cross-posted from: <H-AfrLitCine@h-net.msu.edu>

H-NET BOOK REVIEW
Published by H-AfrLitCine@h-net.msu.edu (July, 2000)

Philip G. Altbach & Damtew Teferra, eds. _Publishing in African
Languages: Challenges & Prospects_.  Chestnut Hill MA: Bellagio
Publishing Network, 1999. 163 pp. $19.95/GBP 11.95 (paper),
0-96460-785-9 [Complimentary copies to African publishers from: Bellagio,
Campion Hall, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 USA]

Reviewed for H-AfrLitCine by Peter Limb
<plimb@library.uwa.edu.au> University of Western Australia


        'THE WRITER, THE PUBLISHER, AND THEIR LANGUAGES'

Knowledge of the nature of African publishing helps us better to
understand the context of African literatures. Language policies
and realities in African countries are complex, often
controversial, and influence patterns of publishing and writing.
This situation is tied to the diverse languages spoken in
territories carved under colonialism, but also to national and
international power relations as well as economic and
educational policies pursued since independence. This useful
book explores the trends, problems and opportunities of
publishing in the many and varied languages of Africa from the
varying perspective of publisher, writer, and state, and raises
important themes for H-AfrLitCine members to ponder.

Language is a crucial vector and symbol of identity and social
participation. Educationalists generally agree that learning and
associated publication in first languages effectively promotes
and maintains literacy. Yet the problems facing local or
indigenous publishers in Africa are legion.  In this book, eight
well-qualified scholars and publishers share their knowledge and
experience of the literary, historical, educational, social,
economic, and political dimensions of publishing in the face of
these problems. They present case studies from Tanzania and
Kenya (Swahili), Ethiopia, Southern Africa, Francophone West
Africa, and Nigeria. Introductory and concluding chapters
discuss broader issues of language and publishing. A chapter on
India's successes in local language publishing adds a
comparative vista.

The practice of African language publishing influences the
nature of African literatures [1], education, and politics.
Literary awards such as the Nobel, Commonwealth Literature, and
even the Africa-centric Noma prizes rarely go to writers in
African languages that are, after all, spoken by the majority of
Africans. The fragility of African publishing is an indicator of
the state of African economies. In 1981, 'the vast continent of
Africa, with ten percent of the world population, produced a
meager two percent of the global output of books'.[2] A decade
later, Africa's share was one percent, with seventy percent of
its book needs imported.[3] On the other hand, whereas world
linguistic surveys point to growing language rationalization
(consolidation into major languages) and a decline in the number
of living languages, African languages continue to reproduce and
generate ever-new dialects and lingua francas.[4]

Philip Altbach, a specialist on African publishing, opens the
book with an outline of dilemmas faced by publishers in African
languages, illustrated with ample comparative examples. He makes
a strong case for the continuing viability for these publishers
and recounts their major problems: dominance by colonial or
'world' languages (notably English and French) that are still
favoured by ruling elites; linguistic complexity; the high cost
of special typography for tonal differences in non-standardized
scripts;  the political difficulties of privileging one language
over another;  cross-border linguistic tensions; the limited
purchasing power and low literacy rates of readers; shortage of
basic materials; and limited markets.[5]

In the face of these severe problems and given the failures of
experiments in state publishing, Altbach sets the trend for
other contributors when he argues (though with scant regard for
the omnipotence of the transnational corporation (TNC)) that
"the trend toward the privatization of textbook production will
strengthen indigenous publishing" (p. 3). The other authors,
apparently celebrating the demise of the state publishing house
and eagerly awaiting the Millennium of the Market, take up this
refrain.

M. M. (Mugyabuso) Mulokozi, Professor at the Institute of
Kiswahili Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, provides a
detailed, clear and expert analysis of past and present
Kiswahili publishing in Tanzania and Kenya.  He adds the
insights of a creative writer who personally has suffered from
the myriad technical and political problems that have bedeviled
African publishing, from the heritage of colonial contempt for
indigenous writers to the stultifying effects of state
domination. This is a most readable and informative chapter. The
history and current problems of the industry are succinctly
outlined. One reads of difficulties with poor writing skills,
copyright, distribution, and state confinement policies.
Interesting details are noted, such as that some five thousand
Kiswahili poets are active in Kenya and Tanzania, or the cruel
exploitation by metropolitan publishers of writers such as
Shaaban Robert. Citing the case of Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Mulokozi
warns that political- and religious-inspired censorship remains
a major threat to the flowering of Kiswahili literature in East
Africa (p. 35).

