What role for the French language in Togolese society?
Photo of the entrance of the French Institute of Togo (Lomé). Screenshot from Hodin Senyon's YouTube channel. Fair use. Due to its colonial past with France, Togo adopted French as its official language in 1960, a fact enshrined in Article 3 of the country's constitution. But what place does French now have in Togo’s multifaceted linguistic landscape? Togo's colonial history witnessed the introduction of several Western languages: Portuguese, German, English, and French. These languages made their way to Togolese shores from the time of the slave trade in the 18th century through the colonizat...