The Survival of Franco-Arab Colonization in Chad: The Gordian Knot of Linguistic Policies

Linguistic policies in Chad, as everywhere else, cover all existing languages management measures. Chadian multilingualism is so significant that it brings into play on the one hand two colonial languages: Arabic and French, and on the other hand, a plethora of ethnic languages (a little over 130) of indigenous communities. After a brief review of the literature which provides background information, the chapter explores the implementation of those policies under the two colonial regimes and then takes stock of the dynamics of the languages present in the administrative, media, educational spheres and in the daily lives of the population. It emerges that the vitality of the two colonial languages, Arabic and French, appears to be a concern for the leaders in power to the detriment of indigenous languages, which however, reluctantly, maintain themselves in the current linguistic microcosm.