Funny ancient game

geuvara · Newbie

Funny ancient game

Nali · Member

If its true this is corruption at its worst. Qualifications are even being forged by Members of parliament. Now whatever motive the others had of exposing this i hope all the other MPs their qualifications are going to be thoroughly investigated.

I find that hard to believe that they use only English in the Malawian parliament. Is it only me who see something wrong in this. What does it say about the Chichewa language is chichewa not a language worth to use in Malawian parliament. Shouldnt they let MPs use the language they are comfortable in. The main reason the MPs are there is to serve their constituencies I think they will do more if they are allowed to express themselves in a language they are familiar with. How do we expect are our native languages to survive if they are not promoted. Some of us even stutter when we speak chichewa.

You find some people who think good command of English determines your education status. May be in Malawi it does but not the rest of the world.

eetchef · Senior Member

Thanks for your interesting posting. Of course realising all the facts about what politicians are doing back home at the moment is becoming offending.But one of the roles of a true democratic society is to question conventional truths. The pursuit of ideas within such a society has always demanded that the electorate question the sacred and reveal the unmentionable. A true democratic society teaches its memebers how not to take criticisms and political setbacks (own goals) personally. The arrest of Lucius and Milanzi is both political and not only a political score for the government but also to the true democratic Malawian society . It is political because the two are dishonourable MPs who are politicians, and of course remember , man is political in nature. It is a government score as not in relation to Bingus house but as a nation we require law abiding people for a better social economic development. The two made themselves popular by moving such motions in parliament hence people were interested to know who these two intelligent and democartic politicians were all about. You start to look at what they have done to become so intelligent in parliament and hey the police in Malawi are doing a great job for sure. Malawians have to understand that despite the fact that you are a top politician malamulo ayenela kusatilidwa, Bingu is teaching us all that today.

ambolomtima · Newbie

hey nali i agree with u theres nothing wrong with chichewa in parliament.we should be proud of our language.as for lucious he should just be entertaining not part of leadership. we need intelligent and well educated people in our leadership.most of our mps are there because they 're popular or have some money but not qaulified which does not help improving our country.i think bingu is agood start. makalamba onse achoke palibe chomwe achita ,dziko lathu ndi laling'ono kwambiri to be developed.its time for us young malawians to step up the future is in our hands.dont get me wrong its just my own point of view.

Date: Nov 6, 2005

Nali wrote:

I find that hard to believe that they use only English in the Malawian parliament. Is it only me who see something wrong in this... The main reason the MPs are there is to serve their constituencies I think they will do more if they are allowed to express themselves in a language they are familiar with.

Utopian sentiment holds little relevance in the real world. I'd love to hear the MPs debate the Securities Trading Commission bill in chichewa. I'm sure it would be very entertaining!

Also, you shouldn't think of MPs as simply being representatives of their constituents.They have influence over matters that affect the nation as a whole. I think it is in our interest for them to think and act that way; as members of a national legislative arm.

abre les ojos · Guru

Couldn't agree with you more.

Unfortunately the idea that the use of English in parliament somehow impedes debate is laughably ridiculous. We keep moaning about the loss of tradition. But what is tradition but the illusion of permanence.

game · Guru

eetchef wrote:

Thanks for your interesting posting. Of course realising all the facts about what politicians are doing back home at the moment is becoming offending.But one of the roles of a true democratic society is to question conventional truths. The pursuit of ideas within such a society has always demanded that the electorate question the sacred and reveal the unmentionable. A true democratic society teaches its memebers how not to take criticisms and political setbacks (own goals) personally. The arrest of Lucius and Milanzi is both political and not only a political score for the government but also to the true democratic Malawian society . It is political because the two are dishonourable MPs who are politicians, and of course remember , man is political in nature. It is a government score as not in relation to Bingus house but as a nation we require law abiding people for a better social economic development. The two made themselves popular by moving such motions in parliament hence people were interested to know who these two intelligent and democartic politicians were all about. You start to look at what they have done to become so intelligent in parliament and hey the police in Malawi are doing a great job for sure. Malawians have to understand that despite the fact that you are a top politician malamulo ayenela kusatilidwa, Bingu is teaching us all that today.

eeechef.

so what are you trying to say?at one point you are saying the police are doing a much better job definately for nicking these two,then you go on to say its all a political motive then you back down and say man is political in nature,are you trying to say the arrest of these two is a political witch hunt because they presented the impeachment motion or what?as much as find your posting constructive its also lacking in substance because you are saying three opposing things in one.

the electorate in malawi is an oppressed demographical sector that never question but fear the sacred and do not reveal anything,politictians control the electorate by moving it like pieces on a chess board,democracy is a defunct system in malawi,it no longer exist,there are so many issues to be tackled that can benefit the local man but they delibarately shove them aside to discuss personal gains,and when they disagree on something they remind each other who is boss.everyone wants the share of the cake thats why they only attack each other when the share is disproportional.

