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Preserving indigenous minority languages through community radio in
development programmes in Malawi
Article in Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies · April 2023
DOI: 10.2989/16073614.2022.2128382
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Preserving indigenous minority languages through
community radio in development programmes in
Malawi
Victor Chikaipa
To cite this article: Victor Chikaipa (2023): Preserving indigenous minority languages through
community radio in development programmes in Malawi, Southern African Linguistics and
Applied Language Studies, DOI: 10.2989/16073614.2022.2128382
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Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2023: 1–17
This is the final version of the article that is published
ahead of the print and online issue
Copyright © NISC (Pty) Ltd
SOUTHERN AFRICAN LINGUISTICS
AND APPLIED LANGUAGE STUDIES
ISSN 1607-3614 EISSN 1727-9461
https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2022.2128382
Preserving indigenous minority languages through community radio in
development programmes in Malawi
Victor Chikaipa
Department of General Linguistics, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Department of Languages, Linguistics & Classical Studies, University of Malawi
Correspondence: vchikaipa@unima.ac.mw
Abstract: This study explores the extent to which two community radio stations have transcended
the social development agenda and contributed to facilitating retention of indigenous cultures in
the locality where they operate. In Malawi, community radio stations established and funded by
international development aid agencies have become a powerful and effective tool for empowering
marginalised societies in rural areas. Radio in this context acts as a medium for social mobilisation,
facilitating the interface between communities and duty bearers on community social development
issues. Specifically, local indigenous languages are used to ease communication challenges and
increase effective public participation in local programmes that are often aired on community radio
stations. Using ethnolinguistic vitality and development media as frameworks, the study analysed data
on the use of broadcasting as a tool for community empowerment, education, information sharing
and awareness. The findings establish that apart from amplifying indigenous voices on issues that
matter to their communities, the community radio stations through social development programmes
have also influenced the preservation of different cultural attributes, including languages. Thus, the
article concludes that the programmes in local languages have improved the people’s capacity to
claim their rights and has enabled access to essential information for widespread understanding and
cultural continuity.
Introduction
In Malawi, community radio broadcasting has not yet been considered or viewed as a potential
driver for language retention and preservation. The country’s community radio stations were
established with donor support from international non-profit institutions, such as the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the American Institute for Research
(AIR), the Creative Centre for Community Mobilisation (CRECCOM), the US Agency for International
Development (USAID), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the World Bank
(Mhagama 2015b). These community radio stations are set up to involve the local populations in
decision-making and participation processes, stimulate public debate, promote civic rights and assist
in holding the authorities accountable to the citizens. Generally, in terms of ownership, management
and programming, Mhagama (2015b) and Manyozo (2009) report that the radio stations are
independent entities that are fully controlled and operated by the community. This observation
implies that community radio stations are self-sustaining and serve the interests conceived by
the constituents in their programmes; however, at times, the non-profit institutions and other local
agencies may sponsor some programmes for the station’s financial sustainability. In most cases, the
radio programmes focus on social and economic empowerment issues to help improve the standards
of living of the less-privileged people (Mchakulu 2007; Manyozo 2009; Mhagama 2015b); however,
they all use indigenous languages to get the message across effectively to local populations.
Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to examine the contribution of two radio stations to the
preservation of local indigenous minority languages and cultures in Malawi through community
development radio programmes.
Over the last century, some of Malawi’s minority languages and cultures have received very little
or no formal recognition from traditional media platforms such as TV, newspapers and national radio
Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies is co-published by NISC (Pty) Ltd and
Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor & Francis Group)
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Chikaipa
stations. Similarly, there is a lack of institutional support from schools, churches and workplaces
(Chikaipa and Kishindo 2017). It is quite unusual for institutions to use minority languages alongside
official languages, such as Chichewa and English. An absence of working policies to allow the use of
minority languages as a medium in such formal institutions has left these languages in an endangered
position. Conversely, the period from 1994 to the present has seen an increase in the establishment
of the community radio broadcasts, as a newer media, centred on local and community development.
Their emergence has allowed the retention of vernaculars spoken by the minority groups in the
areas surrounding these radio stations. Newly established radio stations situated at various rural
sites attract large audiences, but they only do so when the relevant languages of the areas are
acknowledged and used (Chikaipa and Kishindo 2017). Building on previous research studies such
as Chikaipa and Kishindo (2017) and Chikaipa and Gunde (2021), this article deploys development
media and ethnolinguistic vitality analytical frameworks to investigate the contribution of Dzimwe and
Mudziwathu community radio stations to the promotion of minority indigenous languages.
In Malawi, a plethora of sociolinguistic studies on the retention of minority languages have not
considered the role of radio broadcasting but specifically centred on multilingualism, language
planning and policies in education (Kayambazinthu 1998; 2011; Kishindo 2002; 2019; Chikaipa
and Kishindo 2017). Likewise, most studies on community radio stations (Mchakulu 2007; Manda
2015; Msiska et al. 2018) have focused solely on the impact of radio listening clubs (RLCs) as an
effective participatory communication platform for social development in Malawi. RLC is defined as ‘a
community-based group organized by community members themselves and uses radio programmes
to facilitate development discourse within their community’ (Chirwa et al. 2000: 4). The studies argue
that the emergence of community radio listening clubs has created a space for the youth and other
underprivileged groups to discuss effectively the local socio-economic problems affecting them. For
instance, Englund (2011) analyses how a local language (Chichewa) news bulletin programme,
Nkhani Zam’maboma, on Malawi’s public radio, reveals broadcasters’ everyday struggles with
state-sponsored biases and a listening public with strong views and a critical ear. Englund’s study
concerns the debate on equality and inequality that the programme makes possible, contrasted
with discussions of human rights, which take place in English. Meanwhile, studies have overlooked
community radio broadcasting as a form of media that can promote indigenous languages, and
this invites more research into radio and the retention of languages. The main argument is that
community radio has effectively and positively influenced the use and retention of minority languages
through cultural and development programmes.
