Ethiopia streetkids turn to PCs in language challenge

ADDIS ABABA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - In the shadow of Addis Ababa's biggest Orthodox church, more than 100 street children cluster around gazing as Amharic script flashes on computer screens before them.Ethiopia, one of Africa's biggest and poorest countries, has more than 80 languages. Experts say a quarter of those are on the verge of extinction, and the government faces a tricky balance between protecting its linguistic heritage and training workers to compete in a globalised world.As a result, the five-year-olds at Medhamiyalus Church's tiny primary school have to tackle three different tongues: their local language, Amharic -- the official language of Ethiopian business and politics -- and English."English is most important for our students, otherwise they cannot cope, they cannot get the proper education intended for them," school principal Fikre Teferra told Reuters TV."If these children succeed in getting to high school, and colleges, what else can they do? It is English that everything is given in."The pupils are playing various interactive computer games that teach them the notoriously difficult 256 characters and variations of the Amharic alphabet.Like the majority of the estimated 150,000 street children in the Ethiopian capital -- most of whom are from families that migrated to the city from rural areas -- it is not their first language.After the brutal Derg government was overthrown in 1991, the constitution was changed to safeguard the country's scores of local languages by giving ethnic groups the right to set up "mother tongue" primary education systems.Many regions chose the Latin script, rather than the Amharic script associated with the dominant Amhara ethnic group.Academics like Baye Yimam, linguistics professor at Addis Ababa University, say 18 years later that has actually made it more difficult for people from far-flung regions to succeed.ECONOMIC COST"Every child has to be literate three times," he said. "To turn people to this level of literacy, in three different tiers, different levels, is very costly economically."Ethiopia expects tough times as the global financial crisis curbs exports. Despite programmes to boost farming and diversify its economic base, Africa's biggest coffee producer still ranks just 170 out of 177 on the U.N. Human Development Index.The nation's 81 million people are still vulnerable to frequent bouts of searing drought and periodic floods that make them dependent on food aid.The government expects overseas aid to be cut because of the credit crisis.Seeking solutions to training its workforce for the new challenges ahead, the government has turned to Bill O'Connor of U.S. firm Fun With Phonics.He originally developed the Amharic computer games and lessons plans for Ethiopian expatriates in the United States worried their children losing their mother tongue. Last week, he signed a contract with Ethiopian state television to develop a cartoon that will teach children both English and Amharic.O'Connor said it was crucial the rest of the world engaged the Horn of Africa. Washington says the region is at risk of becoming a haven for militants like al Qaeda because of its porous borders, deep poverty and rampant corruption."The Horn of Africa is extremely important, it's extremely fragile right now," he said. "With the right programmes out there, we can enable people to come along and retain their own sense of ethnic identity ... we're able to move them into English whilst also teaching their own language. It's powerful."