Nali · Member

abre les ojos wrote:

Couldn't agree with you more. Unfortunately the idea that the use of English in parliament somehow impedes debate is laughably ridiculous. We keep moaning about the loss of tradition. But what is tradition but the illusion of permanence.

Abre language is one of the biggest barrier to communication. English is a very important language it has become the international language much preferred language as a second language. But the fact still remains that they are millions of people who cant speak a word of English. You go to France, Germany, Latin America, Japan, Russia if you have been to one of these countries then you will realize how a language can be a biggest barrier to communication.

Malawi doesnt need to use English in parliament because it is a second language. As good as one is in it, it is not the same as expressing yourself in your mother tongue or the language one uses at home most of the time. All the parliamentarians can speak chichewa so they dont need a second language to communicate in. In countries like South Africa they use English in parliament mainly because they have 11 official languages the Zulus will not like it if isiXhoza was the main language, same with the Afrikaners and vice versa and they wont be able to understand each other the mutual language is English. If this would have been the case in Malawi I would understand.

We learn English for mainly communication with the outside world(international world) not for communication amongst malawians that we can easily do with Chichewa. Imagine how it would be if the British Parliament one day held debates in French. Even though most of them learnt French as a second language at school it want be the same for them as conducting debates in their mother toungue.

English is one of those languages when one makes a mistake he or she is made fun of and sometimes given names. This in the process makes an individual reluctant to speak because he or she is afraid of making mistakes and being laughed at. Think about the politics in Malawi if one Parliamentarian is to make a mistake in pronunciation ect how will that person be attacked. All this for me is good enough for English to hinder debates in Malawian Parliament.

-- Edited by Nali at 01:45, 2005-11-08

abre les ojos · Guru

You are too wrong. Well, a little bit.

The languages spoken in Europe are variations of Latin and Greek because of the influences of their empires. The reason English is widely spoken is for the same reason. But you kow that already. Like awmygawd said it is a richer language of expression in terms of certain aspects of our society. I'm not advocating a ban on chichewa; far from it, and over three times the amount of people speak mandarin than english. Spanish is more widely spoken than english.

Unfortunately the effects of colonialism are stronger than our barren sense of nationalism. The result is that while english is growing in size and grammatic sophistication, our own indigenous language remaims antique, even discouraged.

In terms of trade and thanks to the US english, like the US dollar is the international unit of exchange favoured. It's just politics/economics and I believe it is irreversible - at least where Malawi is concerned.

So all that rubbish about national pride and tradition. I cannot begin to count the other things about our country and its aquired influence that we'll need to get rid of. Christianity would have to go because it was the white man's bringing. Then our governmental structures, constitution, technology.... Need I say more....

Nali, you go on about how other countries do stuff but you need to realise that there is a historical aspect to it all. There's a reason why we don't speak french or the french don't speak German. And of course why we speak english in parliament. Bollocks to whether one get's laughed at for cocking up, everybody does - that's a petty issue.

game · Guru

preach brotha, preach!

english is a mish mash of all eauropean languages the reason its widely spoken in some parts of africa like malawi is colonialism that puts me in agreement with you abre,and the reason its used in our parliament is that 90% of our constitution is a chip off the english constitution ,watch the house of lords in session then you will agree with me.the other main factor is that most of our economy is donor aid,our education system finds english as a fundamental element.

think of how you could be a doctor if you learned chemistry in chichewa without a seed of the english language,our first president was speaking english when addressing the most illiterate in rural areas through an interpretter who most of the times adited and distorted the meanings of his speech.how could a lecture at bunda college describe the first law of thermodynamics by sir isaac newton,in chichewa.english is the only source of communication we might as well put it as our first language because it was introduced to malawians in the past hundred years.

