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The Real Story: Tanzania: Can Language Unite a Nation?

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Tanzania: Can Language Unite a Nation?

25/03/2016 GMT

BBC World Service - The Real Story, Tanzania: Can Language Unite a Nation?

What has Swahili contributed to the success and stability of Tanzania?

In Tanzania, people say Swahili has brought them together. But has it been the language or the breaking of tribal structures that has unified the nation?

We travel to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania - a country that many believe can teach a lesson to others seeking unity and stability, because right from the start the first post-independence leader Julius Nyerere insisted that everyone should learn Swahili. Well over a 100 other languages are still spoken in Tanzania but many people believe that Nyerere – partly because of his language policy - was a successful nation builder. Join Owen Bennett Jones and his guests as they discuss language and politics in Tanzania.

(Photo: School children sitting in a classroom. Credit: Getty Images)

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