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Talk:Equatorial Guinea

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Contents

[edit] How come?

I read that the GDP per capita is 30,000 US Dollar. Ok, there must be a big difference betwenn high and low income people in the country. But can it be that big of a difference? How come that the infrastructure is supposedly still not well, and how come the population is still so poor? I mean the money must go somewhere. Do the oil companies pay taxes? How is the government dealing with this situation? That's an interesting case, since most of Africa has a much lower per capita income than Equatorial Guinea. Would be interesting to hear people who know more about the situation there. Regards, Mandy


It seems very unlikely that the CIA was involved in any coup attempt on Obiang. State Department documents show a friendly and cordial relationship with Equatorial Guinea's dictator. Obiang made visits to the US, despite laws banning corrupt foreign leaders from setting foot on American soil. Since 1996, Equatorial Guinea's discovery of untapped energy resources (oil), American companies have sought the opportunity to work alongside Obiang, despite his dismal record. Theodoro poses no threat to interests in Equatorial Guinea, in fact, the ambassador for this Western African counrty has repeatedly called for closer ties.===Location map=== The map image:LocationEquatorialGuinea.png can be added to the new Equatorial Guinea page when it is created in the format set out by WikiProject Countries. It is mentioned here so that whoever eventually makes the new page knows that the map already exists. - Vardion 09:45, 26 Oct 2003 (UTC)

I will add now. -- User:Docu

[edit] Treaty of Paris

I cannot find this (1900). Wikipedia has become an authority, so everyone quotes it .. Is there a new treaty to be added ? Wizzy 20:42, 26 Aug 2004 (UTC)

bom chicka wem wem —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.30.6.221 (talk) 20:16, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

"Article VII of the Franco - Spanish convention of June 27, 1900 (Treaty of Paris) afforded France the right of pre-emption over Spanish Guinea in the event Spain abandoned their possession." [1] Gzornenplatz 20:49, Aug 26, 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Section Order

In view of the change in order of sections and the infobox implemented by 66.167.252.194, I wonder if they are about to go through the other 200+ articles on countries and perform the same change. I am strongly of the opinion that the basic generic structure and order be maintained throughout each of the articles. --JohnArmagh 21:19, 3 Dec 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Moved from article

El_C 01:06, 4 January 2006 (UTC) [W]hat are the climates and geoghraphical features? 68.227.127.68

[edit] Official language

According to Equatorial Guinea's constitution, the only official language is Spanish. Just because the country joined the CFA Franc zone, it does not mean irench as an official language. This used to be a conditio sine qua non, but certainly not anymore! --Asterion 13:00, 20 April 2006 (UTC)

My understanding is that at some point in the 1990s (after that constitution was written), Equatorial Guinea added French as an official language. The U.S. Department of State recognizes this on its website [2], as does this site [3]. Funnyhat 00:55, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
This is incorrect. Equatorial Guinea adopted the CFA in 1984. The current constitution was draft in 1982 and amended in 1995[4]. There has been no amendments to the text since then. Even the Constutional Draft by the so-called Government in Exile does negate the official language status to French[5]. The country entered the so-called Francophonie area in 1983 by applying to join the CFA Franc Zone, but there has never ever been a recognition of French as official language indeed! The CIA factbook is incorrect and the other reference you quoted was based on it too. As for Wikipedia policy on Official language, this is the language described as such in a national constitution. Therefore, I will remove the incorrect addition of French as official language. Regards, --

Asterion 15:33, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Everywhere on the web you can read that since 1998 French is the "second official language of the country": not adding this information in the article is a lack of transparency. Easyboy82

It is NOT an official language. It is considered an administrative language only but hardly used at all. E Asterion u talking to me? 21:51, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Official language 2

1. according to the WIKI(French), The Official language of E.Guinea is Spanish and French. I know that E.Guinean Government in 1998 adopt French as the second official language.

2. according to the Book Of The Year 1998(Encyclopaedia Britannica), E.Guinean Government adopt French as the second official language.

