINGLSNALNGUAXICHANGA
NAEMMOAMBIQUE.pdf. Org,mz em 06.04.24