Introduction
The Republic of Djibouti is a small nation located on the Horn of Africa, and bordered by countries that speak English as a second language. It is a largely urban country, with most citizens residing near its capital, Djibouti City. Djibouti is integral to international trade throughout the Middle East and the Mediterranean due to its access to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which has stimulated foreign aid from countries interested in taking part in the country's strategic location. The country has begun to teach English in secondary schools to promote international marketability in its students that seek jobs working in Djibouti's ports, since English has become the language of international trade and the country's economy is mostly dependent on exporting and importing services.
Geography The Republic of Djibouti is an East African country located in between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, making its ports incredibly important for international trade. Its capital city is Djibouti City, with roughly seventy percent of the country's inhabitants living in or near the capital, and it is bordered by Eritrea to North, Ethiopia to the West, and Somalia to the Southeast, all of which speak English as a second language. Djibouti’s harsh natural geography forces the country to rely heavily on imports for food and resources. Due to its positioning between three continents and two seas, international trade has become the main avenue for the country’s economic growth, and the Djiboutian government has recently begun to recognize the necessity for English education in Djibouti and has begun reforms in their education system, including a more widespread instruction of English. |
Population Djibouti has a population of approximately 840,000, and sixty percent of the population is ethnically Somalian, thirty-five percent of the population is Afar, while the remaining five percent is made up of Ethiopian, Arab, French, and other ethnicities. The majority of Djiboutians are Sunni Muslim and speak Somalian since that is the largest ethnic group in the nation, although Afar is spoken by 306,000 Djiboutians. Seventy-eight percent of Djiboutians live in urban areas and are illiterate or unemployed, making French uncommon (since it requires education) and education in English even scarcer. Djiboutian women also frequently suffer genital mutilation, with recent studies finding that more than ninety-eight percent of female Djiboutians have undergone genital mutilation (Martinelli, et al. 2012). Djibouti GDP Compositionretrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/dj.html
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Religion & Politics
Ninety-four percent of Djiboutians are Muslim, which is where Arabic gains its cultural importance as a language. The remainder of Djiboutians mostly represent Christianity, with few Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches. Following its independence in 1977, Djibouti formed multiple political parties, and the Djiboutian government is currently dominated by the ruling party, headed by Ismail Omar Guelleh, the elected president. The Djiboutian constitution was amended in 1992 to allow opposing political parties, however, a majority of the National Assembly is made up of members of Guelleh’s party, the RPP, and the magistrates of the Supreme Court are mainly appointed by Guelleh or the National Assembly. Actual laws in Djibouti combine an imitation of French Civil Code with Islamic religious law.
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Languages
The official languages of Djibouti are Arabic and French, both of which are taught beginning in secondary schooling. Arabic has a lot of cultural importance due to its use in Muslim religious services, and is taught as a secondary or third language after French in Djiboutian schools starting at Grade 3. French has remained the language of education, meaning it is used in schooling and in professions that require literacy, which can be seen even on the Internet, where all Djiboutian websites use French. Somali and Afar are the indigenous and spoken languages of Djibouti. Somali is slightly more popular than Afar, and it is spoken by sixty percent of the population or about 504,000 people. English was introduced to Djibouti over a broad time span, when the United States first established a consulate in 1929 with Djibouti’s colonial predecessor, the French Somaliland, and formalized its political relationship with the newly independent country in 1977. More recently, English has been recognized by the government to be essential in its citizens’ education due to their focus on economic benefits of international trade, which frequently uses English.
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Link to Cal Poly WOrld englishes:
http://cola.calpoly.edu/worldenglishes/