Other writers also have dealt with the relationship of Kiswahili
and politics, including issues of dependency, decolonization,
and popular participation.[6] Jan Blommaert, for example, notes
that local publishers after independence began to choose,
publish, distribute and promote their own language literature
and joined the nation-building project.  He argues that in
societies 'where literacy is an unequally distributed resource'
the impact of such books may be greater, and readers may want to
find more than just one message in the book. This, in turn, may
structure literary practice itself:  authors may be aware of the
social significance of the act of publishing a book -- a product
which is almost by definition a rare commodity -- and they may
adapt their style and content accordingly.

This factor influenced the nature of state-controlled publishing
in Tanzania which, despite its weaknesses, 'did not create a
sterile, dogmatic literature' and gave some 'space' to creative
artists and intellectuals to give their own reading of
Ujamaa'.[7]

Mulokozi less equivocally attacks the confining and filtering
functions of the state-controlled press. He is quietly
optimistic and looks to recent political developments in Central
Africa as offering future scope for an expansion of Kiswahili
publishing.  But he is also realistic:  the writer remains
'generally marginalized, despised, and swindled' whilst
publishing remains trapped in a socio-economic milieu that
imposes 'financial, infrastructural, cultural, and political
obstacles' in its path (p. 37).  Tanzanian writers and
translators have adequate organizations to assist them; what
they need is adequate material support and a coherent national
book policy.

Damtew Teferra, educated at Addis Ababa and Stirling
Universities and Boston College, discusses dilemmas facing
publishers in multinational Ethiopia, emphasizing current
government policies and the significance of ties between
regional education and publishing. He notes the continuing
severe problems with multiple languages and scripts, and the
haste of implementing vernacularization before sufficient
instructional materials or teachers were in place. Economies of
scale are possible with major languages such as Oromo but it is
more difficult to sustain publishing in languages spoken by
smaller numbers of people. Despite policies favouring
privatization, state enterprises such as the Educational
Materials Production & Distribution Agency (EMPDA) are still
dominant. Damtew Teferra, like Mulokozi, calls for a national
book policy and greater power to private publishers.  Yet he
warns of the danger that, if there is full-scale privatization
before regions put in place their own printing and publishing
institutions there is a risk that 'the very policy that claims
to promote them [might] turn out to annihilate them' (p. 106).

He makes practical proposals for change: that certain widely
spoken regional languages should be used for instruction until
such time as other, smaller languages can build an effective
infrastructure.  Language policy debate should be depoliticized
and not only the benefits, but also the costs and effects of
vernacularization policies should be made clear.  While it may
be possible to eventually develop other vernacular languages at
the national level, Amharic remains the most effective national
lingua franca in his opinion.

Well-known publishers Mamadou Aliou Sow (Editions Ganndal,
Guinea) and Victor Nwankwo (Fourth Dimension Publishers,
Nigeria) present the insider's perspective. Sow highlights the
key trends in West African publishing in African languages. In
many African countries, the state played a pivotal role in the
industry. For instance, at independence in 1958, Guinea had no
publishers and for many years thereafter publishing was
dominated by the state.[8] He argues that the state should now
provide favourable business opportunities for private publishers
in the textbook market.  Recent democratization in West Africa,
he adds, should assist development of national languages. He
points to success with harmonized alphabets with concomitant
software, and suggests that more trans-border co-publishing in
African languages (such as Pular across a wide region of West
African Francophone, Anglophone and Lusophone zones) could break
down barriers erected by colonial borders. Authorities should
stop regarding national languages as dialects and intellectuals
should be more involved in the development of such languages.