Nali, many people make english mistakes it only takes a fool to laugh at someone for cockin up the language,Adolf hitler's book was published with a million english mistakes but still people managed to grasp the contents and its meaning.anyone who makes a mistake is often not far from the truth because mainly its grammar or misapplication.in our parliament we cant replace english for chichewa this will mean changing the whole legistrative system and rewriting the constitution,even our judicial system.How can you address the judge in chichewa i cant seem to find a word.

abre les ojos · Guru

I'm in total agreement with you...

skillzmanifest · Senior Member

very true, you have to bear in mind that not everyone in Malawi's mother tongue is chichewa. There are the yaos, the tumbukas, nyanjas(has its differences), azungu etc. Like english, chichewa is also taught in schools.To make things even more complicated, people are scattered across the country. You have mixed districts, comprising of mixture of people who speak different languages all together. There are very few, if no, districts that are oriented to speaking one language. So it really doesn't matter if your MP doesn't speak your language.

then again, what qualifications and qualifities do we want your MP's to have? Considering Lucius Banda's story, its quite obvious they want to be represented by an MP with atleast and MCE. What else?

game · Guru

skills

maybe for lucius banda's case they thought he would present a musicology degree.the best thing for people is to stick to what they do best,having a majority of people behind you does not make you a leader,it comes with qualities thats why bill gates sticks to computers and let Dubya do politics.

Nali · Member

Abre and Game

I know why we speak English as a second language in our country the reason is our history but the other is communication with the international world. But i have to say you have failed to convince me what good it does to the malawian nation which only a few people speak English fluently. If you tell me that over night malawians can speak eloquently English then i will agree with you. I thought that the Malawian parliament consists of a group of malawians who are representing all malawians and they make and change laws of the country not the international world. Laws that affect malawians not the international world. What the two of you here have written is Malawi in terms of the international world not in terms of malawians.

Can you please tell me if an MSCE cirtificate proves that one speaks English fluently. Here I have to give an example according to my own experience. I was last in Malawi over a couple of years ago I went to one of the best girls private secondary school where it was a must for one to speak English around the school campus and the result was only few students from upper middle class family and so called coloureds were able to have conversations in English the rest were unable to do so. These were form four students in one of the best private school in Bt, what more with government schools. How do you think the situation is like in those schools in remote areas. But the question that always crosses my mind is how do some of these students pass their MSCE.

Game as much as i would like the Education system in Malawi to change i will never consider University students to learn in Chichewa because at that level they should be confortable with English. But you must not forget that those who go further in education in Malawi are the exception they are a very few minority, its like winning the lotto. The High school education on the other hand is a debatable issue either they prepare the little ones with good English in primary school or they abolish the whole learning everything in English thing. The first option is the best option and cheaper equip primary schools with better teachers who can speak English.

What-ever you think but you must not forget that the majority of malawians are not like you and me they dont live in Bt or Lilongwe. They dont have tv, video machines, dvds or computers. They live in small villages and are substistence farmers who are not educated and cant speak English. If their children are lucky to attend secondary education then these children dont have opportunities to listern to the language and practice it. I think this is probably one of the reasons why Kamuzu spoke English to these people so that they could have a chance to hear the language. During Kamuzus time the level of English was better when i left Malawi it was bad.

About translanting the constitution in Chichewa we have experts who will be able to do this. If they were able to translate the Bible into Chichewa then they should be able to do so with the constitution nothing is impossible it all depends on the cost.

Abre its not about being a nationalist its about communication. If the majority of malawians were able to speak English fluently then i would agree with using English in Parliament. In Countries like Angola the majority of the people can speak Portuguese fluently it has even over taken other native languages as a mother tounge but this is not the case in Malawi. The majority of malawians cant speak English they speak chichewa at home.

Skillzmanifest

I have to admit to you that i didnt know that the other native languages in Malawi are that strong. I thought that almost every malawian was able to speak chichewa. If it is right what you wrote here then i have to say this puts us in the same situation as South Africa English becomes the mutual language. With your argument meaning that not every malawian can speak chichewa then i have to say it would be proper to use both Chichewa and English in Parliament.

-- Edited by Nali at 20:48, 2005-11-09

game · Guru

nali

who told you that the majority of educated people in malawi come from blantyre and lilongwe,which school did you go to?do you know that the major cities have a higher rate of school drop outs than the rural areas or you are one of the people who think being in england makes you an english genius.ofcourse i do agree with you on some issues but remember how useful the english language is to malawians.

lets start with names,people in villages have more english names than those in towns and cities,like che mailosi,eleson,maikolo,pitala,etc,etc.they may sound chewa but they are originally derived from the english you sure know that.as much as chewa is a bantu language it also have english bits and bobs in it,like chichewa galamala,galamala comes from the english word grammar,english plays a major role in our syllable and its because of the english language people from other tribes interact its called common ground,you sure know these things.

i know we do have alot of learned men and women in malawi that can rewrite our constitution but dont you think that will mean inventing our own instead of using the english system only in chewa,it will also mean living in an undemocratic society,you sure know that multiparty system of government or the system whereby people live in communities under one ruler composed of judicial,civil service,legistrature was brought to us by the foreigners mainly english people,our way of life is back to the cave man era,where we made fire by two sticks rubbing together,are you sure you want that?

