THE POLITICS OF LINGUISTIC HOMOGENIZATION IN ETHIOPIA AND THE CONFLICT OVER THE STATUS OF AFAAN OROMOO

The suppression of ethnic identities in order to create homogeneousnation-states is an old strategy used by rulers of multi-ethnicand multilingual states. Perceived as salient markers of ethnicidentities and as obstacles to the cultivation of the feelingof belonging and loyalty to the state by the policy makers,minority languages become the objects of suppression and replacementby the languages of the dominant groups. However, the attemptto homogenize such states, has, in many cases, faced both overtand covert resistance from the targeted groups. Ethnic oppositionto linguistic homogenization is triggered by objective as wellas subjective existential concerns. Putting the Oromo in focus,this essay examines the links between state language policyand ethnic conflict in Ethiopia. It sheds light on the historyof Oromo literacy from the 1880s to the present decade and exploresthe role of language in the ‘nationbuilding’ strategiesof various Ethiopian regimes. Furthermore, the essay addressesthe socio-psychological and integrational consequences of, andOromo response to, the language policies of these regimes aswell as the intermittent attempts made by the Oromo intelligentsiato resist them and to develop and use afaan Oromoo as a mediumfor education, administration, mass media, and the arts.