In contrast, African language publishing in Nigeria, where
ninety percent of titles are in the three main languages of
Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa, is already dominated by the private
sector. Nwankwo details the complex mesh of language and
publishing policies and progress made to date. He sees a need
for more teachers of African languages and observes that the
vagaries of government policy and especially its poor
implementation often throw planning for private publishing in
African languages into disarray. The state should assist with
translation services (the greatest cost faced by the industry)
to facilitate investment by publishers in indigenous languages.
Moreover, students should have greater choice to be examined in
standards of their own languages.

Dumisani Ntshangase surveys African language publishing in
Southern Africa, presenting a number of interesting historical
facts and drawing attention to major issues. However, at times
the argument is poorly presented and lacking in evidence. The
chance is lost to inform the reader more about South African
language policy in the post-apartheid era or to discuss such
interesting issues as the dependence of educational publishers
on prescribed curricula or the fate of recent attempts to
Africanize publishing houses.  One must look elsewhere [9] to
gain a deeper understanding of publishing in this region.

Finally, Thomas Clayton puts indigenous publishing into a global
context.  The requirements of national integration, financial
constraints and the practices of elites all favoured use of the
'world' languages of the colonial powers yet today only ten to
twenty per cent of Africans are fluent in these languages.

Running through all the contributors is a cautious optimism
about the future, an awareness of severe obstacles, and an
apparent faith in market forces to shift them.

PANACEAS?

Is neo-liberalism therefore the main solution to problems
besetting publishing in African languages? A number of factors
suggest not. In some countries, such as Guinea, where textbook
publishing has been opened to the private sector, many different
obstacles continue to impede book development.[10] Moreover,
literacy levels so crucial in the chain of
writing-publishing-reading have been undermined by Structural
Adjustment Programs that require governments to spend less on
education.

The weakest link in African publishing is distribution [11] and
the state certainly has failed to effectively develop this
sector.  However, this is only part of the picture. Low incomes,
poorly developed infrastructures of local book shops, libraries,
and transport links, and continued domination by expatriate
publishers have exacerbated foreign dependency and made the task
of publishing in African languages still more difficult. Capital
requires profit and a market numerically dominated by an
impoverished and relatively minuscule reading public offers
little attraction to business (whether speaking indigenous or
Western languages).  Partial Africanization of foreign
subsidiaries (for instance of OUP in Nigeria in 1972) provided a
stimulus to indigenous publishers but many African governments
continue to contract textbooks out to transnational
corporations.

The contributors to the book are alert to this domination and
endeavour to chart realistic strategies for African countries.
However, they present little evidence on such determining
factors as ownership or investment patterns. Mulokozi notes that
few books were, at the time of his writing, (June 1998) being
published due to ongoing privatization of firms such as
Tanzanian Publishing House and whilst this may be a temporary
aberration he does not consider the wider effects of such a
hiatus. Neither do they treat in any detail the options for
joint state-private ventures or the possibilities for reform of
state publishing houses to make them more viable and
better-managed.[12]

Are indigenous businesses and their priorities entirely
blameless for the current state of indigenous publishing? Do all
publishers in fact speak the same 'language' as their authors or
are they increasingly speaking another language, that of profit?
Clearly, the authors agree, previous systems have failed. They
put their faith in privatization. However, they do not consider
the effects of possible future failure in this emergent sector
in the face of tough competition with transnational corporations
that are likely to continue to lack interest in indigenous
publishing. Schemes such as affordable book imports linked to
aid programs can meet immediate requirements. But they also run
the risk of increasing dependency and reliance on 'world'
languages and in the end do little to meet the economic and
cultural requirements of African societies.

In my opinion, continued domination of the book market by TNCs
can only effectively be met by state intervention, massive
growth of local capital, or a mixture of both. I agree with
Alice Saunders that a balance between private and public sectors
is likely to be more beneficial for African societies.[13]

On the other hand, given that 'world' languages continue to have
strong appeal to national elites [14] perhaps indigenous
language publishing is doomed? Surveys show that many parents
still prefer their children to be instructed in English as they
see this as a language that gives access to privileges. Phaswane
Mpe reminds us that the anticipated expansion of indigenous book
markets in South Africa has not occurred.[15]

There have been other recent studies on the themes of this book
[16], but this collection is readable, up to date, and
representative of diverse regions of Africa. It is, as the
editors claim, a "realistic appraisal" of the situation. The
essays hang together quite well, with a common, if somewhat
naive, belief in the power of the "market" to solve problems.
Whilst in the face of Africa's escalating economic and social
problems it is difficult to be overly optimistic about the
future of publishing in African languages, this is an area where
writers and others engaged in the processes of teaching,
learning and communication might make a tangible contribution.