-- Edited by game at 21:39, 2005-11-09

Nali · Member

game wrote:

nali who told you that the majority of educated people in malawi come from blantyre and lilongwe,which school did you go to?do you know that the major cities have a higher rate of school drop outs than the rural areas or you are one of the people who think being in england makes you an english genius.ofcourse i do agree with you on some issues but remember how useful the english language is to malawians.

You are putting words into my mouth. I never wrote that the majority of educated people come from bt or LL. I wrote that most of the people in rural areas in Malawi if educated dont have opportunities to practice English. Please tell me if i am wrong here. Please tell me how people without electricity in rural areas get the opportunity to practice English.

the only way lets start with names,people in villages have more english names than those in towns and cities,like che mailosi,eleson,maikolo,pitala,etc,etc.they may sound chewa but they are originally derived from the english you sure know that.as much as chewa is a bantu language it also have english bits and bobs in it,like chichewa galamala,galamala comes from the english word grammar,english plays a major role in our syllable and its because of the english language people from other tribes interact its called common ground,you sure know these things.

Are you trying to tell me if i am called Bonita or Fernando that means i can speak spanish or portuguese. All the languages have borrowed words from other languages for example English has many of these like Restaurant, chauffeur, Rucksack, kindergaten. You should try to learn German you will be amaized how many borrowed words they use. This is how a language develops.

i know we do have alot of learned men and women in malawi that can rewrite our constitution but dont you think that will mean inventing our own instead of using the english system only in chewa,it will also mean living in an undemocratic society,you sure know that multiparty system of government or the system whereby people live in communities under one ruler composed of judicial,civil service,legistrature was brought to us by the foreigners mainly english people,our way of life is back to the cave man era,where we made fire by two sticks rubbing together,are you sure you want that?-- Edited by game at 21:39, 2005-11-09

You are defenately wrong there. You have to go back to African history and you will find that before the white men came to africa we had our own Chiefs or kings who had counsellors. Go back to the times of Mwenemutapa Kingdoms, Shaka zulu etc and you will find that the whole concept of democracy and royal families did existed in Africa not modern as today.

skillzmanifest · Senior Member

Of course not all Malawians speak Chichewa. If you've been to the most ruralest areas of the country, you'd be surprised to find entire communities that speak other languages. Its important to consider the refugees and those other groups who's main language isn't chichewa .In some parts of the Mwanza district, you'll find people speaking only portugese. If communicating in chichewa was important, how would a chichewa speaking MP best serve and represent those other people? It would be just the same as english.

My observations have always been that in the case of Malawi, postions of public office often suffer cronyism becuase people are put into office by being affiliated with someone of some sort of status ie the president. Especially, when it involves politics and common folk who are left to vote, without a real understanding of how politics works. I think Lucius best epitomizes this pattern. Lucius was (and probably still is, I think) a musician and just so happened to be involved in prior UDF campaigns before being elected as MP. When it was election time the common folk were not at all concerned about what he knew. He was Lucius Banda of the Zembani band, the most sought after wedding singer.But most importantly, he helped Bakili president and chairman of UDF in his attempts for third term. At the time, UDF was a party that threw around money, lies, cheap goods etc persuading Malawi's poor majority into thinking or being under the impression that they would get more free hand outs. Like they did at the rallies. With Lucius Banda being part of that slogan, all common folk have to do is make the connections between Lucius and Bakili before coming to the decision of who to vote for. In Malawi, its more who you know than what you know.

In the end it all comes down to what you, as constituents, look for should deciding who should represent you. What qualifications and qualites do you look for?

-- Edited by skillzmanifest at 20:11, 2005-11-10

Nali · Member

Skillz

Malawi´s biggest problems are ignorance, poverty, attitude,culture and lack of good leadership. They are alot of malawians who dont finish their high school education in the process alot of people are not able to think for themselves. They dont realize that the money or what they are given as gifts actually belongs to them. The president and the cabinet works for them they the local citizens are actually the bosses. They pay taxes and the donor money its for them. The government has to use the money in terms that it benifits all malawians. Unless Malawians realise that they have rights, what they are intitled to things will never change.

