Contemporary African philosophy, identity and the question of African languages

Abstract

The issue of African identity is arguably the central plank of contemporary African philosophy due mainly to historical and contextual reasons. While the almost inadvertent attention to the theme highlights African philosophy as a discipline that is responsive to the exigencies of its immediate fulcrum, the attitude of many Africans in real life to the factors that undergird identity betrays this apparently worthy attention. This essay reviews the import of the issue of identity in contemporary African philosophy vis-a-vis the language policy of most African countries as well as the attitude of many Africans towards their indigenous languages. Given the pivotal importance of language in ensuring cultural identity it argues that there is an antithesis between the quest for identity and the neglect of African languages and concludes that the revival of African sense of identity requires a transvaluation of African values.