This publication reflects the results of the Ethiopian education reform as well as the exceptional efforts that multiethnic Ethiopia undertakes in order to cope with the challenges arising from the population explosion. More than 55 per cent of the 77 million Ethiopians are under the age of 18 years. The great social and political changes started in Ethiopia at the beginning of the 1990s have resulted in the substitution of the educational system based on Amharic and English by one which uses a multilingual approach. According to the Ministry of Education 22 out of the 84 languages spoken in Ethiopia are now used as media of instruction in primary schools. The book presents the lectures delivered at the workshop "On the Results of the Reform in Ethiopia's Language and Education Policy" held at Addis Ababa University in April 2006 by Ethiopian education experts and a German research team. Their contribution has facilitated a subsumption into the historical context and has given insight into the analyses of the use of 8 Ethiopian languages in primary schools in different regions of the country.

This handbook provides a comprehensive account of the languages spoken in Ethiopia, exploring both their structures and features and their function and use in society. The first part of the volume provides background and general information relating to Ethiopian languages, including their demographic distribution and classification, language policy, scripts and writing, and language endangerment. Subsequent parts are dedicated to the four major language families in Ethiopia - Cushitic, Ethiosemitic, Nilo-Saharan, and Omotic - and contain studies of individual languages, with an initial introductory overview chapter in each part. Both major and less-documented languages are included, ranging from Amharic and Oromo to Zay, Gawwada, and Yemsa. The final part explores languages that are outside of those four families, namely Ethiopian Sign Language, Ethiopian English, and Arabic. With its international team of senior researchers and junior scholars, The Oxford Handbook of Ethiopian Languages will appeal to anyone interested in the languages of the region and in African linguistics more broadly.

The aim of this book is to document the experiences of institutions and states that are implementing bilingual higher education policies in the legal context, to identify the different approaches and to suggest some of the likely areas for future theoretical development. It examines the role of higher education language policies (medium-of-instruction policies in higher education) in mediating the tension between on the one hand the centralizing forces of stated-mandated policies and globalisation and demands for language rights by ethnic and linguistic minorities on the other.

An engaging history of how the idea of development has shaped Africa's past and present encounters with the West.

During the last two centuries, ethnolinguistic nationalism has been the norm of nation building and state building in Central Europe. The number of recognized Slavic languages (in line with the normative political formula of language = nation = state) gradually tallied with the number of the Slavic nation-states, especially after the breakups of Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. But in the current age of borderless cyberspace, regional and minority Slavic languages are freely standardized and used, even when state authorities disapprove. As a result, since the turn of the 19th century, the number of Slavic languages has varied widely, from a single Slavic language to as many as 40. Through the story of Slavic languages, this timely book illustrates that decisions on what counts as a language are neither permanent nor stable, arguing that the politics of language is the politics in Central Europe. The monograph will prove to be an essential resource for scholars of linguistics and politics in Central Europe.

Using extensive research, this book argues that successful African leaders consolidate their rule by developing strategic rural coalitions.

This second volume of Language Issues in Comparative Education, following the tradition of the first, introduces the state of the field and calls attention to innovations described throughout. The chapters examine language-in-education policy change, describe implementational activities, and present strategic frameworks for research and advocacy.

This book provides a study of contemporary politics in Ethiopia through an empirical focus on language policy, citizenship, ethnic identity, and gender. It is unique in its focus not only on the political institutions of Ethiopia and the history of the country but in that it studies these subjects at the intersection of both modern and historical time periods. In particular, it argues that meaningful citizenship, which is much more than the legal state of being a citizen, is a process of citizens and the state negotiating the practice of citizenship. Therefore, it puts the citizen back at the forefront of the process of expanding citizenship, suggesting the ways that citizens support, resist, and affect state policy on political rights.

Academic Paper from the year 2019 in the subject Speech Science / Linguistics, , language: English, abstract: This work has attempted to give an overview of how the language policy of the different regimes in Ethiopia has contributed to the sense of national identity. Although language is not the only factor that consolidates or weakens national identity, it plays a significant role. It is with this mine that the book is written. Different language-related policies and documents of the imperial, military and EPRDF regimes were closely investigated. Sections and statements in the policy pertaining to language use were considered as units of analysis. Furthermore, empirical and theoretical literature written in areas of language policy and national identity were consulted. The autoher also included his personal experiences as a university instructor and informal meetings held with people in different walks of life. The evidence obtained from the sources mentioned above reflects that the language policy used in Ethiopia is highly polarized: ranging from one language to all to no language to all. That is, the regimes before EPRDF dictate one language to be used as a tool of communication to all Ethiopians. On the other hand, the EPRDF regime emphasized local language and culture without (practically) giving any room for national communication. Both approaches contribute little to national identity formation. This book recommends that Ethiopians need to learn from other multilingual countries about language planning. Ethnocentric thinking that assumes one’s own language as superior to the other’s language should be avoided. Politicians also need to abstain from politicizing language (identity) and using it as a means of mobilizing support. This book recommends that bilingual/ multilingual education contributes a lot to Ethiopian national identity formation.