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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

unification, official language, assimilation policies, French

College

Humanities

Department

French and Italian

Abstract

It has long been asserted that language is an integral and inseparable part of culture, and therefore identity. As such, language plays a powerful role in the political, educational, business, and leisure affairs of a nation. Language can aid in unification and it can also cause fragmentation. An example of a nation that faces the challenges that stem from a diverse linguistic background is the West African country of Senegal. As a nation, Senegal made the decision to declare French the official language of government, business, and education, while maintaining the six primary native languages as national languages. My research consisted of going to Senegal to conduct interviews so that I could find out on a personal level how Senegalese people feel the French language, a language chosen with the intention of facilitating order and unification, affects their country and culture on a day to day basis. Because of the very personal nature of the interviews and questions, it is necessary to realize that one individual’s response cannot be generalized to represent the whole population; however, the goal of my project is to discover, among a small number of randomly selected individuals, what similarities and differences of opinion arise.

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