This article comprises four sections. The first section discusses the development of radio
broadcasting and the status of minority language use in Malawi. A critical analysis of existing studies
presents the background of radio broadcasting in Malawi, focusing specifically on community radio
and how people access important local information in their own languages. It is argued that there has
been a lack of appropriate policies on using minority languages in the media since the introduction
of radio broadcasting. The second section discusses the methodological questions regarding data
collection and analysis. The third section introduces and discusses the theories of ethnolinguistic
vitality and development media and how they frame the analysis of this article. In the fourth
section, data collected from the radio stations in question are presented and analysed. It shows
how Mudziwathu and Dzimwe community radio stations have proved key to preserving minority
languages in the surrounding areas. The article concludes by arguing that community radio supports
the retention of minority local languages against the dominance of national majority languages. It
also highlights that the non-profit institutions should continue to encourage local participants to use
the local languages in the social development of activities to enhance effective communication and
the maintenance of indigenous cultures.
Development of radio broadcasting and minority language use in Malawi media
Radio broadcasting began in Nyasaland (the colonial-era name for Malawi) in 1963, during the
one-party Banda regime, with an influence from outside the country by the Federation Broadcasting
Service, based in Lusaka, Zambia. This setup ended when Nyasaland attained independence,
becoming Malawi in 1964, and Radio Malawi’s broadcasting began (Manjawira and Mitunda 2011).
Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2023: 1–17
3
Initially launched in Zomba, the old capital city, this new state-controlled radio station was later
transferred to Chichiri in Blantyre. The one-party state controlled radio broadcasting from 1964 to
1994 for political reasons. The Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) was the only radio station
allowed, and no separate, independent station could transmit content in Malawi (Chimombo 1998).
From 1972, MBC was directly run and controlled by the government under the Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting. For this reason, Manjawira and Mitunda (2011) claim that the material aired on
MBC was heavily censored and that this practice compromised the content of programmes, especially
news reports. Specifically, priority was given to presidential activities, government ministers and top
civil servants. During this time, Chichewa, Chitumbuka and English were the main official languages
of broadcast for programmes that focused on improving agriculture and education (Kishindo 2005),
while Chichewa and English were the main languages for news reports.
The political transition from a one-party to a democratic state in 1994 changed the broadcasting
technology landscape in Malawi. There was a liberalisation and opening up of opportunities on the
airwaves, which was a crucial development (Lingela 2008; Mhagama 2015a). Private radio licences
were issued and there was an upsurge in the establishment of radio stations. In this regard, the
government established the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), an independent
regulatory body with the powers to determine who broadcasts, where they broadcast, how many
broadcasters they have, and what technology and what frequency they use (Manjawira and Mitunda
2011).
From 1994 to the present, the introduction of various language policy reforms and amendments
have further affected the broadcast media. Kamwendo (2005) notes that Chitumbuka, initially banned
after independence, was reinstated on national radio, particularly for MBC news bulletins. These
bulletins were also aired in other local indigenous languages such as Chiyao, Chisena, Chitonga and
Ellomwe. The use of indigenous languages was limited to news bulletins to allow different language
audiences to keep in touch with political developments happening in the country (Kamwendo 2005).
However, print media publishing in indigenous languages other than Chichewa disappeared in the
democratic era due to the continued dominance of English, the official language, which promised
a ready newspaper market and wider elite readership in urban areas at a national level. This was
connected to the elite’s perception that English had enormous prestige compared to Malawi’s
indigenous languages. The government’s decision to concentrate on Chichewa – and ignore most
indigenous minority languages – was a landmark decision that has proved difficult to reverse many
years after independence. Minority languages are still, to this day, excluded from the national agenda,
with the argument that giving preference to any specific local language would undermine the others
(Chikaipa and Kishindo 2017). Hence, broadcasting has been dominated by two languages, namely
English (due to globalisation and colonialism) and Chichewa (to foster the supposed unity), while the
print media has so far been inconsistent in its usage of minority indigenous languages.
However, the period since the early 1990s has seen an influx of media organisations into Malawi.
For example, at the time of writing this article, a MACRA (2020) report indicated that out of the 72
media organisations operating in the country, 45 were radio stations, with 20 operational community
radio stations. Community radio broadcasting emerged in the Malawi media landscape with the
initial licensing of the Dzimwe radio station in Mangochi in 1998 (Manjawira and Mitunda 2011).
Other community radio stations that have opened their airwaves since 2000 include Nkhotakota (in
Nkhotakota), Mzimba (in Mzimba), Mudziwathu (in Mchinji), Tuntufye (in Karonga), Tigabane (in
Mzuzu), Lilanguka Community Radio (in Mangochi) and, recently, in 2021, Kasungu Community
Radio (in Kasungu).
For this study, community radio is defined as
small-scale decentralized broadcasting initiatives which are easily accessed by local people, actively
encourage their participation in programming, and which include some element of community ownership
or membership (Myers 2000: 90).
This is broadcasting which is situated in rural areas and reaches the different members of the
community in their own local and indigenous languages (Myers 2000). In Malawi, these radio
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Chikaipa
stations have been established under conditions of donor sponsorship and are therefore not the
same as commercial broadcasting. They are established as centres for disseminating information
on specific local development initiatives, which include the building of community schools and health
centres, road maintenance, the education or awareness of family planning methods, new agricultural
practices and the provision of electricity. Community radio acts as a part of the wider communication
for development, helping to achieve this development in a variety of ways, through community
participation, by publicising development initiatives and by broadcasting programmes on education,
agriculture, and health, for example. As such, the messages from these stations target economically
marginalised or underprivileged societies, including indigenous minority communities. Thus, several
community radio stations have given ethnic minorities a platform to participate in discussions
concerning the development of the nation. However, we lack an understanding of how these radio
stations have influenced the retention of minority languages and cultures. This article explores the
ways that community radio engages with minority language speakers in their native languages and
the kind of impact this has on the surrounding communities.