3. art. 4 de la Loi constitutionnelle no 1 du 21 janvier 1998: "Les langues officielles de la République de Guinée équatoriale sont l'espagnol et le français." http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/guinee_equatoriale.htm.

4. see UNITED NATIONS source: http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf ESPANOL-POR PAIS-GUINEA ECUATORIAL <Ley constitucional que modifica el artículo 4 de la Ley Fundamental del Estado, estableciendo que "las lenguas oficiales de la República de Guinea Ecuatorial son el español y el francés. Se reconocen las lenguas aborígenes como integrantes de la cultura nacional" (Ley constitucional Nº 1/1998 del 21 de enero)>; in English:Constitutional Law which amends article 4 of the Fundamental Law of the State, establishing that "the official languages of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea are Spanish and French. The aboriginal languages are recognized as integral parts of the national culture" (Constitutional Law No. 1/1998 of 21 January

What's the FACT? It's Spanish and French!!!—Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.237.193.4 (talk • contribs)

It seems that I have made a mistake. I apologise profusely for the inconvenience. On my "defence" I must quote the same report you listed above (my own translation): Due to the huge difficulty created by the lack of publicity (transparency) and the absence of cooperation by the authorities in this respect (i.e. regarding publication of their own laws, which is also noticeable on all Equatorial Guinea official websites). On top of this, it needs to be said that wikipedia article on French Language does not list French as official language either, but an "administrative language". De facto, the language is hardly used by the local administration. Regards, E Asterion u talking to me? 16:13, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

Good Lord ....does it matter? The majority in the cities speak at least some french. All governemt publications, propaganda and dissemination, however, is in Spanish and corruption occurs in all languages here.

It should be added here that the official website of the government is very contradictory. See:

  • English language version
  • Spanish language version
    • Section "Cultura": Spanish is official language, English are French are "official working languages".
    • Section "País y Clima": Spanish is official, English and French are "official working languages".
    • Section "Constitution": the version of the Constitution which appears here states that only Spanish is official.

No reference to Portuguese in the official web site. If this should be decided by de facto usage, then only Spanish would be the official language. For example, the monthly "Gaceta de Guinea Ecuatorial" used to publish one or two articles in French in the past, but this practice was abandoned some time ago. Ponape (talk) 22:25, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Island Capital

In the article it says that Equatorial Guinea and Denmark are the only country with mainland and capitals on islands. This is not true, for example Banjul is on an island. Jamie|C 12:39, 5 November 2006 (UTC) Great Island. Also New York (U.S comercial capital; and mundial U.N) or Sweden have little island.

[edit] GDP

i think the value for the GDP is incorrect, also in all the other wikipedias it says something about 2,700 $ per capita... please check --80.109.208.67 15:19, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks to oil it is higher than that, but Wikipedia manages to give several different figures. CIA had $2,700 for 2002[6], but $50,200 for 2005[7]. UNDP has $6,572 for 2004[8]. UN had $19,305 for 2001[9]. World Bank had $9,790 for 2005[10]. IMF give $1,888 (GNP per capita) in 2005[11]. So it is hardly a surprise Wikipedia has problems. --Henrygb 18:00, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Proposed WikiProject

In my ongoing efforts to try to include every country on the planet included in the scope of a WikiProject, I have proposed a new project on Middle Africa at Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals#Middle Africa whose scope would include Equatorial Guinea. Any interested parties are more than welcome to add their names there, so we can see if there is enough interest to start such a project. Thank you for your attention. Badbilltucker 16:36, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] many improvements have been made to the living conditions... (Economy section)

this sentence: "While EG is currently one of the largest producers of oil in Africa, many improvements have been made to the living conditions of the people; however, most people live in poverty." sounds weird. it contradicts itself and the main article. what 'improvements' are we talking about here? any sources? or EG government propaganda?Jullag 18:49, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

After being in and out of EG for the last 13yrs, there has been very little done to improve the living conditons of most people. Corruption and nepotism ensure that only the well connected benefit from the current oil boom. HIV has become rampant and malaria still kills more children per capita than anywhere else. The city has sporadic power supply and there is no potable water for 90% of the population. Is continues to be one of worst managed economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Oh yes...did you know that Obiang now has in excess of 120 million dollars in personal jets in his fleet? He continues to be a caricature of an archtype african dictator...replete with phoney military credentials. Ḷ

[edit] First inhabitants of Bioko island?

