The value of keeping African stories in local languages

"When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground."

This famous line is attributed to Amadou Hampâté Bâ, the Malian writer and ethnologist, who spoke at UNESCO in the 1960s about the importance of oral tradition. He meant that in African societies, much knowledge — history, medicine, law, poetry, genealogy, proverbs — lived in people's memories and voices, not in books.

Many of those stories are told in local languages: Fon, Yoruba, Bambara, Wolof, Hausa, Igbo, Zulu, Swahili, Lingala and hundreds more. When a language fades, the stories carried in it often fade too.

Why does it matter to keep African stories in local languages — and what can families, schools, writers and technologists do to keep them alive?

Africa: a continent of languages

Africa is home to more than 2,000 languages — about a third of all languages spoken on Earth. Benin alone has around 50 national languages.

But many are under pressure. UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger lists many African languages as vulnerable or endangered. Globally, UNESCO has warned that at least 40% of the world's roughly 7,000 languages are at risk of disappearing.

Why? Urbanisation, schooling in foreign languages, media dominated by English and French, and families choosing to speak "useful" languages with their children.

At least 40% of the world's languages are considered endangered. (UNESCO) Africa holds about a third of the world's languages — and many of its stories.

Why local languages matter for stories

Proverbs, jokes, songs, names and wordplay often lose their meaning in translation. A Fon proverb may carry rhythm, tone and double meaning that disappear in French.

• Some things can't be translated

Languages contain ways of seeing the world: how people count time, describe family relationships, understand nature or talk about spirituality.

• Language carries worldview

Children who hear stories in their language learn that their culture has value. Children who only hear foreign stories may feel their own culture is less important.

• Identity and pride

UNESCO research shows children learn better — especially to read — when taught first in a language they understand. Mother-tongue-based multilingual education helps children learn their home language and later other languages.

• Better learning

Grandparents who speak only local languages can share stories with grandchildren only if the children understand.

• Connection between generations

Joke break: A grandmother told her grandson a long story in Fon. At the end, he said, "Mémé, can you say it in French?" She replied, "I can, but then the tortoise won't be funny anymore." Some jokes don't have passports.

The writer who changed languages

Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o became famous writing novels in English, such as "Weep Not, Child" and "A Grain of Wheat." Then, in the late 1970s, he made a bold decision: to write his creative works in Gikuyu, his mother tongue.

In his influential book "Decolonising the Mind" (1986), he argued that language is central to culture and identity, and that African writers should write in African languages.

"Language carries culture, and culture carries, particularly through orature and literature, the entire body of values by which we come to perceive ourselves and our place in the world." — Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Decolonising the Mind

His choice started a debate that continues today: Should African writers write in African languages, European languages, or both? Many do both — and translation projects help stories travel.

Projects keeping stories alive

Across Africa, many initiatives support local-language storytelling:

• African Storybook: a digital library of thousands of free picture books in many African languages, which teachers and parents can read, translate and print.
• Jalada Translation Issue: in 2016, the African writers' collective Jalada published a short story by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o translated into dozens of languages, many of them African — one of the most translated African short stories.
• Community radio: storytelling programmes in local languages.
• Publishers: small presses publishing children's books in local languages.
• Digital creators: YouTubers, podcasters and TikTokers telling stories, jokes and history in local languages.

Stories in Benin's languages

Benin has rich oral traditions:

• Tales of animals like the tortoise, hare and spider, full of clever tricks and lessons.
• Royal histories of Dahomey, told by griots and court historians.
• Vodun stories about deities and ancestors.
• Proverbs used in daily conversation and ceremonies.
• Songs for work, celebration and mourning.

Beninese educators and cultural organisations are working to publish, record and teach these stories in Fon, Yoruba, Goun, Bariba, Dendi and other languages. Educational games and toys can also carry stories — for example, designers creating cultural games for children. See What Practical Learning Looks Like: Glim Education and the Power of Play.

What families can do

• Speak your language at home. Children can learn several languages. Speaking your mother tongue doesn't stop them learning French or English.
• Tell stories at bedtime or during meals.
• Record grandparents telling stories, proverbs and family history on your phone.
• Sing traditional songs together.
• Celebrate your language — don't treat it as "less modern."

What schools can do

• Use local languages in early grades to help children learn to read.
• Invite elders to tell stories in class.
• Run storytelling competitions in local languages.
• Create class books of local stories.
• Teach proverbs and discuss their meanings.

See The skills students learn when they teach each other — peer teaching in local languages can help too.

What writers, artists and creators can do

• Write poems, stories, songs and scripts in local languages.
• Publish bilingual books (local language + French or English).
• Create comics, cartoons and animations in local languages. See How illustrators bring history to young readers.
• Make podcasts, radio dramas and video stories.
• Collaborate with translators to share stories across languages.

What technology can do

Technology can help — if African languages are included:

• Keyboards and fonts for special characters (tones, letters like ɛ, ɔ, ɖ used in Fon).
• Voice recording and podcast platforms.
• Machine translation and speech tools for African languages (projects like Masakhane are working on this).
• Digital archives of oral history.

See How AI Is Changing Africa for more on African-language technology.

Answering common worries

"Won't speaking local languages hurt my child's French or English?" Research generally shows that strong skills in a first language help children learn additional languages. Bilingual and multilingual children often develop strong thinking skills.

"Local languages aren't useful for jobs." Many jobs — in health, media, sales, politics, teaching, customer service — need local language skills. And cultural knowledge is valuable in creative industries.

"Nobody reads in local languages." Partly because few books exist. More books, apps and media in local languages will create more readers.

An illustrative family project

Consider an illustrative family in Abomey (illustrative). The children speak mostly French at school and on their phones. Their grandfather speaks mainly Fon and knows dozens of stories.

One holiday, the eldest daughter records her grandfather telling ten stories on her phone. She types them out in Fon with help from her aunt, adds French translations and draws simple pictures. She prints a small booklet for the family and shares the audio files in the family WhatsApp group.

Cousins in Cotonou, Lomé and Paris start listening. Some learn the stories by heart. The grandfather becomes the family celebrity. A small project turned a private memory into a shared treasure.

Proverbs: tiny stories with big meaning

Proverbs are some of the richest stories in any language — full stories packed into one sentence. In many African cultures, using proverbs well is a sign of wisdom and good speaking.

Examples often shared across West Africa:

• "However long the night, the dawn will break." (Patience and hope.)
• "A single hand cannot tie a bundle." (Cooperation.)
• "The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth." (Belonging and care.)

Collecting proverbs in local languages, with their meanings and when they're used, is a simple and valuable project for families, schools and cultural groups.

Keep the library open

Amadou Hampâté Bâ warned that libraries burn when elders die. But libraries can also be copied, shared and grown — if we act. Every story told in a local language, recorded on a phone, printed in a book or sung in a classroom keeps the library open a little longer.

So tonight, ask an elder for a story. In their language.

Keep reading: The role of local languages in health communication, What stories should African children grow up hearing?, and our Art & Culture section.

Questions

How many languages are spoken in Africa?

More than 2,000 — around a third of the world's languages.

Who said "When an old man dies, a library burns"?

The line is attributed to Malian writer Amadou Hampâté Bâ, who spoke about oral tradition at UNESCO in the 1960s.

Does learning a local language hurt children's schooling?

Research generally shows that learning first in a familiar language helps children learn to read and later master additional languages.