Language policy and planning in Ethiopia

Bibliographic Data

ID23577817
AuthorsDerib Ado (0000-0001-7125-9771, Linguistics and Philology, Addis Ababa University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Pages65-77
Publication date2023-05-22
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueHistorical Harpsichord, Vol. 2 (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198728542.013.5
OpenAlexW4377232428
ISBN9780198728542
LanguageEN
Citations received1

This chapter offers an overview of language policy and planning (LPP) in Ethiopia. The Language policy of Ethiopia can be divided into three main periods, namely (i) the era of Geez until the 19th century, (ii) the era of Amharic from the 19th century to 1991, and (iii) the post-1991 era which promotes all Ethiopian languages. Of these three eras, the post-1991 era has seen a lot of language planning and policy activities. More than 50 languages have been reduced to writing, and about 34 languages have become media of instruction or school subjects in primary education. However, these language planning activities have not been supported by strong language planning agencies both at regional and federal level. Recently, there is a move towards implementing a new language policy that introduces four additional languages as the working languages of the federal government and proposes the establishment of central language planning as well as regulating agencies. The implementation of such a policy, however, will depend on constitutional amendments, which is a very contentious issue in Ethiopia today.

Amharic · Government (linguistics) · Language planning · Language policy · Linguistics · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · African history and culture analysis · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Multilingual Education and Policy · Public Administration · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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