Malawians have the tendency to feel that if someone does something for you then you owe them. You have to be loyal to them no matter what. If one becomes a Minister or President then his first priority is to bring development into his village the next village it doesnt matter. Malawians have to work hard. They have to realize that inorder for one to be successful it depends on the effort that one puts into it.

-- Edited by Nali at 21:32, 2005-11-10

Date: Nov 12, 2005

…“About translating the constitution in Chichewa we have experts who will be able to do this. If they were able to translate the Bible into Chichewa then they should be able to do so with the constitution nothing is impossible it all depends on the cost “…

That was the bible Nali. As impressive as it was, that task could be pulled off by the smallest group of individuals in the shortest of times. Don’t compare a biblical translation with a translation of national legislation. Translating the law would take more than just (bilingual) linguistic expertise, it would also take vast amounts of specialist knowledge (legal, etc) to make sure that the spirit of the law is upheld, nothing is lost in translation, new loopholes are kept to a minimum, etc.

…“I thought that the Malawian parliament consists of a group of Malawians who are representing all Malawians and they make and change laws of the country not the international world. Laws that affect Malawians not the international world”…

Sure they primarily affect Malawians. In many ways too; they also affect how we interface with the rest of the world and vice versa. The livelihood of those clueless subsistence farmers you talked of are affected by a million variables that can only be managed by the knowledgeable few we have. Eg fertiliser prices (inflation, import tariffs &regulation, etc)

“ But I have to say you have failed to convince me what good it does to the Malawian nation which only a few people speak English fluently”…

Are any of the indigenous languages the answer then? In my opinion, Chichewa is obsolete for use as an official language. The world has moved on and the Chichewa has not kept up. How do you even start to teach anyone something as rudimentary as high school algebra in the language, let alone train the doctors, engineers, economists and all the other professionals that the country needs if the problems of ignorance and poverty that you mention are ever to be solved?

-- Edited by awmygawd at 15:43, 2005-11-12

skillzmanifest · Senior Member

bravo!

Nali · Member

awmygawd wrote:

That was the bible Nali. As impressive as it was, that task could be pulled off by the smallest group of individuals in the shortest of times. Don’t compare a biblical translation with a translation of national legislation. Translating the law would take more than just (bilingual) linguistic expertise, it would also take vast amounts of specialist knowledge (legal, etc) to make sure that the spirit of the law is upheld, nothing is lost in translation, new loopholes are kept to a minimum, etc.

I am sure if the bible had never been translated to Chichewa the same would have been said about it and about preaching in chichewa. I believe if a country hasnt got experts who can be able to translate the constitution into their native language, then that says alot about the country. One example would be to look at countries like Switzerland , Belgium their constitution is in Many languages are you going to tell me that can only be possible with European languages

Are any of the indigenous languages the answer then? In my opinion, Chichewa is obsolete for use as an official language. The world has moved on and the Chichewa has not kept up. How do you even start to teach anyone something as rudimentary as high school algebra in the language, let alone train the doctors, engineers, economists and all the other professionals that the country needs if the problems of ignorance and poverty that you mention are ever to be solved?

The world have moved on yes but has Malawi moved on are you going to tell me the level of English in Malawi has improved. Please tell me what does it say for a country when things are being conducted in English and yet the majority of the people in that country cant speak that language? My second question to you is what has English done for Malawi? Have you ever asked yourself the question why is the education in Malawi not so good? Why is Malawi one of the poorest countries in the world? Has it never occured to you that the country its whole education put alot of focus on one language. What good has this done for Malawi. The problem with all of you is you cant admit that the majority of malawians cant speak English. The whole idea of Secondary education being taught in English was a good idea but these students have to be fluent in the language in order to understand what they are being taught the question should be how do you get pupils in primary school to be fluent in English. If this is not going to be solved then it will be a vicious circle, the education will continue being not good, very few people will be able to speak English, people want be able to make good decisions and more poverty.

Date: Nov 15, 2005

Nali wrote:

"I am sure if the bible had never been translated to Chichewa the same would have been said about it and about preaching in chichewa. I believe if a country hasnt got experts who can be able to translate the constitution into their native language, then that says alot about the country. One example would be to look at countries like Switzerland , Belgium their constitution is in Many languages are you going to tell me that can only be possible with European languages"

Before I defend my position, some clarification please; Are we talking about the constitution singly or the legislation as a whole? The distinction is important as it affects the shape of my response.

