IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/jodeso/v24y2008i2p207-243.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Politics of Contemporary Language Policy in Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Lahra Smith

    (Lahra Smith is Assistant Professor at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. [email: ls356@georgetown.edu])

Abstract

Language is political in Ethiopia because it has both structured and symbolized the nation-building project, and because, in the context of limited resources, any language policy change would require a significant realignment of resources. In modern Ethiopia, the historical distribution of the political goods of communication, recognition and autonomy has been highly skewed, benefiting native Amharic-speakers disproportionately. Since the early 1990s, the decentralization of language choice under the federal constitution has led to the use of other languages by members of select ethno-linguistic communities. This study considers the politics of language choice, drawing from the rich literature in political theory which addresses the role of language in the identity politics of multiethnic and multilingual societies. The historical trajectory of language politics in Ethiopia is presented, but the focus is on evidence gathered in parts of Ethiopia in 2001 and 2003. These findings indicate the relationship between language identities, citizenship formation and identification in the country. They are based on structured interviews and participant observation in select regions of the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Lahra Smith, 2008. "The Politics of Contemporary Language Policy in Ethiopia," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 24(2), pages 207-243, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jodeso:v:24:y:2008:i:2:p:207-243
    DOI: 10.1177/0169796X0802400206
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0169796X0802400206
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0169796X0802400206?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tiffen, Mary, 2003. "Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Agriculture, Urbanization and Income Growth," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 1343-1366, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Valbuena, Diego & Tui, Sabine Homann-Kee & Erenstein, Olaf & Teufel, Nils & Duncan, Alan & Abdoulaye, Tahirou & Swain, Braja & Mekonnen, Kindu & Germaine, Ibro & Gérard, Bruno, 2015. "Identifying determinants, pressures and trade-offs of crop residue use in mixed smallholder farms in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 107-118.
    2. Charles Peter Mgeni & Klaus Müller & Stefan Sieber, 2018. "Sunflower Value Chain Enhancements for the Rural Economy in Tanzania: A Village Computable General Equilibrium-CGE Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-22, December.
    3. Shunji Oniki & Melaku Berhe & Koichi Takenaka, 2020. "Efficiency Impact of the Communal Land Distribution Program in Northern Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, May.
    4. Saqalli, M. & Gérard, B. & Bielders, C. & Defourny, P., 2010. "Testing the impact of social forces on the evolution of Sahelian farming systems: A combined agent-based modeling and anthropological approach," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(22), pages 2714-2727.
    5. Xiejun Cheng & Min Zhang & Jiayi Xu & Jingrong Xu & Decai Tang, 2023. "Research on the Impact of Sustainable Urbanization on Urban Rural Income Disparity in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-12, March.
    6. Govereh, Jones & Haggblade, Steven & Nielson, Hunter & Tschirley, David L., 2008. "Maize Market Sheds in Eastern and Southern Africa. Report 1," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 55374, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    7. Sheahan, Megan & Barrett, Christopher B., 2017. "Ten striking facts about agricultural input use in Sub-Saharan Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 12-25.
    8. Jayne, Thomas S. & Mather, David & Mghenyi, Elliot W., 2006. "Smallholder Farming Under Increasingly Difficult Circumstances: Policy and Public Investment Priorities for Africa," Food Security International Development Policy Syntheses 54507, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    9. Riccardo Pelizzo & Lucas Katera & Stephen Mwombela & Lulu Olan’g, 2018. "Poverty and development in Tanzania," Working Papers of the African Governance and Development Institute. 18/011, African Governance and Development Institute..
    10. Kenny Lynch, 2009. "Book Review: The Earthscan Reader in Rural—urban Linkages Celia Tacoli (Ed.), 2006 London: Earthscan 329 pp. £80.00 hardback; £22.95 paperback ISBN 978 1 84407 315 3 hardback; 978 1 84407 316 5 pa," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 46(1), pages 239-241, January.
    11. Luboš Smutka & Karel Tomšík, 2014. "GDP Structure and Economic Performance in Sub-Saharan Countries," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 62(4), pages 729-747.
    12. Mason, Nicole M. & Jayne, Thomas S. & Shiferaw, Bekele A., 2012. "Wheat Consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa: Trends, Drivers, and Policy Implications," Food Security International Development Working Papers 146936, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    13. Takeshima, Hiroyuki & Edeh, Hyacinth, 2013. "Typology of farm households and irrigation systems: Some evidence from Nigeria," IFPRI discussion papers 1267, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    14. Calogero Carletto & Dean Jolliffe & Raka Banerjee, 2015. "From Tragedy to Renaissance: Improving Agricultural Data for Better Policies," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(2), pages 133-148, February.
    15. An Thinh Nguyen & Le Truc Nguyen & Hanh Hong Nguyen & Hanh Ta & Hong Nguyen & Tuan Anh Pham & Bich Thi Nguyen & Thao Thi Pham & Nhan Thi Thanh Tang & Luc Hens, 2020. "Rural livelihood diversification of Dzao farmers in response to unpredictable risks associated with agriculture in Vietnamese Northern Mountains today," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 5387-5407, August.
    16. Braja Bandhu Swain & Nils Teufel, 2017. "The impact of urbanisation on crop–livestock farming system: a comparative case study of India and Bangladesh," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 19(1), pages 161-180, April.
    17. Eberhardt, Markus & Vollrath, Dietrich, 2018. "The Effect of Agricultural Technology on the Speed of Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 483-496.
    18. Yanlei Gao & Yuan Tian & Guangwan Tan & Xiudong Wang, 2023. "Impact of Urbanization on Cropping Structure: Empirical Evidence from China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-17, May.
    19. Moradi, Alexander, 2010. "Nutritional status and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa, 1950-1980," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 16-29, March.
    20. Andersson Djurfeldt, Agnes, 2013. "African Re-Agrarianization? Accumulation or Pro-Poor Agricultural Growth?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 217-231.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:jodeso:v:24:y:2008:i:2:p:207-243. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.