Deneocoloniality and African Languages in Education: Cabo Verde as a Case Study

This chapter presents the Cabo Verdean Creole (CVC) as an important mark of identity and a significant cultural capital in the country. CVC is not only the mother tongue of all Cabo Verdeans, hence the linguistic link that connects Cabo Verdeans in the diaspora and those at home, but it is also the language of integration considering its use as the language of wider communication for other nationals who choose Cabo Verde as a host country. Nonetheless, Portuguese, the only official language, enjoys privileges and guarantees those who use it fluently opportunities which the mother tongue does not provide. The study considers the mother tongue as an instrumental language in education with cognitive and economic consequences not withstanding its being considered a subaltern medium where Portuguese and other European languages dominate. The study presents arguments that establish a strong relationship between the mother tongue and its culture for the deneocolonization of language policies and the linguistic inclusion of its citizens in the educational system. The study further discusses the non-officialization of Cabo Verdean as enshrined in Article 9 of the constitution and the continued use of Portuguese as the only official language of administration and education, with linguistic, political, and economic hegemony over Cabo Verdean Creole 50 years after independence, and the educational and cultural mismatches as established in the Constitution of the Republic of Cabo Verde and other legal documents.