About the inappropriateness of English in the Malawian educational system, it seems you have not noticed that I didn’t actually dispute your observation that “the majority of Malawians don’t speak English” and that this presents a problem. My problem with your argument however is you haven’t been clear in suggesting any viable alternatives to English as an official language. I have already mentioned why I think Chichewa does not qualify (the other languages are minority anyway, can they count?). Please refine your case.

Blaming Malawian poverty on the English language alone (or principally) is simplistic and unreasonable. You ask what good English has done for Malawi. My reply; Not as much as it could have. But an English proficient Malawi will always have more potential than a non English speaking Malawi could ever achieve.

PS: Please clarify the matters above.

Nali · Member

I think this whole debate about language came about because the story about the musician faking his MSCE. The certificate was proof enough that he could speak English. Since in Parliament the language used is English. I on the other hand think that MSCE certificate doesnt prove that one is fluent in English. The fact is I have come across people with MSCE certificate who cant speak English properly. My question is how do they understand what they are being taught if they cant understand the language properly?

I think that people are able to express themselves well in their mother tongue. In Malawian parliament they use English and i feel that this does impede debates. I think that the parliamentarians will be more comfortable in expressing themselves in their mother tongue. I have become aware that Chichewa is not as widely spoken as i thought it was. Then in that case Malawi has two official Languages (Chichewa and English) these two languages should be used in parliament etc.

Your other argument was that the constitution cant be properly translated into another language. My answer to that is Countries like Belgium and Switzerland have managed to do that. Are you trying to tell me this is only possible with European languages. If we are talking about constitution then we are also talking about legislation.

I have nothing against the English language. All i am trying to say is if we are using this language then try and make the locals to become fluent in the language. I never blamed poverty entirely on English only. I tried to make apoint in saying that if the majority of Malawians are not fluent in English that means that they are also not educated since the secondary education is in English. Meaning that lack of education comes hand in hand with poverty or leads to no development for the country etc.

skillzmanifest · Senior Member

what does it say for a country when things are being conducted in English and yet the majority of the people in that country cant speak that language? My second question to you is what has English done for Malawi? Have you ever asked yourself the question why is the education in Malawi not so good? Why is Malawi one of the poorest countries in the world?

I see where you are going with this, and I think it is a very sincere consideration. And I agree with you, as far as when you say that Malawians, or the "locals" as you put it, need to be better speakers of english. That we should show competence in written and spoken english. This failure, more than anything, is on the part of education.House holds are not encouraging english to be spoken in the home, Teachers are not doing their jobs effectively enough and the students are not helping themselves to become fluent with the english language. Students will understand what they are being taught once these faults have been tended to. Otherwise, I think your other question about why malawi is poor, is a much more complicated and can't be rooted down to locals not being able to speak fluent english.
However, speaking chichewa in parliament won't solve this problem. It simply requires reform on the part of education. If its what language the parliamentarians feel comfortable or confident with, it should not matter. The common folk simply want their concerns to be heard, they are less likely to follow the dialogue shared between MP's .Your arguement would hold more ground, if we assumed that parliamentarians were in fact not fluent with english, leaving chichewa as the best alternative.But then you would also be assuming that everybody's mother tongue is chichewa .Otherwise, english is most efficient as issues are discoursed before a court who's laws adhere to it.

-- Edited by skillzmanifest at 08:51, 2005-11-16

Date: Nov 17, 2005

I'm guessing that the Malawian constitution is a relatively short document (certainly shorter than the bible) that could be translated with ease. As for the rest of the written law i.e. the legislation... Hmm. There's tons of it. Even if some genius could get through it all, can you imagine how many new words would have to be invented for a Chichewa translation of say... the piece that lays out the Reserve Bank’s mandate? (What’s the Chichewa for “foreign exchange control”?)

Switzerland (Ahem!) has four official languages i.e. German, French, Italian & some ethnic Swiss language spoken by less than one percent of the population. Belgium has three; French, German & Dutch. The only difference with Malawi and English is that those languages have been spoken in those countries for a very, very long time.

That aside, The countries you mention have existed in essentially the same setting as the UK (again) for a very, very long time. All three were occupied by the Romans, which should give you an idea of the extent of their shared history. Maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised that their languages share some qualities e.g. flexibility, dynamism and relevance to the modern world (a world whose present day form, for better or for worse, has been shaped by the histories of those countries).

-- Edited by awmygawd at 02:28, 2005-11-18