The focus of this article is on two community radio stations: Mudziwathu and Dzimwe. Mudziwathu
community radio station was established in 2006 through a partnership between three organisations:
the American Institute for Research (AIR), Radio Systems International (RSI), both of which are based
in the United States, and the Creative Centre for Community Mobilisation (CRECCOM) of Malawi.
Funding for the establishment of the station came from USAID. Among other things, the station
mobilises communities to support education for orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs) and
promotes care for people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA). It established 42 radio listening clubs
in various parts of Mchinji to serve as conduits for information sharing and community mobilisation.
Dzimwe, the second community radio station that this article focuses on, was established by the
Malawi Media Women’s Association (MAMWA) to empower rural women through media-related
activities. It is situated in eastern Malawi at Monkey Bay in Mangochi district. The radio broadcasts
programmes that focus on issues such as gender-based violence, safe motherhood, child protection
and health, improvement of income-generation activities for women, literacy and environmental
conservation. Some programmes focus on local music and folklore.
Against this background, there are numerous implications to be drawn from the proliferation of
community radio stations in Malawi. The point of departure in this linguistic research is that the
indigenous languages used in some community radio programmes and broadcast in the areas
surrounding the radio stations have not been equally recognised and used in education, government
documentation, or the media in general. Thus, not many communities can access government
documents in their languages, nor do schools teach using languages other than the dominant national
and official languages. Yet, community radio stations in both rural and urban areas have adopted
minority languages, as understood by the local majority, for broadcasting. Using ethnolinguistic
vitality theory and development media theory, this study examines the significance of community
radio as an instrument for the retention of minority languages and cultures in various communities in
the Global South, specifically in Malawi.
Theoretical framework
Ethnolinguistic vitality theory
This study is informed by ethnolinguistic vitality theory, which allows us to assess the sociocultural
linguistic variables in language retention. According to Rasinger (2013) and Myers-Scotton (2006),
an ethnic group’s ability to overcome language change in contact situations with other ethnic groups
is determined by their strength in a catalogue of objective sociocultural factors. First, demographic
factors relate to the number and distribution pattern of group members throughout a region or
territory. Second, status variables refer to the economic, social, historical, and language status of the
ethnolinguistic group within or outside the mainstream community (Yagmur 2011). Third, institutional
support factors comprise the direct or indirect formal and informal support that an ethnolinguistic
group receives from various institutions, such as the mass media, education, government, industry,
religion, politics and cultural groups (Kulbrandstad 2001; Yagmur 2011). These factors assist in
analysing how community radio influences the retention of minority languages.
Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2023: 1–17
5
The three factors highlighted above – demographic factors, status variables and institutional
support – determine whether an ethnic group has a low, medium, or high ability to retain its native
minority language in a situation in which it is in contact with speakers of other languages (Yagmur
and Akinci 2003). Ethnic groups that rate highly in the three sociocultural conditions are likely to
retain their languages, whereas those rated lower are susceptible to processes of language shift
and the prevalence of the dominant language. Thus, the theory accounts for speakers’ vernacular
language retention based on the position of their ethnic group in the socio-economic factor ratings.
Drawing on the above discussion, ethnolinguistic vitality theory instruments provide a robust
and inclusive framework for investigating the vitality of an ethnolinguistic group. In this study, the
institutional support factor determines the efforts of community radio stations to support minority
languages in their surrounding areas. However, the theory does not provide adequate tools for
exploring the subjective motivations behind specific language choices in different programmes aired
on the radio. Therefore, this study uses development media theory to complement and transcend
the evaluation of the ethnolinguistic group investigations by focusing on some of the subjective
institutional factors, such as the informal support that influences radio stations to use the surrounding
minority language(s). Drawing on development media theory, we can investigate the possible reasons
why radio stations as media institutions use minority languages in their development programmes.
Development media theory
This study is also anchored in Dennis McQuail’s (1987) development media theory. The central thrust
of this theory is that the media functions in partnership with the government to promote national
goals, including forms of cultural identity (Fourie 2001). According to Anaeto et al. (2012), much of
the economic, political and social development of a given society is achieved by giving priority to its
national languages and culture. For Anaeto et al. (2012), development media theory advances the
idea that the national media should prioritise content for national culture, then regional cultures and
finally local cultures, in descending order of priority. Regional media is, of course, normally expected
to accord priority to regional cultures (and languages), while the local media will give priority to
local cultures and languages (Folarin 2002). Additionally, Fourie (2007) observes that the theory
encourages the immediate local and historically underprivileged indigenous language speakers and
cultural groups to be given ownership and control of the media situated in rural areas. The underlying
presupposition of development media theory in this context is that local media and community radio
stations should prioritise and empower the indigenous minority languages and cultures in those
areas where they are situated, which are usually underprivileged.
As my analysis in this article will show, the Mudziwathu and Dzimwe community radio stations,
situated in rural areas of Malawi, give attention and priority to the promotion of indigenous languages.
My analysis also delves into understanding the significance of community radio in recognising
indigenous languages as a basis for the empowerment of African people. Rapid development in
economics, politics, democracy, science and technology in Malawi, and more broadly in Africa,
depends on the use of indigenous languages. This aligns with the media’s role in cultural promotion,
which can ensure the sustainability of societal cultures, such as languages and traditional dances,
via consistent reportage and coverage. Development media theory thus informs my analysis of
how community radio stations assist in the promotion of minority languages to the extent that the
local populations can proudly use their unique indigenous languages. Based on cross-disciplinary
research, the article also calls for a more sophisticated integration of linguistic and media theories.
