Orphaning the orphan, Geez

Godofai Tgiorgis, Tgiorgis12@yahoo.com

10-12-10

The argument for Geez to be a national language has taken an unexpected twist. It has become instead an argument for English. This time not based on hate but based on its merits. Geez is, or Amharic for that matter, way below the standard today’s world can handle. Whether this is founded on profound knowledge of Geez or English regardless, their proposal is that English becomes a national language because bringing English not only brings broad service but also will ease the simmering now open now hidden conflict along ethnic lines. I am not sure if English is a cure to our ills. But I am sure such move deep down is an attempt to orphan the already orphaned Geez. English is pretext but since it is argued for with academic flavor, I will try to challenge (although I have pointed my opinion in the previous article) the assertion from that angle.

To replace a language which has, not only in use but also value wise, disappeared from the minds of the people is not an unwarranted move because it can be taken for dead. Geez is not dead yet however. What causes the cynics to conclude the impossibility of reviving Geez is, other than those hate and prejudice driven I mentioned in my previous articles, the belief that the task is more than the talent, time and energy Ethiopians can handle. For them, trying to revive Geez is making the impossible possible and viewed from the expense and the expertise it requires it is almost similar to crossing, in broad sunny day, the desert of Danakil.It is a waste of time, a thought that only comes from the naive who does not understand the value of time, the meaning of death and above all what is impossible. It is an outmoded idea of the impervious mind which cannot value the value of change and time because, no one with the right mind, will insist wasting so much time and energy to get a sparks from an already extinguished fire.

Why English? English is universal and comprehensive by comparison. It is all over and a sign of the times and civilization. It cuts short the road of translation and interpretation. English airs convenience. English fosters independence. Plus, it belongs to no one and people would not feel bad or reminded by old wounds associated with languages such as Amharic or Geez. Therefore with English as a medium of communication they assume the atmosphere will be better because any bias or retardation in terms of relation or progress will be “buried under”.

This feel good attitude is good only until the sun sets however because underneath the immediate comfort that these people envision is a venom that destroys everything Ethiopian overnight. English does not ensure authenticity. It does not ensure continuity. It does not assert identity. All it does is counter those qualities on the contrary. It erodes them, it destroys them eventually. The comfort that some minorities think will enjoy too disappears as soon as one starts conversation in English with the extremists. The accent soon gets mixed with color and there you will have double shots.

The immediate reaction of the cynics to this will be skepticism to its fullest because for them this is nothing more than a disguise to maintain the status quo, a diehard pride, an obsession with the past glory that has been in play among Ethiopians for many years with no practical outcome and clear objectives. It is a disease that has crippled and confounded the people generation after generation in the fences themselves have erected in. That is, it is opium they are addicted to through times and which consequently has deluded them from opening their eyes to change and new discoveries. In short, it is, according to them, a consequence of a chronic problem of Ethiopians that has escaped detection so far but one that needs an immediate examination and cure.

The criticism is put rightly in some respects. There were and there are times and areas where Ethiopia gave deaf ear to new concepts and is paying dear price for it. We can cite a lot of failures across the disciplines that would have benefitted it much had it not been for its indifferences. Even today despite much rhetoric about change and progress, we see lots of resistance adapting to changes that are of importance to the development of the country and the people. Compromising privilege for issues of national importance seems a remote possibility when it comes to our leaders who preach good governance through their ministries. For that reason we are where we are, behind, compared even with those countries Ethiopia helped establish their identities.

This does not mean accepting new ideas of an import nature guarantees the success and progress Ethiopia needs. In many cases, they, excluding some exceptions, are liabilities. They are Achilles’ hill by which many of the dependent countries are dragged to their feet. The anything Western is good approach therefore is not a remedy to all the ills the less developed countries have whether this is of language or other problems. In fact it is the worst pill one need not swallow for a cure if you will. It has a ruinous effect, unless pursued carefully, able to bring a country to a standstill. Resisting everything is dangerous but welcoming everything that is foreign is worse. It tampers everything that is indigenous including but not limited to sovereignty and independence.

