Burkina Faso stripped French and English of their official language status

"People believe that they cannot develop in the language of others," the amendment reads

The successful National Assembly (Parliament) of Burkina Faso has approved a constitutional amendment to give official status to national languages, depriving English and French of official language status.

According to the text of the amendment, national languages will become a means of communication in the fields of education, justice and public administration.

"It is a deep desire of the people to establish national languages as official languages and the government, in conclusion, believes that the people cannot develop in the language of others," the amendment reads.

There are more than 60 national languages in the country, which are spoken by about 90% of the population.

At the beginning of December, the Cabinet of Ministers of Burkina Faso included a proposal to deprive the French language of the status of the state language in the draft law on the revision of the provisions of the country's constitution.

As a result of the initiative, the French language has finally lost ground in the West African nation, which is in favor of ending the military agreement with Paris.