Methodological considerations
For this research, a qualitative approach was adopted, and data about the frequency of listenership,
language use in different programmes and the promotion of cultural diversity was collected for six
months between October 2018 and May 2019. Various methods were used, including field notes,
survey questionnaires, in-depth key informant interviews, participant observation and focus group
discussions (FGDs). Since the study anticipated subjective data, the different research methods
ensured a more dynamic way of probing issues for purposes of reliability and validity. The main
research material consists of 120 questionnaires, four focus group discussions with radio listening
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clubs (RLCs) and key informant interviews with the two station managers. Geographically, the
research was conducted in the areas surrounding the Mudziwathu and Dzimwe community radio
stations in Mchinji and Mangochi respectively.
The study employed a multistage sampling technique since the question of the preservation
of indigenous minority languages and cultures was being dealt with at different levels. In the
first instance, at the district level, the study purposively selected the Mudziwathu and Dzimwe
community radio stations because they were among the first to open at a community level, and have
consistently remained operational (MACRA 2018). In addition, both stations are in areas with one or
more functional minority languages (Centre for Language Studies 2006). Purposive sampling was
also employed to identify the villages that have speakers of the minority language(s) and with full
coverage of the radio stations under study. Thereafter, I established the total number of households
in all the surrounding villages. A total of 137 households (with the lowest having 31 households)
were identified in the villages around Mudziwathu, and 107 households (with the lowest having 23
households) were identified in the villages around Dzimwe community radio. With such a sample of
the population, the study opted for a proportional representation of 20 households from each village
around Mudziwathu and 15 households from each village around Dzimwe community radio station
to give them equal chances of inclusion and avoid unnecessary variations. Thus, households were
targeted because the home is a typical environment where the family spends time listening to the
radio.
A simple random sampling was employed to select a household, and a purposive sampling
technique was used to designate a household member for the survey questionnaire interview. A
total of 60 radio listeners (30 men and 30 women) were interviewed in the broadcast area of each
radio station. The study targeted an equal number of men and women to have balanced views in
terms of gender. The participants for the survey questionnaires (household member) were either
affiliated or not affiliated with the RLCs of the community radio stations. It is significant to highlight
that the participants in the study had mixed backgrounds; however, most of them were subsistence
farmers who had attended school to primary level only. The survey interviews were triangulated with
FGDs to probe for more in-depth information on how the community radio stations have helped in
the maintenance of the minority language(s) and cultures. The study conducted a total of four FGDs
with RLCs, thus two in the broadcast area of each radio station. To select the RLCs, the researcher
looked for active clubs and established that there were five clubs in the areas of study surrounding
Mudziwathu and three within the broadcast area of Dzimwe radio station. The study settled for two
FGDs in the broadcast area of each radio station (and a total of four for the study) to have equal
representation. Each club registered an average of 15 to 18 RLC members, comprising women, men
and young people, and all of them were accorded a chance to participate in the open discussions,
which took place at their usual meeting places in the villages. FGD questions were open-ended to
stimulate an informal discussion with the RLCs to understand their beliefs, perceptions and opinions
about the contribution of the community radio stations toward the preservation of the minority
language(s), including culture. The RLCs members were informed in advance about the dates of the
discussion. The FGDs took around one hour and had a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 18 club
members in one group, both men and women.
To ensure a high response rate, I avoided giving out the survey questionnaires to the participants
to complete. Instead, two well-trained local research assistants, who were also fluent speakers of
the different languages used in these areas, assisted in administering the semi-structured survey
questionnaires. These had more open-ended than closed questions to allow the respondents to
express their views and experiences regarding issues not specifically captured thus far. The
survey questionnaires collected data on the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants,
the listenership frequency for different radio stations, cultural norms and values highlighted by the
radio stations and the participants’ attitudes or opinions towards the status of local languages on the
community radio stations. The assistants travelled with me to help in facilitating and taking notes of
the FGDs in various locations in the vicinity of the two radio stations. Local languages were used in
the FGDs and translations were made wherever necessary to help RLCs members understand the
questions easily and contribute to the discussion.
Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2023: 1–17
7
Most of the participants from the areas surrounding the Mudziwathu community radio station
in Mchinji – particularly those from the villages of Nyoka, Menyani and Kayesa – were identified
as being bilingual speakers of Chisenga and Chichewa, but ethnically self-identified as Ngoni.
Depending on the participant’s preference, the interviews were in either Chichewa or Chisenga,
hence questionnaires were in both languages. In the area of the Dzimwe community radio station in
Mangochi, most of the participants were also bilingual speakers of Chiyao and Chichewa, although
speakers of additional indigenous languages, such as Tonga and Tumbuka, were also identified.
Specifically, Dzimwe radio participants were from Monkey Bay, Balamanja, Mwalembe and Nsumbi
villages. In these villages, interviews were in Chichewa and Chiyao, and questionnaires were also
in both languages. Based on the data from the two radio stations, this study identified Chiyao and
Chisenga as the key minority indigenous languages in the study areas. All the fieldwork material
was recorded, transcribed and coded according to the salient themes emerging from the data.
Translations were also professionally done wherever necessary.
I obtained ethical clearance and other permissions from the various stakeholders. At the institutional
level, the University of Malawi’s Department of Language and Communication Studies granted
ethical clearance to conduct the study and highlighted that this was not high-risk research despite
involving human participants. At the respective radio stations, Dzimwe and Mudziwathu, the station
managers positively accepted and endorsed that such a study was long overdue. It also required
permission from chiefs in the villages where the community radio stations are located, specifically for
the interviews with participants. Prior to interviews and focus group discussions, all the participants in
the study were fully informed about the goal of the study. To maintain the participants’ anonymity and
confidentiality, pseudonyms were used in the write-up, and during the survey, consent forms were
signed in case of future queries.
