This is the localisation, language & ICT profile for the DRC.
For the CD-L10n wikigroup, click on the flag.
On this page/Sur cette page... (hide)
"Congo-Kinshasa" (ex-Zaire)
Repubilika ya Kongo Demokratiki - Jamhuri ya Kidemokrasia ya Kongo
Republiki ya Kɔ́ngɔ Demokratiki - Ditunga dia Kongu wa Mungalaata
French (English was proposed in a former constitution, but the current and the constitution to be validated by referendum only specify French as the official language) (Aménagement linguistique)
Kikongo, Lingala, Swahili, Tshiluba are national languages, as indicated in the constitution (Aménagement linguistique)
Over 200 other languages are listed by Ethnologue at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=CD
Lingala, Kongo (Kikongo), Swahili, Mongo/Nkundo, Nyoro, Zande
The site L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde has a page on Dem. Rep. of Congo at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/czaire.htm
CELTA - Centre de Linguistique Théorique et Appliquée. B.P. 4956, Kinshasa Gombe http://celta.populus.org/
Four institutions "involved in or responsible for African Language research" in DRC (UNESCO 1985). Updated information is needed, including location & status of CELTA. [NB- "Université du Zaïre" in the original list has been changed to "Université de Lumumbashi" - are the two entities listed at the university still there?]:
UNDP (2006) gives a literacy figure (without reference to which language[s]) of: 67.2%
National languages are written in the Latin alphabet with some additional modified letters (extended characters) and diacritics. A chart showing the extended Latin characters and diacritics used in some Congolese languages is available at: http://www.bisharat.net/A12N/CONGO-K-table.htm
In 1974 there was a set of rules of orthography recommended by the first seminar of Zairean linguists in Lubumbashi (1974/5/22-26). This standardisation et uniformisation de l'orthographe des langues nationales du Zaïre concerned Kongo, Lingala, Swahili and Luba. (Wikipedia)
A new alphabet called Mandombe has been developed in the Kimbanguist church for Kongo and other languages.
UNESCO (1985) reported the following periodicals (name, frequency of publication, language). Updated information is needed:
Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 11, shortwave 2 (2001) (CIA)
In 2007 a study was released on national infrastructure: "Étude de faisabilité pour une dorsale Internet ouverte en République démocratique du Congo" http://www.rdc-tic.cd/?q=node/75
Four main "ICT challenges" identified by Gjerstad (in GISW 2007) are: "lack of infrastructure, the lack of a broad-based ICT vision for the country, the absence of properly defined institutional roles and responsibilities, and a lack of public funds and human resources."
"Given the DRC's recent history, the country is just beginning to lay the foundations for basic ICT policies and laws. ... The four Congolese institutions responsible for ICTs are the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Press and Information, the High Authority on Media (HAM), and the ARPTC. ... ICTs are under the mandate of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications." (Gjerstad in GISW 2007)
"A defined national policy for ICT is still non-existent .but a number of initiatives are taken, notably with reference to COMESA, NEPAD, and Law 012/2002, enacted October 16, 2002 about telecommunications. The government expects to begin the setting up of a plan for national information and communications infrastructure (NICI). ... A national policy concerning ICT use in education was launched in 2004 within which two main priorities were identified: the internet network and electronic governance." (WikiEducator)
"Because of the size of the country, the complexity of the administrative setup and the political diversity, the DRC NICI process may take longer than the normal time usually allocated to the NICI process. Twenty data enumerators were trained and the baseline study was undertaken in Kinshasa and all the provinces. Due to political situation, the process was stalled for several months, however with the new Government swearing in around December 2006, it is expected that the NICI process will restart early 2007." (Excerpt from the UNECA/AISI country page for DRC at http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/drc/drc.htm )
The APC page, "ICT Policy in Dem. Rep. of Congo" has some information and links:
WikiEducator has a page on ICTs and education, including table on enabling and constraining factors, at http://www.wikieducator.org/ICT4Africa/Country_Report_Democratic_Republic_of_Congo
(See also specific language pages.)
The Liboke ya Congo project initiated efforts for localisation in Lingala and had plans for other languages.
The NGO Éveil du Congo http://www.educ-drc.org/ is continuing the plans of Liboke ya Congo.
Congolese Languages Team https://launchpad.net/~congo.lang
Congo Chine Telecom (CCT) has developed a localised package called "Kit A12+" for mobile phones. See http://big5.fmprc.gov.cn/gate/big5/cg.china-embassy.org/fra/jmgx/t286576.htm . It includes: Lingala, Luba, Swahili, and French.
(See also specific language pages.)
Éveil du Congo; Congolese Languages Team (see above)
APC, "ICT Policy in Dem. Rep. of Congo," Africa ICT Policy Monitor, http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21839e_1
Gjerstad, Lina. "Dem. Rep. of the Congo (DRC)." Global Information Society Watch (GISW) 2007 Report http://globaliswatch.org/en/node/435
International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 2006. World Information Society Report 2006. Geneva: ITU. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2006/wisr-web.pdf
______. 2004. African Telecommunication Indicators 2004. Geneva: ITU.
Internet Systems Consortium (ISC), "Distribution of Top-Level Domain Names by Host Country, Jan 2007" http://www.isc.org/index.pl?/ops/ds/
Internet World Stats: Africa. 2007. http://internetworldstats.com/africa.htm
Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "Congo-Kinshasa (République démocratique du Congo)," http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/czaire.htm
SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Languages of Democratic Republic of the Congo," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=CD
UNDP. 2006. ''Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006.'' New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). [Human development index Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) (HDI) http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/3.html ]
UNECA/AISI (2006?) "NICI Country Pages: Democratic Republic of Congo" http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/drc/drc.htm
UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa. 1985. African Community Languages and Their Use in Literacy and Education: A Regional Survey. Dakar: UNESCO.
U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), "The World Factbook: Congo, Democratic Republic of the" https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html
Vodafone. 2005. "Africa: The Impact of Mobile Phones." The Vodafone Policy Paper Series, Number 3, March 2005. http://www.vodafone.com/assets/files/en/GPP%20SIM%20paper.pdf
WikiEducator, "ICT4Africa/Country Report Democratic Republic of Congo," http://www.wikieducator.org/ICT4Africa/Country_Report_Democratic_Republic_of_Congo
Wikipedia, "Communications in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo
______, "Democratic Republic of the Congo," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo
______, "Languages of the Democratic Republic of the Congo," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo
______, "République démocratique du Congo," http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/République_démocratique_du_Congo
______, "Standardisation et uniformisation de l'orthographe (Zaïre)," http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standardisation_et_uniformisation_de_l%27orthographe_%28Za%C3%AFre%29
< Congo | Countries | Côte d'Ivoire >
