Multilingualism in Crisis and Disaster Management Communication in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Enigma for Zimbabwe

Any crisis situation dictates that the citizenry be informed in a timely and adequate fashion to manage and curtail misinformation and disinformation. Ideally, when disaster strikes it is the responsibility of leaders and development agents to spell out the magnitude of the scourge to the citizenry. The heralding of impending disaster(s) requires carefully planned crisis communication strategies to maintain a balance between adequately informing the masses on the one hand, whilst on the other avoiding outright panic. Catastrophe strikes people in a defined cultural environment, and cognisant of the assertion that language is culture; what language would best communicate the imminent dangers and mobilise the conscience of the masses who have diverse linguistic identities? This chapter explores the linguistic complexities in crisis and disaster management in sub-Saharan Africa, considering in particular the region’s uneven linguistic landscape. In our quest to understand the role of language use in communication processes during crisis, we ask: What language is best suited for crisis and disaster management? Who should the message target? How can indigenous languages be harnessed to promote indigenous people’s engagement and active participation in proffering solutions to crises and disasters? Taking Zimbabwe as a case study, the chapter employs observation, desk analysis and content review to explore current trends in crisis and disaster management communication in sub-Saharan Africa. While the Digital Age ushered in a plethora of communication platforms, ranging from the traditional newspaper to social media, it is observable that the current linguistic landscape in crisis messaging is tilted towards ex-colonial languages at the expense of indigenous languages. The chapter proposes the adoption of the strength-based approach (SBA) and the language-as-resource theory in the framing of crisis and disaster messages. We thus contend that there is strength in diversity and, therefore, advocate for the digitisation of indigenous languages and multilingualism in managing crisis and disaster communication.