Examining West African Regional Integration on the Scale of Anglophone-Francophone Linguistic Strain
Abstract
The hope of the eventual transformation of the Economic Community of West African States into a cohesive regional union, accentuated with the dynamism and transformation of the institution from 1975 to the present, reflects evolving exigencies. However, five decades down the line, the dream of a fully integrated West African community remains a pipe dream. The nascent nationalism manifesting as a military uprising in the sub-region further obfuscates attempts at characterising the milieu within globalisation and regionalism contexts. There is palpable relapse in the auspicious ECOWAS of Peoples initiative, with deep-seated colonial legacies, specifically the persistent Anglophone/Francophone linguistic blocs. The animosity it produces has not received adequate attention. This study examines how the persistent linguistic strain continues to inhibit regional integration. The study adopts a Descriptive Method in analyzing data from dual sources. This study argues that the linguistic divide is deeply entrenched and will endlessly weigh down integration, because while multilingualism serves a centripetal purpose in the European Union for example, it is the reverse in the ECOWAS. Linguistic Relativity also known as the ‘Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis,’ was used to explain the linguistic phenomenon. It recommends a more robust socio-cultural and multilingual approach which emphasises globalism epitomized in democracy despite the essential economic and political asymmetries.
Keywords
Regional IntegrationAnglophoneFrancophoneLinguistic Strain
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