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(6) Whether a local vernacular can be expanded, particularly in the matter of borrowing words from foreign sources to convey new meanings.

(c) Whether any particular vernacular is worth adopting and developing on the ground that there is a definite demand for education among the people speaking it.

In making the choice of languages for educational purposes it is, I think, necessary that we should be clear as to the basic principles. I venture to quote the following passage from Education in East Africa, a report published after a tour of a Commission in 1924, under the auspices of the Phelps-Stokes Fund, as being particularly applicable to our problem :—

“The elements to be considered in determining the languages of instruction are (1) that every people have an inherent right to their Native tongue ; (2) that the multiplicity of tongues shall not be such as to develop misunderstandings and distrust among people who should be friendly and co-operative; (3) that every group shall be able to communicate directly with those to whom the Government is entrusted ; and (4) that an increasing number of Native people shall know at least one of the languages of the civilized nations. In determining the weight of each of these elements, it is of course necessary to ascertain the local conditions. It is clear that there is comparatively little if any advantage in the continuation of a crude dialect with practically no powers of expression. It is also evident that the need for a lingua franca is not essential to a large group of people speaking the same language and living under conditions that do not require much intercommunication. It may even be true that some one of the Native languages may be so highly developed as to make possible the translation of the great works of civilization into that language. With due consideration for all these elements and the modifying circumstances, the followimg recommendations are offered as suggestions to guide Governments and Educators in EE the usual procedure in most African Colonies :—

(1) The tribal language lnoale be used in the lower elementary standards or grades.

“ (2) A lingua franca of Arisa origin should be introduced in the middle classes of the school if the area is occupied by large Native groups speaking diverse languages.

(3) The language of tthe European nation in control should be taught in the upper standards.”

I take it that the principle that the tribal language should be used in the lower grades will be generally accepted at this Conference. There are obvious exceptions. The first, as stated in the passage quoted above, is that dialects with practically no powers of expression should be excluded ; the second, that if a language is spoken by a very small number of people it is impracticable to use it; the third, that if two vernaculars are so closely related that people speaking one can

without serious difficulty understand the other, one of the two should be adopted for educational purposes.