Mali abandons French as an official language as part of decolonization

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
25 Jul 2023 18:35
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The French language will become a working language as 13 national languages gain official language status following the new constitution passed on Saturday in Mali.

People rally in Mali's capital Bamako on Jan. 14, 2021, to protest new regional economic sanctions and growing pressure from former colonizer France. (AP)

Despite the fact that Mali gained its independence from France in 1960, the French language remained Mali's official language until the new constitution was passed earlier on Saturday.

The new constitution was put into effect by Mali's junta leader Col. Assimi Goita, marking, according to a Presidential statement, the beginning of the Fourth Republic in the West African country.

Significantly, the new constitution passed overwhelmingly, with 96.91% of the votes during a referendum conducted earlier last month on June 18.

According to the new constitution, French will serve as a working language from here on out, while the 13 national languages spoken across the countries will receive official language status.

It is still worth noting that Mali has about 70 local languages. However, only some of them were granted national language status in the 1982 decree. These languages include but are not limited to Bambara, Bobo, Dogon, and Minianka.

At the time, Goita stated that the suggested constitution would "provide for a better-organized executive power while maintaining the necessary balance with the legislative power," adding that it is "(paving) the way for a new Mali."

"I am convinced this referendum will pave the way for a new Mali, a strong Mali, an efficient Mali, a Mali in the service of the well-being of its population," Goita stated back then.

It is noteworthy that since 2012, Mali has been battling an insurgency that has since spread to Burkina Faso and Niger, killing and displacing thousands of people.

The UN Security Council last month voted to end a decade-old UN force mission in Mali after the ruling junta demanded the withdrawal of foreign forces.