The idea of putting English as a prerequisite to the peace and development of Ethiopia highlights only our misunderstanding either the nature of English or the development Ethiopia needs or both because Ethiopian renaissance is possible without short exchanging its culture, its religion and its languages. Ethiopia can bring Change without subscribing to English or things that are foreign. Ethiopia can prosper without using English or the culture it is associated with .English or foreign language can be a catalyst to knowing but not to doing because, if it were so, many countries which use English and are still tailgating would have been better off. Ethiopia, therefore, does not need English as official language because it can be where it needs to be, whether this is development or other, by utilizing its own resources and languages such as Geez.

The rise and fall of any language is directly related with the rise and fall of the role of the country of its origin. When the country is powerful and dominant so is its language. Hebrew, Greek and Latin, to mention few, were the lingua franca when the civilization and power of those countries was at its peak but their influence waned following their country’s power decline. English too came to prominence following the rise of the Britons to world power. When we think of Geez what we need to think of is therefore our capabilities. Whether we can bring back Geez or not depends on whether we have a positive outlook on ourselves, and on what is ours whether this is language or other skills. Geez is our effort, our reflections.

Once we concur that all is in our will the next thing we need is to look at ways to facilitate the implementation. There are two ways we can do this. One is through the use of the Orthodox Church and the other, through public schools. And I hope this will cool off the critics’ idea of the impossible.

Let us start with the Orthodox Church first. There are two reasons as to why involving the church is important. First it is the only place where Geez is archived. In fact it is the only place where Geez is also practiced. Second, it has many followers and it is easy for the church to do the persuasion based on its beliefs. It has the teachers. It has the materials. It has followers. The Church’s role here is pivotal. With all the necessary materials at its disposal the Church can manage to educate the public very fast. Perhaps all it needs is funding which I don’t think is difficult for the government to handle.

Here I want to point the following in passing. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Geez are different faces of the same coin. Or they are the arc and covenant and the symbiotic relation the two has been the engine behind all that is Ethiopian whether that is spiritual or mundane. Yes the influence is not that much now as it was then but the connection the heaven and the earth has is still hanging by the thread the two have in common. Geez is the language of the Gods and of course men. Maintaining geez is therefore maintaining the tradition, relation, uniqueness and unity (service is conducted in many languages now and may deviate much in the future) of the heavenly and earth that is distinct to Ethiopians.

But there is more to it also. One of the heritages that make Ethiopia unique is the Orthodox Church. By virtue of its chants, practices, the Church has lent Ethiopia its unique attributes. To preserve the uniqueness of Ethiopia, therefore, we have to preserve the Church. The Church like Geez deserves protection from those who has launched a consecutive attack on its survival alleging it is the symbol of all that is old. Yes it is an institution but the fact that such an institution is unique by itself requires our protection.

Again the critics will deem this as another plot to undermine other religions by strengthening the arm of the Church. From my perspective this has nothing to do with religion whether this is Christian or Islam or other. In fact far from it because what is at stake and I am arguing for is about our culture and language that have historical values. The Ethiopian Orthodox is unique and marks one of the uniqueness of the country likewise. Because of this characteristic, it is a national treasure and of historical importance. Protection, therefore, it needs. We care and preserve Negash in North Ethiopia and Harar in the East not because they symbolize Islam but because of the historical and cultural values. Preserving Geez and the Church should be viewed in lieu of this also.

English did not expand in Ethiopia by itself. The public schools and public officials were the ones who contributed to its expansion. If we dedicate the same effort we gave to English there is no way why Geez should not get ground so quickly. Geez needs nothing but our will. We can thus use our schools as a second venue or center to teach Geez.

