Indigenous language press afflicted by self denial complex

The indigenous language media-scape is a seriously neglected area in any debate on the operations of the media in Zimbabwe. The impression created is that they are a forgotten lot and are a victim of the psycho-existential complex with its roots in colonial Rhodesia and given impetus by the state of neo-imperialism in Zimbabwe.

A critical analysis of the pertinent issues around this area and the rate of approximatetly 5000 and 2000 copies being bought a week for Kwayedza and Umthunywa respectively poses serious questions about the misconceptions that many people have about the indigenous papers.

Perhaps, it is logical to begin by positing the theory that most Zimbabweans have a psycho-existential complex affecting their attitude towards the newspapers that use indigenous languages as medium of communication.

Frantz Fanon in his famous book Black Skin White Mask defines the psycho-existential complex as a state of inferiority within an individual to the extent that the individual always lives in the shadow of those whom he/she views as superior. In other words the individual is absent in his /her presence, has a voice yet voiceless and lives behind the scenes of whatever realm. There is a tendency for the psychologically plundered individual to look at reality through the complex segregative spectacles of those deemed to be superior. The result is the denial of the ‘other’ which is the self in preference of the ‘one’ who is believed to be superior quite apparent in the way people relate to the Kwayedza and Umthunywa on the one hand versus for instance The Herald or The Chronicle.

So, colonialism taught the African to look down upon his /her language in order to facilitate the plundering processes that was colonialism .The African people were taught that their language was a language for the uncivilized ,the uncouth, the barbarians of the dark content . This became a culture and was passed from generation to generation. In postmodern Africa, the desire to look down upon the self is quite prominent.

The point being made here is that the content of Kwayedza and the Bulawayo produced Umthunywa confirm this position of a psycho-existential complex. Most of the stories deal with the mystic, bizarre and the grotesque as if the functions of the indigenous languages can only be used to capture the weird and the bizarre that happen in our society. The editorial thrust of the concerned papers need a radical overhaul with the view to making the paper deal with topical national issues obtaining at that particular time rather than concentrate on petty jealousy issues, bestiality, and other mundane issues of a peasantry nature at a time for instance, when the Central Bank Governor is announcing the national monetary policy.

The mundane position of the content of the papers crystallize the existing negative conceptions about indigenous language and African culture and in some way entrench the exclusion of these indigenous papers in any serious debate.

Indigenous languages are not by nature baren and incapable of use as transimitters of creative and serious thought. For instance, an Italian, Antonio Gramsci who was imprisoned for political activism wrote using Italian language, his mother tounge, to critically attack the cannibalistic tendencies of despotism in Italy and elsewhere. Therefore indigenous languages can be grounded in the frame of the critical and help transform society. If the two indigenous papers move out of their psycho-existential cocoons and deal with pertinent issues, they would help fight the psycho-existential complex within the readership.

Be that as it may, the elite move out of their crevices and secretly buy these indigenous products, which they hide in their bags or inside other newspapers written in English, as association with newspapers, which use English language as a medium of communication is perceived as sophistication and civilization. Thus an attempt to deny the public existence of these newspapers by hiding or stuffing them somewhere is a manifestation of the psycho-existential complex deposited into his /her bones by the neo-imperial condition whose tentacles are spreading fast.

It is interesting to note that the elite do no want to be seen carrying around either Kwayedza or Umthunywa but this does not mean that they do not read them. Notably, they do buy and read them in their private crevices. It is quite painful to note that even in their offices they place these indigenous papers inside those newspapers perceived as carrying a superior status in the event that someone walks into their office they would pretend that they are reading the so called prestigious papers.

The advent of The Zimbabwean on the streets of Zimbabwe makes the discussion very interesting .The use of Shona, Ndebele and English to communicate the content is probably a realization of the importance of the indigenous languages in news dissemination of course not withstanding the questionable character of some of the stories. It is however saddening to note that people read the English version of the story when in public and would not want to be seen reading stories in the indigenous languages in that same paper. Surprisingly, they would read the stories written in the indigenous languages in the private corners of their homes. What hypocrisy!. An attitudinal adjustment is needed towards the indigenous languages and the content should be accurate and critical..

By Oscar Mlilo PgDip inMedia and Society Studies, MSU