Data presentation and analysis
The primary research question addressed in this article concerns the ways that community radio
engages with minority language speakers in their native languages and the kind of impact this
has on the surrounding communities. A thematic analysis of the data was undertaken because,
as Maguire and Delahunt (2017) argue, the purpose of this method is to establish important and
interesting patterns (identify themes) from the data to address the research question. In this study,
thematic analysis helped to move beyond interpreting mere words or statements, to making sense
of the commonalities in the whole data set from survey questionnaires, FGDs and observations.
This was used to discover the relationships between diverse subjects through interpretation. Part of
the data set, especially the closed questions from the survey questionnaires were analysed through
descriptive coding. Descriptive codes summarise the topics of the data and are grouped in different
categories, and this is not much different to thematic analysis. I reread the entire data set to establish
the different interpretive themes. The following sections present the analysis of the data from
Mudziwathu and Dzimwe community radio stations. The two radio stations are discussed separately
to show how they have each affected the preservation of minority languages that are spoken in their
surrounding communities in specific ways.
Mudziwathu community radio: Impact on the retention of Chisenga in the Mchinji district
Based on my observations and MACRA’s (2018) report, Mchinji town and the surrounding areas have
access to 11 different radio stations. This includes public radio stations (e.g. Malawi Broadcasting
Corporation’s [MBC] Radio 1 and 2), private radio stations (e.g. Zodiak Broadcasting Station [ZBS],
Capital FM, Joy Radio and Malawi Institute of Journalism [MIJ] radio), religious radio stations (e.g.
Alinafe, Transworld, African Bible College [ABC] radio and Radio Maria Malawi), and one community
radio, Mudziwathu (literally translated as ‘Our Village’) community radio station. One aim of the
research was to find out the proportion of listenership for the different radio stations in the area.
Respondents were asked which radio stations they tuned into regularly, and the reasons for their
choices, though it is important to note that listeners could indicate more than one radio station that
they most frequently tuned into. Conducting this survey helped us assess which types of cultural and
indigenous programmes were of most interest to the local people.
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Chikaipa
100
92
90
80
66
70
60
50
40
50
37
30
20
10
10
6
13
17
7
3
4
0
Figure 1. Proportions (%) of listenership for radio stations in the Chisenga-speaking areas around Mudziwathu.
(Authors’ Field Survey, 2018 & 2019)
Figure 1 shows that the highest rate of listenership among respondents was 92% for ZBS,
followed by Mudziwathu at 66%, and then MBC Radio 2 and 1 with 50% and 37% of the listenership
respectively. The other radio stations had a much lower listenership, with MIJ at 10%, while for the
religious radio stations, ABC was at 17%, Radio Maria at 13% and Transworld at 7%. The study
respondents who listened to the faith-based stations usually chose to do so because they belonged
to the mother churches that had established the radio stations. A key finding is, however, that a
majority of the listenership in Mchinji engaged with radio broadcasts from Mudziwathu community
radio station.
Feedback from respondents further revealed that local radio listeners also tuned into ZBS and
MBC Radio 2. As these are national broadcasters, Chichewa, as a de facto national language, is their
official broadcast language. The respondents argued that it is important to listen to these national
radio stations to keep themselves updated on what is happening in the country and internationally.
The respondents acknowledged their multilingual status but remain unworried as to the impact of
the national station on their Chisenga retention since this language is their mother tongue. As one
respondent described:
We tune into other national radio stations to hear what is happening here and around the
world. Most of the time, we tune into such radio stations during news bulletins, and thereafter
we revert to our community radio, which has very informative and educative programmes,
the majority in our local languages. Sometimes, it is exciting to listen to our contributions,
particularly to issues affecting our area, and everyone can understand what we talk about
rather than using English and Chichewa. The different languages used on the other radio
stations cannot induce us to shift from our native Chisenga language. It remains the first
language in this area, and that is why we like Mudziwathu radio (Hasiwelo Doba, Nyoka
village, 5 October 2018).
The respondents indicated that they preferred listening to programmes aired on Mudziwathu radio
station, except for news bulletins and political rally coverage, for which they switched to ZBS and
MBC. Since Mudziwathu community radio is apolitical, the respondents’ high listenership frequency
for ZBS and MBC is attributed to the political campaign rallies and election information that were
taking place as people were preparing for the 2019 tripartite general elections.
The respondents reported often tuning into Mudziwathu community radio station because it
is situated in the locality and integrates Chisenga into many of its cultural, entertainment and
Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2023: 1–17
9
development programmes, including Phukusi la Moyo (‘Life package’), Katani Kambwiri (‘Take a
hoe’), Muli tyani? (‘How are you?’) and Mwachoma tyani (‘Good afternoon’). During the fieldwork,
I discovered that listeners would freely articulate their views in Chisenga through radio phone-in,
social development programmes on health and agriculture such as Phukusi la Moyo and Katani
Kambwiri respectively. I was also able to establish that the radio coverage of Mudziwathu reaches
beyond Mchinji into other districts in the central region of Malawi, such as Dowa, Kasungu and parts
of Lilongwe. Before the establishment of the community radio, there were no initiatives that directly
or indirectly made any effort to encourage Chisenga speakers to retain their language. Therefore, it
is important to stress that Mudziwathu radio is a new institutional factor in strengthening the retention
of Chisenga.
Interestingly, study respondents reported that some of the actual names of the social development
and cultural programmes for Mudziwathu radio were chosen from suggestions by listeners after
the community radio station requested their suggestions on what programmes they would prefer to
listen to. Through community gatherings such as radio listening clubs, radio audiences suggested
programmes that had Chisenga names such as Muli Tyani and Katani Kambwiri, which characterise
their linguistic identity. The local inhabitants of the study area have used Chisenga in these
participatory development programmes on Mudziwathu radio – during phone-ins or round-table
discussions – because their preference is to express themselves in their first language. As one
interviewee commented:
It is [us], through the radio listening club, that suggested using Chisenga names for most
of the programmes on Mudziwathu radio. We thought that it was awkward for the radio to
engage us in our local language while the programmes are named in English. When the
radio changed the programme names to Chisenga, we felt good and free to participate in the
proceedings effectively, for instance, in issues to do with family planning, good agricultural
practices and education (John Kajawa, Kayesa village, 9 October 2018).
