On the official languages in Eritrea
Whenever there is a post on the historical roots of the Arabic
language in Eritrea, some try to undermine its role
and lecture on us on what language to use. Eritrea like most African
countries is an artificial creation by the Italians. Arabic in the region precedes the existence of the entity called, Eritrea and has nothing to do with the Rashaida who came to Eritrea the last two hundred years. I think the problem lies
in the fact that when we talk about Eritrea we mean different parts of Eritrea;
Two or perhaps three or even four. The lowlands and the coastal parts of
Eritrea where Arabic has been introduced and in use more than 1000 years and
which had links to the Beja Kingdom and to Arabia across the Red Sea. The
highlands which was more related to the Axumite kingdom and inter-land of what
is Northern Ethiopia today, where Arabic was not used by the masses but by the
rulers in corresponding with the neighbouring powers. The Afar Sultanates on
the Red Sea had their own independent rule. You can take the Kunama as a
separate entity. Thus each group of us has its own Eritrea, but we are all tied
by this country called Eritrea and we share the history of all the parts. If we
want to keep it intact we need to respect each other’s choices without the need
of parenting; otherwise each one of us has its own mini-Eritrea.
My mother tongue is Tigrayet (commonly known as Tigre). I am proud of my language and even regard it much richer than Tigrinya, at least in terms of poetry (Enno Littmann’s large collection of Tigre poetry in collaboration with Nefae wed Utman in the early 1900 is a testimony to that). I am also proud of all other Eritrean languages. I do not consider myself an Arab, but Arabic defines part of my Eritrean cultural identity. I strongly believe that both Arabic and Tigrinya be reinstated as Eritrea’s official languages not negating that all Eritrean languages need to be developed and used in public discourse. When in 1952, the issue of languages was discussed in the Eritrean Assembly, the members voted first for Tigrinya unanimously, but when the issue of Arabic came, the Unionists were against it and there was a standstill. Mohamed Omer Hakito said a compromise was reached between the Unionists who accepted Arabic and in return the Anti-Unionists accepted that presence of the Emperor's representative in Eritrea
My mother tongue is Tigrayet (commonly known as Tigre). I am proud of my language and even regard it much richer than Tigrinya, at least in terms of poetry (Enno Littmann’s large collection of Tigre poetry in collaboration with Nefae wed Utman in the early 1900 is a testimony to that). I am also proud of all other Eritrean languages. I do not consider myself an Arab, but Arabic defines part of my Eritrean cultural identity. I strongly believe that both Arabic and Tigrinya be reinstated as Eritrea’s official languages not negating that all Eritrean languages need to be developed and used in public discourse. When in 1952, the issue of languages was discussed in the Eritrean Assembly, the members voted first for Tigrinya unanimously, but when the issue of Arabic came, the Unionists were against it and there was a standstill. Mohamed Omer Hakito said a compromise was reached between the Unionists who accepted Arabic and in return the Anti-Unionists accepted that presence of the Emperor's representative in Eritrea
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