The Zairian Language Policy and its Effect on the Literatures in National Languages

The existence of hundreds of languages in the Democratic Republic of Congo has rendered the language policy a very critical issue from the time this huge territory became a private possession of the Belgian King Leopold II, through its colonization by Belgium and to today. Each administration responded to this question in a different way. The interest in local languages was instrumental in the emergence of four national linguae francae, namely, Kikongo, Lingala, Swahili, and Tshiluba. After the country's independence, a presidential ordinance made French the official language, and this situation has remained unchanged. The prominence of French nega-tively affected the growth of literature in national languages, especially during the postcolonial era. The timid evolution the literature in national languages experienced previously and during the first few years after Congo's independence was finally stopped when President Mobutu banned missionaries' periodicals, the only major outlet for writings in national languages.