The majority of the programmes on Mudziwathu are in Chisenga as the medium of communication
hence many listeners, who are also speakers of this language, have applauded the station for
embracing and using a minority local language. This has improved people’s participation and
contribution during radio programmes on the community development projects that take place in
the area, and this has also promoted the retention of Chisenga. Ultimately, this pattern of language
use and radio choice, particularly in the home domain, confirms what McQuail (1987) and Akpojivi
and Fosu (2016) posit, namely that media such as radio, among other technologies, empower
the underprivileged speakers of minority languages in the areas where they are situated, thereby
contributing to language retention.
The prioritisation of Chisenga in some Mudziwathu radio programmes demonstrates the potential of
community broadcast media and other forms of digital media to contribute toward the maintenance of
minority languages, thus helping to keep them from extinction. For instance, Matiki (2009) observed
that three Malawian languages, namely Chingoni, Ellomwe and Chiyao, are in a state of attrition. It
is worth noting that some community radio stations indirectly support the revival of these languages.
Also, non-governmental organisations such as Mai Mwana (on primary health care), World Vision (on
agricultural development) and Mary Meals (on school feeding) regularly work with minority language
speakers on various development projects in this area and continue to engage with the communities
in the local minority language Chisenga, which contributes greatly to its retention. Minority language
use facilitates communication and encourages the participation of speakers who might otherwise be
excluded due to an avoidable language barrier. Hence, this corroborates the observations of Crack
(2019), Brehm (2019), Moring (2007) and Lora-Kayambazinthu (2003) that minority (indigenous)
languages can be regarded as significant tools for facilitating community development, especially in
accessing basic socio-economic needs and participation in issues to do with food security, primary
health care, basic education and poverty reduction.
10
Chikaipa
100
86
90
80
67
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
58
48
44
32
18
12
2
1
1
3
Figure 2. Proportions (%) of radio listenership in the Chiyao-speaking areas around Dzimwe (Authors’ Field
Survey, 2018 & 2019)
Dzimwe community radio station: Impact on the retention of Chiyao in the Mangochi district
In addition to Dzimwe radio, in Mangochi, people also had access to several radio stations. These
included public radio stations (MBC Radio 1 and Radio 2), private radio stations (MIJ, ZBS and Capital
FM) and religious radio stations (Channel for All Nations [CAN], Transworld, Radio Maria, Seventh
Day Adventist [SDA], Radio Islam, and Living Waters Church Radio). Most of our respondents in
Mangochi were Chiyao speakers, though some preferred to use Chichewa. The graph below shows
the listenership rates or the percentages of the respondents who were tuning into the radio stations
available in the study area.
Figure 2 illustrates the survey data and shows that ZBS had the highest listenership, at 86%,
followed by Dzimwe community radio at 67%. The next two popular radio stations were religious:
Radio Islam had a listenership of 58%, and Radio Maria’s listenership was 48%. The respondents
argued that they were more likely to listen to ZBS because this station offered balanced reporting
of the national political news. However, they also expressed significant preferences for Dzimwe
community radio because the station encourages them to retain the spoken languages of the
area, through its various cultural, musical and entertainment programmes. For example, some
programmes that participants make constant contributions to in the Chiyao minority local language
include Tidziwe za Chisilamu (‘Knowing more about Islam’) and Umoyo Nkukambirana (‘Views about
health’). Respondents also indicated that immense support for Dzimwe radio from UNESCO has
provided a platform for the underprivileged of Mangochi – particularly in Monkey Bay, Balamanja,
Mwalembe and Nsumbi villages – to engage in dialogue on local development needs and issues.
The community radio station programmes cover a variety of topics, including education, agriculture,
health and governance issues. Notably, in addition to informing the public, Dzimwe radio preserves
the indigenous languages and cultures of the area. As one of the participants commented:
In addition to the several development programmes, the community radio has given us
entertainment as we can listen to music, both cultural and Western, including traditional
dances. Sometimes the radio also covers live our annual Chiyao cultural festivities or rites
which include dance performances in our native language. The radio has tremendously
improved the way people perceive minority languages and their speakers (Otisi Mlamba,
Nsumbi village, 8 April 2019).
The study respondents were asked how often they tuned into Dzimwe community radio as one
measure of the station’s impact on the maintenance of the local minority languages. From the
Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2023: 1–17
11
60 survey interviews with listeners in the villages surrounding Dzimwe, the study found that most
respondents (72%) tune into the radio regularly, 18% listen occasionally, and 10% could not
exactly tell the frequency of their exposure. Among the programmes that were frequently tuned
into were programmes focusing on the prevention of violence against women and girls, teenage
pregnancies and early marriages, sustainable natural resource management, public health, women’s
empowerment through income-generating activities related to fishing and farming and programmes
on indigenous cultures and matters of national concern or interest.
In the study’s key informant and focus group discussions, it was reported that the use of local
languages on Dzimwe radio improved listeners’ participation in, and contribution to, the various
development programmes taking place in the local area. As one of the participants commented:
The women’s empowerment programmes on Dzimwe radio have instilled a spirit of saving
money in many women. Many of us have ventured into different kinds of businesses and
joined women’s clubs, particularly village banks, and we are confident that such economic
empowerment will undoubtedly uplift our lives as we have been severely marginalised for so
long in the communities surrounding the radio station. We learn a lot from other women, and
it is not difficult to understand because our language is used. When you want to contribute to
the topic under discussion, it is also easy because some of us are not fluent in Chichewa or
English (Leniya Kanthu, Nsumbi village, 15 April 2019).
