Rwanda’s Language Policy from the Past to the Present Day

This chapter briefly discusses the different models of language planning activities that have strategically targeted Rwanda’s multilingual ecology reflected in its linguistic landscape since the colonial period to the present day. It begins with literature review related to the linguistic acts and the theoretical framework upon which the topic is based; moves on to the definitions of language policy as advanced by scholars, and then describes the steps/stages adopted by the government of Rwanda in its language planning strategy. Apart from the steps/stages, it also discusses the outcome and challenges of the social actions that have been carried out based on circulating discourses formed by sociolinguistic conditions, history, and political decisions. It finally discusses how Rwanda adopted its national language policy, official language policy, and medium of instruction.