ABSTRACT
A number of developing nations in Africa have started to use one or several of their vernaculars as the official language of their societies and as a medium of instruction in the schools, at least in the elementary grades. Ethiopia is one of these countries, and its official vernacular (OV) is Amharic; all subjects in the public elementary schools are taught in Amharic. The present crisis in the effectiveness of OV as a means of communication in the mass media and as a medium of instruction in the schools is due to—among other factors—lack of proper appreciation of the linguistic and conceptual problems involved in terminology. The problems of terminology, therefore, are in part a consequence of the ignorance of this inherent potential of language by language policy-makers and users of OV and the resulting failure to exploit this potential rationally, efficiently, and systematically.
