Portuguese is the official language of Guinea-Bissau, but it is Creole that the people of Guinea-Bissau use to communicate with each other, along with the more than 30 regional languages that make up the multi-ethnic mosaic of this African country.
“A few days ago, I entered a school where they speak Balanta, I said good morning and no one understood me,” said the minister at the opening ceremony of the first International Congress on Portuguese Language Teaching in Guinea-Bissau, which brings together experts and academics from various Portuguese-speaking countries for three days.
The Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research of Guinea-Bissau, Herry Mané, hopes that this congress will provide guidelines for promoting the Portuguese language in a country where “outside schools, less than 5% of people speak Portuguese among themselves”.
Creole is the most widely spoken language in Guinea-Bissau, which also has more than 30 mother tongues and a multilingual reality that differs from other Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Angola or Cabo Verde, where Portuguese is more widely spoken, the Guinea-Bissau minister pointed out.
Herry Mané assured that the government is making an effort and asked for commitment from Guinea-Bissau citizens who can speak Portuguese. “We have to start talking among ourselves, those who already have a basic knowledge of Portuguese, we have to start speaking Portuguese outside institutions,” he said in statements to Lusa.
Cultural issues, he said, contribute to the use of the Portuguese language, which ‘is often seen as a way of showing off (vanity) among Guinea-Bissau people, as it is considered a language of the elite’.
The weaknesses of the education system have also distanced Portuguese from the general public, a reality that the Guinea-Bissau government guarantees is changing with the reform being carried out in schools.
It is extremely important” for the teaching of Portuguese, stressed the minister, indicating that “it was on this basis that the harmonisation of school textbooks and tablets in primary schools came about, allowing children to start thinking in Portuguese and speaking Portuguese”.
Guinea-Bissau is distributing the first textbooks for the first cycle (i.e. years 1-4) to state schools this academic year and the government is seeking funding to make them available to private schools and to move forward with the standardisation of the education system.
The minister highlights the importance of understanding Portuguese in order to understand the subjects taught in schools and argues that it is Guinea-Bissau’s duty to value its official language.
“Portuguese is a language spoken worldwide, it must be the third most spoken language, Portuguese is spoken in many parts of the world, so it is our duty to also begin to follow this process,” he said.
We have to start thinking in Portuguese, reasoning in Portuguese and speaking in Portuguese. We have to start understanding in Portuguese, not transmitting it in Creole,” he added.
According to the minister, “Portugal has a very important role” in this process, particularly with the support of the Camões Institute in providing teachers, technical support and projects.
In addition to the degree in Portuguese Language at the Tchico Té Unit of the Higher School of Education, Camões is also funding a master’s degree in Portuguese Language, the first in Guinea-Bissau, which will start in September at that educational establishment.
“Portugal is doing its part, we have to take advantage of this opportunity and also ask other Portuguese-speaking countries to support us in this regard,” said the minister.
The first International Congress on the Teaching of Portuguese in Guinea-Bissau runs until Wednesday at the Tchico Té Unit and is co-organised by this school and the Camões I.P. Portuguese Language Centre and funded by the Camões Institute, with several partners.
Platform with AFP