In addition, respondents indicated that, unlike other radio stations, Dzimwe is on a radio frequency
that is easy to tune into. Those respondents who said that they only occasionally tuned in to the
community station explained that this was because the national rather than local radio stations kept
them updated on news, culture and events happening globally. The same respondents argued that
this had little negative effect on the maintenance of their minority indigenous language and culture
because these were being promoted in the home domain.
The respondents were asked to assess the extent of Dzimwe radio’s contribution to the promotion
of indigenous languages and cultures in the local area. From the survey questionnaires, 65% of
respondents agreed that the efforts made by the community radio station to encourage participants
to use native languages in some of its radio programmes contribute to the promotion of indigenous
languages and cultures. 28% of respondents indicated that the radio made a fair contribution, while
the remaining 7% of respondents felt that the contribution was insignificant. The respondents who
claimed an insignificant contribution argued that Chiyao is already a language of the majority in
the area and that the introduction of the community radio has made no difference to its retention.
However, the majority indicated that Dzimwe community radio had made a significant contribution to
the promotion of the Yao language and the indigenous cultures of the people of the Mangochi district
in eastern Malawi.
Further enquiry into the different development programmes aired by the community radio station
was conducted through FGDs. These discussions indicated that most of the social development
programmes on Dzimwe radio encouraged listeners to express themselves in their language,
commonly Chiyao. Some of the programmes include: Umoyo Nkukambirana (‘Views about health’),
which focuses on people’s health, how cultural practices such as initiation ceremonies influence
health and social life; Ulimi Wokhazikika (‘Sustainable agriculture’) – a programme that promotes
sustainable smallholder farming practices and food security; Tisodze (‘Fisheries conservation’)
– an awareness-raising programme about legal and illegal fishing practices; and Zachilengedwe
(‘Natural resource utilisation and conservation’) – a programme aimed at encouraging sustainable
management of resources, including the processing of indigenous fruit and other wild resources
into valuable products. The station manager argued that Dzimwe radio’s use of local languages
encourages the populace to participate and contribute their views to radio programmes related to key
developments in the area without communication barriers. As the station manager remarked:
The local communities or villages participating in different programmes to be aired on the
radio do not find it difficult when we use the local or native indigenous language of this area,
12
Chikaipa
namely Chiyao. For effective communication with the participants and our listeners, most of
the programmes are recorded in Chiyao, and we encourage them to use the same so that
they can express themselves fully. We want them to own the radio and feel that they are part
of the different projects that we are focusing on (Station manager, Dzimwe, Monkey Bay, 7
April 2019).
The cultural programmes transmitted on the community radio station also include songs and local
music, which are deliberately linked with other cultural practices, such as marriage and naming
ceremonies. This further supports the promotion of people’s indigenous languages and cultures. As
one of the respondents commented:
The producers go to rural areas in search of cultural talent in many areas: songs, dances
and musical plays. Many cultural festivities are recorded and thereafter aired on the radio.
Sometimes, we invite them to come and witness our cultural festivals and rites, such as boys’
or girls’ initiation ceremonies, and this means that the locals know the significance of radio in
the retention of culture (Che Wotche, Nsumbi village, 9 April 2019).
This, according to this respondent, is the reason for the success of community radio broadcasting
in terms of minority language retention. In this way, the engagement of community radio with local
people, who are also speakers of minority languages, contributes to the sustainability of their way of
life.
The above discussion and analysis show that the media in Malawi, and particularly community
radio broadcasting, can play an effective and contributory role in facilitating the promotion of
indigenous minority languages and cultures – when appropriately used. Moreover, media content
can be packaged and designed in ways that facilitate the development and sustainability of people’s
cultures (see also Chikaipa and Kishindo 2017). Community radio has a wide reach, portability and
the ability to transcend literacy barriers, and these factors too can make it a potent tool for promoting
the indigenous minority languages of people in developing societies.
In the cases of both Mudziwathu and Dzimwe radio stations, one can argue that the introduction of
cultural, musical and social development programmes has positively influenced the use and retention
of the two main minority languages, Chisenga and Chiyao. The findings of this study thus support
the claim of ethnolinguistic vitality theory that both official and unofficial usage of a specific language
in an institutional setting can greatly impact language retention in certain communities. Additionally,
drawing on development media theory, this study has shown that community radio broadcasting
that prioritises the use of indigenous or minority languages helps to ensure the sustainability of the
targeted cultures. Based on these two approaches, it might also be asserted that radio broadcasting
can help to bring such languages to an even wider audience; thus, radio broadcasting can help to
further boost linguistic diversity.
Discussion and conclusion
The study identified a large gap between minority and majority languages in terms of support through
radio broadcasting and from educational, governmental and other institutions. The article has shown
empirically that community radio broadcasting through its development communication programmes
supports the retention of minority local languages against the dominance of national languages in
the areas where they are situated. While barriers to the use of minority languages continue to exist,
community radio stations are proving significant in the proliferation, retention and day-to-day usage
of these languages. When it comes to development issues, radio stations engage the surrounding
communities through their minority languages, allowing the audience to better understand the
debates. This is in line with Carpentier’s (2011: 97) claim that minority or disadvantaged groups
benefit from ‘using the channels of communication opened by the community and alternative media,
strengthening their internal identity, manifesting this identity to the outside world, and thus supporting
social change and/or development’. It also supports Lora-Kayambazinthu’s (2003: 158) observation
that
Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2023: 1–17
13
for effective dissemination and sharing of information and full participation of the citizenry in the
development process, and...to promote literacy for development, Malawi should include on its national
agenda the development and promotion of indigenous languages and not just pay lip service to these
languages at policy level.
The two community radio stations, Mudziwathu and Dzimwe, are similar in the sense that they
contribute to access to otherwise scarce resources for underprivileged minority language speakers
in an exchange of crucial information, which is necessary for the local population’s development.
