Distinction, integration and identity: Motivations for local language literacy in Senegalese communities

Successful adult literacy and basic education programs are notoriously difficult to achieve. One reason for this has to do with how the question, “literacy for what?” is answered for a given program. All too frequently, the answer to that question is shaped more by the goals of the literacy provider than it is by learners’ own goals and desires.Accurate assessment of people's motivations for participating in literacy programs can uncover motivations beyond the economic or development-related outcomes so often given as reasons for becoming literate. One type of motivation which has received limited attention is that related to cultural identity and cultural expression. Such motivations do not figure strongly for many of the target populations of literacy programs; yet for the minority language speakers of sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere, the issues of cultural and linguistic identity are significant and could easily give rise to this type of motivation.This paper addresses the question of whether cultural identity and expression, linked to the development and use of the mother tongue, are really a reliable motivation for adult literacy. Based on research done in five language communities of Senegal, the paper argues that two strong motivations exist among these communities for literacy: (1) the drive for internal social cohesion, solidarity and cultural uniqueness and (2) the drive towards citizenship, acceptance and equality in the larger national society. These two motivations, while apparently in opposition to each other, actually complement and enhance each other in the literacy programs under study.