Notes

[1]. See Katalin Egri Ku-Mesu, 'African literature survival
outside the realm of large world publishers: illusion or
reality?' _Mots Pluriels_ 5 1998
http://www.arts.uwa.edu.au/MotsPluriels/MP598ke.html

[2]. Amadio Arboleda, "Distribution: the neglected link in the
publishing chain" in Philip Altbach et al. (eds.), _Publishing
in the Third World: Knowledge and Development_. London:
Mansell, 1985, p.47.

[3]. E. Rathgeber, "African book publishing: lessons from the
1980s' in Philip G. Altbach (ed.) _Publishing and development in
the Third World_ (Oxford: Hans Zell, 1992) pp.77-100 p. 79

[4]. David Laitin, _Language repertoires and state construction
in Africa_ (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992), p.4.
Laitin argues that African nations tend towards a complex
language repertoire comprising a blend of local vernacular, an
African lingua franca, and a colonial contact language.

[5].  See Maureen Woodhall (ed.) _Cost-Effectiveness of
Publishing Educational Materials in African Languages_ (London:
ADEA Working Group on Books & Learning Materials, 1997).

[6]. Ali Mazrui & Alamin M. Mazrui, _Swahili state & society:
the political economy of an African language_ (Nairobi: East
African Educational Pub., 1995); Jan Blommaert, "The impact of
state ideology on language:  Ujamaa & Swahili literature in
Tanzania" in B. Smieja & M. Tasch (eds.) _Human contact through
language & linguistics_ (Frankfurt: Lang, 1997), pp.253-270:
http://africana.rug.ac.be/texts/research-publications/publications_on-line/I
mpact_State_Ideology.htm  Cf. Ngugi wa Thiong'o, _Decolonising the mind_.
Nairobi: Heinemann, 1986.

[7]. J. Blommaert, _State ideology & language: the politics of Swahili in
Tanzania_ (LICCA papers 3. Duisburg: Gerhard-Mercator University,1997)
http://africana.rug.ac.be/texts/research-publications/publications_on-line/S
wahili_in_Tanzania.htm

[8]. See Mamadou Aliou Sow, 'A Guinean Perspective: book
publishing and distribution' _Bellagio Publishing Newsletter_
23, 1998.

[9]. See Phaswane Mpe, 'Language policy and African language
publishing in South Africa' _Bellagio Publishing Newsletter_ 25,
1999.

[10]. Mamadou Sow, 'A Guinean Perspective'. He laments
that apart from his own Editions Ganndal, founded in 1992, no
new indigenous language publishing houses have since been
established.

[11]. Katharine Smith, 'What factors are preventing the
establishment of a successful indigenous national publishing &
bookselling in Africa?' _Culture of Publishing_ 1, 1996
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/apm/publishing/culture/CULTURE.HTM#LINK3a

[12]. Smith acknowledges the inefficiency of state presses but
argues that state intervention in publishing would increase
distribution and printing capacity and limit the overseas
siphoning of profits: 'only a collaboration of all parties
involved in African publishing will lead to the creation of
local and relevant texts produced in the native language.'

[13]. A. Saunders, 'The Problems & Politics of Publishing in the
Third World - with Particular Reference to Textbook Publishing
in Africa' _Culture of Publishing_ 1 1996. She agrees state
monopoly in Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique dominated the market
to the detriment of independent booksellers but adds that state
control aimed to keep prices low and some private publishers are
seen as tied to neo-colonialism.

[14]. Laitin, _Repertoires_ contrasts the appeal of colonizing
languages to national elites with local language demands of
regional elites.

[15]. Phaswane Mpe, 'Language policy.'

[16]. See the articles in Altbach, _Publishing and Development_.

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