For the critics this proposal does not bear practicality because Geez cannot fly that fast and easy due to lot of shortcomings. The assumption is Geez does not have enough rules and vocabularies like English. We have to create many words for Geez to catch up with the times. We have to spend millions to upgrade and research to make Geez fulfill the demands. Even with that it poses difficulty for teachers to teach and for students to learn because Geez is archaic. The effort therefore should be directed to other projects where we can get good result, they say.

Geez, of course, does not cover terminologies that have been recently discovered as they say. Let alone Geez that has been archived for some time now, even English does not have such capabilities. However rich, all English does is borrow words from other languages to fill in its deficiencies. No language is complete by itself and in itself and one should not be surprised, as if peculiar, if Geez has those shortcomings. Such allegation therefore is only half true and should not be a reason to orphan Geez.

The fact that we reinstate Geez as a national language is more than the millions of dollars spent on agriculture or factories can yield. Geez is preserving Ethiopia, Geez is preserving language which cannot be determined by or measured with monetary values.

Even if we buy into their argument, Geez has qualities that they themselves missed to imagine. Geez, contrary to their belief, possess qualities that English and other contemporary languages lack or cannot furnish. First, it is smooth and less confusing. With Geez you do not have to fight with lower and upper case. You do not have to fight with colon and semi colon. You do not have to fight with vowels. Geez is straight to the eye, smooth to the tongue and mouth. For those who doubt that Geez is advanced when told by the indigenous, here is a testimony to point by the people who are more close to Latin and English. Gabriella F. Scelta ‘s “The Comparative Origin and Usage of the Ge’ez writing system of Ethiopia” (December 14, 2001) article is one example.

“Although there are more symbols to learn in the system, in some ways it is easier to use. There is no “misspelling” because a word’s sound dictates very specifically what written syllographs it will contain and vice versa, much in the way a phonetic spelling does in the western world. .., it is possible to “correctly” write any word, in any language in Ge’ez, once the syllographs and the sound associated with them are learned. In conclusion, the Ge’ez writing system is one of the oldest working systems in the world. This African writing system has remained unchanged for 2000 years, attesting to its adaptability and innovative method of organizing sounds….”

Second, Geez is the language of sciences such as Math, Physics, astronomy, etc. The immense of wealth it acquired through many centuries is by far enough to cover many of the subjects no matter how wide the field or subject is. With Geez you do not start from Zero. All you need to do is add Zero. Again Scelta: “The Ge’ez system does not only serve as a visual representation of words and sounds as does the Roman system which has essentially one major property, grammar, and is devoid of any higher meaning. The Ge’ez system has five major properties: pictography, ideography, astrography, numerology and, syllagraphy (Though it could be argued that the Roman system also has numerology in the use of Roman numerals, it is nowhere near the numeric scope of Ge’ez)….”

From this one can conclude that Geez is not only about history and culture but also about grammar and more. It is also about science whether this is astrology, physics or mathematics. It is about usage and vocabularies. It is about simplicity and easiness. It is about heritage and uniqueness. Put it this way, Geez is about everything that a language need to be and is. I don’t blame people to have skepticisms. That is human. However the cause to that should not be associated with Geez. It is our dark thoughts not Geez’s poor qualities. It is the obsession we have with anything foreign not the lack of standard on the part of Geez. Geez has all the qualities any language possesses and is pure. If anything looks cloudy, again, it is not Geez’s making but the cynics’ sight that has difficulty to see what is clear.

Geez is us and we are Geez. Geez is Ethiopian that is unique. Bringing back Geez therefore is in our best interest by all means. Geez helps preserve the insight and intelligence our forefather had for our use. We need Geez back and we really have to need it not because it is ours but because it, even as a language, is better equipped with tools that can and will address our communication needs whether this is in office or schools. Debunking or orphaning Geez to welcome a language that is foreign, English for example, does not help Ethiopia in the way the critics want us believe. On the contrary, all it does is ruin what is inherently Ethiopian among which Geez is the prime. Even in other fields, it will aggravate more than it addresses our problems. It will widen our rift more than it mends our relations. And that, I believe, is not healthy.