Dr. Aliko Songolo “Knighted” for his French contributions
A man of honor
A man of honor
| Dr. Aliko Songolo has been named a “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes académiques” by the French education ministry. |
chances are you will speak Swahili as your first language. Many people don’t know this, but in fact, there are probably more people in Congo — if you count
heads — who speak Swahili than there are in some countries of East Africa. Congo has a large population of 65 million people. All of the eastern cities and
towns use Swahili. I learned that because I was born in a town. By the way, Swahili came to Congo through the Arab slave trade. Their trade route went right
through my hometown. The Arab slave trade came from Zanzibar through Tanganyika — now called Tanzania — and right through central Congo. Before the
Belgians conquered the whole territory, a lot of it was occupied by an Arab sultan by the name of Tippu Tip. That was in the 19th century and Swahili spread
from there and you can probably go 500 miles into Congo and find Swahili speakers and in the northeast and southeast as well.”
Today, Songolo is fluent in several languages including the romance languages, Swahili and Embembe, the language he would have learned if he had
grown up in a Congolese village. While most Americans look upon someone who speaks several languages, Songolo doesn’t subscribe to the notion. “In Africa,
in most countries, you grow up speaking more than one language,” Songolo said. “Yes it does give you a little advantage in that you are open to learning
languages. But it isn’t particularly anything miraculous. You see that in Europe. The smaller countries of Europe — the Scandinavian, Holland — in addition to
their rather small languages, they also learn English.”
Next issue: Songolo’s linguistic journey and French culture and Africa
heads — who speak Swahili than there are in some countries of East Africa. Congo has a large population of 65 million people. All of the eastern cities and
towns use Swahili. I learned that because I was born in a town. By the way, Swahili came to Congo through the Arab slave trade. Their trade route went right
through my hometown. The Arab slave trade came from Zanzibar through Tanganyika — now called Tanzania — and right through central Congo. Before the
Belgians conquered the whole territory, a lot of it was occupied by an Arab sultan by the name of Tippu Tip. That was in the 19th century and Swahili spread
from there and you can probably go 500 miles into Congo and find Swahili speakers and in the northeast and southeast as well.”
Today, Songolo is fluent in several languages including the romance languages, Swahili and Embembe, the language he would have learned if he had
grown up in a Congolese village. While most Americans look upon someone who speaks several languages, Songolo doesn’t subscribe to the notion. “In Africa,
in most countries, you grow up speaking more than one language,” Songolo said. “Yes it does give you a little advantage in that you are open to learning
languages. But it isn’t particularly anything miraculous. You see that in Europe. The smaller countries of Europe — the Scandinavian, Holland — in addition to
their rather small languages, they also learn English.”
Next issue: Songolo’s linguistic journey and French culture and Africa
By Jonathan Gramling
Part 1 of 2
It’s not something that Dr. Aliko Songolo, UW-Madison professor of French and Italian, but also African
literature written in French, was expecting or even desired. In March, he had been informed that he had been
named “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes académiques” — Knight in the Order of Academic Palms — by the
French Ministry of Education. But once he received the honor, he didn’t mind having it at all.
While most of us born in the U.S. view Africa through an Anglophone lens, in part because of our long
history with Britain and the U.S. is predominantly an English-speaking country, it is French which is probably the
more dominant language in Africa. “French is the official government language of Congo as it is of some 20
African countries,” Songolo said during an interview with The Capital City Hues. “Ghana and Nigeria are
completely surrounded by French-speaking countries.”
While French has been Songolo’s first language most of his life — during the interview Songolo took a call
from his wife and they conversed in French — it wasn’t the first language that he learned. “The language of my
birth is actually Swahili,” Songolo said. “Being from the eastern Congo, if you are born in a city of any size,
Part 1 of 2
It’s not something that Dr. Aliko Songolo, UW-Madison professor of French and Italian, but also African
literature written in French, was expecting or even desired. In March, he had been informed that he had been
named “Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Palmes académiques” — Knight in the Order of Academic Palms — by the
French Ministry of Education. But once he received the honor, he didn’t mind having it at all.
While most of us born in the U.S. view Africa through an Anglophone lens, in part because of our long
history with Britain and the U.S. is predominantly an English-speaking country, it is French which is probably the
more dominant language in Africa. “French is the official government language of Congo as it is of some 20
African countries,” Songolo said during an interview with The Capital City Hues. “Ghana and Nigeria are
completely surrounded by French-speaking countries.”
While French has been Songolo’s first language most of his life — during the interview Songolo took a call
from his wife and they conversed in French — it wasn’t the first language that he learned. “The language of my
birth is actually Swahili,” Songolo said. “Being from the eastern Congo, if you are born in a city of any size,