Several social media users along with media outlets namely Bengali News18, Bangla Aaj Tak, Dhaka Tribune and The Indian Express are claiming that Bengali is the official language of Sierra Leone, a country located in West Africa.
An archive can be seen here.
(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)
What's the truth?: We found no proof about Bengali being the official language of Sierra Leone.
How did this claim originate?: Reports shared by The Indian Express and Dhaka Tribune in 2017 mentioned that Bengali/Bangla language was declared "AN official language" for Sierra Leone by the late former president Dr Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah in 2002.
According to the reports, “Soon after peace was restored in 2002, the country’s president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah announced that Bengali would henceforth be considered an official language of the Republic of Sierra Leone in recognition of the work done by Bangladeshi troops in restoring peace to the region."
However, there were several other versions that stated that Bengali was only recognised as an honorary language in recognition of the peacekeeping work by Bangladeshi troops.
What did we find?: According to an article published on the official website of the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs of Sierra Leone, several languages are spoken in the country because of the various ethnic groups.
It further adds that Mende, Temne, and Krio languages are more prevalent and English is used as the official language in schools and government affairs.
Nowhere does the website mention anything about Bengali language.
English Encyclopedia Britannica also states that Krio, a language derived from English and various African languages, is the lingua franca or the universal language of Sierra Leone.
It mentions other languages spoken in the country namely, Mende, Kuranko, Kono, Yalunka, Susu, Vai, Temne, Krim, Kisi, Bullom, Sherbro, and Limba.
It also states that English is the official language used in administration, education, and commerce.
An article shared by the website of the nonprofit organization Translators without Borders mentioned that as per the 2004 Sierra Leone census, there are 18 primary languages in Sierra Leone. Krio is the main language which is understood and spoken by approximately 97% of the population. Mende and Temne are the other two primary languages.
It further mentioned that English is the official language in media, education and government administration.
What do experts say:
We reached out to Mneesha Gellman, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of Emerson Prison Initiative.
Gellman has also authored a paper titled "Mother Tongue Won’t Help You Eat:” Language Politics in Sierra Leone.”
She clarified that Bengali is not an official language in Sierra Leone.
In her paper, she mentioned that since Sierra Leone got its independence from Britain in 1961, Krio, an English-based creole language got widely accepted.
A Bangladeshi psychologist named Md Akbar Hossain told Bangladesh's Fact-Checking Initiative Rumor Scanner that the claim was fake.
Hossain, who lived in Sierra Leone for a year, had published a report an online portal named ‘Newsg24’ wherein he stated that the claim of Bengali being the second official language of Sierra Leone is false.
Hossain also shared a video with Rumor Scanner wherein he was seen interviewing people from various professions in Sierra Leone. In the video, everyone praised Bangladesh and its peacekeepers for their contribution to the civil war in Sierra Leone, but they also mentioned English and Krio to be their "two main languages" as most of them were unaware of the Bengali language.
Dubawa, a West Africa-based fact-checking organisation, also published a fact-check stating that Bengali was never used as Sierra Leone’s official language
Conclusion: A false claim is going viral that states Bengali is the official language of Sierra Leone.
(Note: The story was first fact-checked by Rumor Scanner. You can read their story here.)
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