Biyokulule Online

American spies to learn Tigrinya
Indian Ocean Newsletter
July 18, 2009

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair delivers a speech on "the future of the U.S. intelligence community" to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce National Security Task Force in Washington July 22, 2009.

The proposed budget that the American intelligence services have put to Congress includes provision for learning African languages.

The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, which brings the estimated budgetary needs of the American intelligence community before the US Congress, includes a particularly original element. Indeed, clause 314 of the bill asks the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Dennis C. Blair, who is the security advisor to President Barack Obama, to devise a pilot project for learning five new African languages, with a budget of € 2 million. This programme will use intensive immersion instruction in both the USA and the African countries where the respective languages are spoken. The intent of the programme is “to begin building capability in African languages spoken in areas where US national security interests may be affected, but where insufficient instructional capability exists in the United States”.

Two of the languages covered in this programme concern countries in Western and Central Africa: Haussa, mostly found in the north of Nigeria and the south of Niger; and Kituba, spoken in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The other three languages concern East African countries: Somali, Amharic and Tigrinya. Somali is mainly spoken in Somalia, but also in part of north-eastern Kenya, south-eastern Ethiopia and Djibouti. Amharic is the official working language in Ethiopia. Finally, Tigrinya is spoken in the northern region (Tigray) and the peoples living in the high plateaux in Eritirea. A dangerous region!