Is Chinese Joining Africa's Lingua Francas?

African Arguments posted on 25 June 2018 a commentary titled "'It Started as Hype': Chinese Spreads Fast in Africa as Language of Success" by Claire van den Heever, a journalist based in Cape Town.

The author concluded that Chinese is well on its way to finding a place among the lingua francas in Africa. Having just completed a five-country, three week trip to Africa looking specifically at the China-Africa relationship, I think this conclusion is premature.

While Chinese is being taught at more locations in Africa and more African students are studying in China, the number of Africans who speak Mandarin does not come close to the number that speaks Arabic, English, French, Portuguese or even African regional languages such as Swahili and Hausa. There are only 48 Confucius Institutes on African university campuses and 23 Confucius classrooms in high schools, where much of the Chinese is being taught. Some African countries have no Confucius Institute or classroom. Chinese may one day become widely spoken in Africa, but that time is decades away.