Beyond this, both stations encourage the participation of the audiences in their native languages
through radio listening clubs, which offers them a chance to retain their minority languages, in
contrast with the common practice of prioritising Chichewa and English as the official languages of
broadcast at most Malawi radio stations. This article draws on development media theory to show the
importance of community radio broadcasting in the promotion and retention of indigenous languages
and cultures. Having observed and analysed the participants’ perceptions of programmes on the two
radio stations, the study finds that radio broadcasting in Malawi, particularly the community radio
stations, has proven to be a powerful force for retaining minority languages and related cultural
values. Therefore, the continued increase in the number of community radio stations located in rural
areas of Malawi should translate into an opportunity for preserving other minority languages spoken
in the areas where the stations are situated.
As Crystal (2000) notes, an endangered or minority language can progress if its speakers can
make use of electronic and/or digital technology. Similarly, the relationship between minority
languages and technology has always been complex and problematic, with the actual effects of
radio broadcasting varying from situation to situation. This study suggests that community radio
stations are vital in providing new opportunities for the use of minority languages through various
local and indigenous programmes. Regardless of notable limitations of technology in rural areas
(Nassanga et al. 2013), this study acknowledges the emerging opportunities for community radio
stations to diversify listenership, content production and dissemination as also suggested by Busolo
and Manalo IV (2022). Without being conclusive and as an area for further research inquiry in
Malawi, community radio broadcasting as a technology of mass communication has an opportunity to
embrace and integrate other affordable technologies, e.g. social media and the internet, as sources
for news gathering and information dissemination in pursuit of community development. Coupled
with the community development programmes on the radio, the use of these forms and spaces of
communication could also contribute to efforts towards minority language preservation both at a
societal and national level.
While most of the studies on community radio broadcasting in Malawi have focused on economic
development, social welfare and agriculture, the improvement of farming methods and community
infrastructure development including empowerment of the youth and women farmers (Mchakulu
2007; Manyozo 2009; 2017; Manda 2015; Mhagama 2015a; 2015b; 2016; Msiska et al. 2018) have
not been adequately linked to the respective minority languages espoused to ease and increase
effective public communication of these different programmes on the radio stations. Generally, the
observation is that studies have concentrated on mainstream media that uses colonial languages,
neglecting the intersections of African indigenous-language media with gender and health
communication, democracy and development, economics and management and digitalisation
(Tshabangu and Salawu 2021). As such, this article has attempted to underscore and highlight the
value of the indigenous-language media in the preservation of language and makes a loud statement
to policymakers to identify more situation-specific strategies in the different institutions at local level,
such as schools and churches, as possibly effective conduits of cultural expression and language
preservation. Beyond this, the study cements Manyozo’s (2009) observation that in the event that
the national public service broadcasting has a number of radio stations, those located directly in the
communities can employ indigenous minority languages of the surrounding targeted listeners. Thus,
such efforts can improve the preservation and visibility of the languages both locally and nationally.
Still, on community radio broadcasting, this study also contends that arguments about minority
language preservation have been theoretical and ideological with stagnation in empirical studies on
14
Chikaipa
media contribution towards minority language preservation in Malawi (Lora-Kayambazinthu 2003;
Kishindo 2005; 2019). Therefore, this article critically illuminates the potency of community radio
stations in minority language preservation and this is addressed by analysing how media, i.e. the
two community radio stations, can be used to maintain the marginalised languages at a local level.
By analysing the different developmental programmes at Mudziwathu and Dzimwe community radio
stations, this article has elucidated the role of minority languages and how locally situated institutions
can assist in the preservation of indigenous cultures and languages.
The findings of this study also accentuate further that community radio stations’ use of local
languages potentially promotes social cohesion to advance the social development agenda,
increases chances of intergenerational transmission and instils the desire to develop orthography and
commit the languages into writing as they are predominantly oral languages. In addition, community
radio is used as a platform to restore and amplify the indigenous voices and rights of those who
are marginalised geographically, linguistically, or culturally and are often ignored by mainstream
media. The suggestion by Mhlanga (2009) that community radio is a sociocultural symbol and a
unifying force because it creates a collective will and appeals to society through the use of a common
indigenous language as a means of communication and cultural identity holds in this case.
As this study shows, some community radio stations have played a considerable role in promoting
the indigenous languages of people in their areas of broadcast. The people of Malawi, for their part,
should increase their listenership and participation in radio broadcasts as a means of preventing
linguistic and cultural erosion. Additionally, as noted throughout this article, communication in
people’s native languages is often better appreciated and understood. This article strongly suggests
that non-profit institutions working with marginalised communities in rural areas should strive to
use local or native languages in their activities, no matter how small, for the preservation of the
country’s indigenous languages. Language policymakers should also avoid paying lip service to the
maintenance and use of minority languages and take advantage of rural-based institutions, such as
schools and churches. When radio stations promote minority languages and cultures well, this greatly
contributes to the successful development of programmes by which communities can then access and
contribute to key cultural and development knowledge. Finally, the study has shown that community
radio broadcasting can be and is used to preserve and retain minority indigenous languages. Radio
provides new opportunities for language use in new contexts, and radio broadcasting can be used to
explore new domains or opportunities for affording prestige to many minority languages.
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Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 2023: 1–17
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Appendix
Interviews included in the study
Interview with Che Wotche, Nsumbi village, 9 April 2019.
Interview with Hasiwelo Doba, Nyoka village, 5 October 2018.
Interview with John Kajawa, Kayesa village, 9 October 2018.
Interview with Leniya Kanthu, Nsumbi village, 15 April 2019.
Interview with Otisi Mlamba, Nsumbi village, 8 April 2019.
Interview with Station Manager, Dzimwe Radio, Monkey Bay, 7 April 2019.
Received 13 May 2021; revised 26 August 2022; accepted 21 September 2022
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