Permission to Speak

In the novel Mating by Norman Rush the inhabitants of an experimental colony in post-colonial Botswana are required to first give a signal to one another if they wish to speak English versus their native tongue.  I wondered what kind of implications this development model would have in Madagascar.  Just imagine, if foreigners first had to ask permission to speak French to a Malagasy person, and vice versa how it would shift one’s attitude and mentality. In subtle ways the legacy of French colonization continues. 

There is an unspoken expectation that metropolitan and educated Malagasy speak French when communicating with foreigners (vazaha).  However, if vazaha were urged to ask permission before speaking French this could result in a power shift, bringing to consciousness among foreigners that they are merely guests and aren’t owed accommodation, but rather must show respect to gain it.  I feel  not only would this encourage foreigners to learn more Malagasy but empower the local population, especially the most oppressed to feel more pride towards their native tongue.  There are elites in this country who opt to converse mostly if not solely with one another in French.  This creates more stratification in society and reaffirms French dominance.   I’ve been thanked several times and have shocked many that I can speak Malagasy.  This should not be necessary.  Out of respect one should at minimum learn basic Malagasy, and if they aren’t able to then signal for permission to speak French, because understandably not everyone has the time or resources to learn Malagasy.

 I was able to visit and speak to a traditional spirit interlocutor.  It took a year and a half to build up enough Malagasy vocabulary so that I could have this conversation.  However the French lady who organized the meeting was able to gain as much if not more information in a mere few weeks of being in-country by using French.  What if I could have cheated too and spoke French from the get-go?  I would have saved so much time and energy, and my work would have been expedited.  But so much more is at stake than time. 

Before joining Peace Corps one of my main goals was to gain linguistic skills that could be applied in a future international career.  I hoped to learn a language such as Arabic, Russian, Spanish, etc. But I am proud that I speak Malagasy, and furthermore I am proud of Peace Corps volunteers.   We can found in some of the most obscure pockets of the globe with the ability to speak languages such as Zulu, Setswana, Wolof, and Quechua.  In some ways we are helping to preserve and encourage the use of indigenous tongues.  Some of us converse in languages that may only have a few million speakers worldwide and for the most part we do it well.