The article says that the Bubi succeeded former population in Bioko: "Elements of the latter may have generated the Bubi, who emigrated to Bioko from Cameroon and Rio Muni in several waves and succeeded former Neolithic populations." But immediatly after, says they were the first humans there: "The Bubi were the very first human inhabitants of Bioko Island".

? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 80.178.128.196 (talk) 14:03, 23 March 2007 (UTC).

[edit] "Smallest Spanish-speaking country in the world."

Maybe math works different in Wikipedia, or perhaps countries south of the equator are given extra credit. But how is Equatorial Guinea "the smallest Spanish-speaking country in the world" at 10,828 square miles when El Salvador is 8,124 square miles?

Rob5691 03:06, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

Population maybe? --71.192.116.13 04:24, 18 May 2007 (UTC)
Andorra is the smallest spanish speaking country in the world, being basically the size of a town and having a population of about 75,000 people. Looks like someone alrady removed this from the article though.  :) — robbiemuffin page talk 09:25, 24 June 2008 (UTC)
It's probably best left out. I think many people don't include Andorra because even though a large percentage of the population speaks Spanish, Catalan is the only official language. I remember reading somewhere that Andorra is the only country where the native-born citizens are the minority. Kman543210 (talk) 09:31, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Name

Added a passage about Name from the "Equator" article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.176.106.122 (talk) 20:09, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Population dispute

the official numbers from Equatorial Guinea are twice the numbers here (see http://guinea-equatorial.com/about/index.cfm?PageID=9). I don't doubt that one or both numbers are accurate, and that this is based on a territory dispute or the like ... but coverage of that fact should be a foregone conclusion, or at least both counts should be listed. — robbiemuffin page talk 09:51, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

The estimated July 2008 population figures from the CIA World Factbook is 616,459 which is larger than the current 2005 estimate but still much smaller than the 1,014,999 estimated given in the source you provided. I wonder where the information comes from. I know Cocobeach is shared between Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, but the population for that city is only a few thousand. The website you provided could be considered a more primary source, but is there any reason that they would inflate their numbers? They may just have a different calculation method for estimated population numbers after a census year than the CIA Factbook uses. I don't see a problem with putting a range and providing both sources. Kman543210 (talk) 10:00, 24 June 2008 (UTC)
I checked the UN website, and it gives the 2003 population estimate as 494,000 which is closer to what the Factbook probably gave for that year. Kman543210 (talk) 10:23, 24 June 2008 (UTC)
I doubt that they counted every person twice! It must be based on something like whether to count refugees or not. Given the lack of coverage and the political upheaval there, I'm starting to suspect that no party is interested in accurate census data and this is just an aritfact of politics. When there is no obvious and authoritative data, I tend to prefer the common opinion, the more widely accepted estimate, and that's the UN. But I think we need to note the difference. Are these our choices?
  • List both counts and note the difference and lack of information prominently in the article
  • Remove both counts and note the lack of information prominently in the article, possibly here out-linking to the different sources in ref tags.
  • List one count and note the other count and lack of information prominently in the article.
— robbiemuffin page talk 11:36, 24 June 2008 (UTC)

More info:

  • US State Dept.:
    • with a population estimated to be between 500,000 and one million (2007) [12]
    • Government estimated the population is approximately one million (other sources estimate the population to be approximately 586,000) (2006) [13]
    • Although the 2002 census estimated the population at 1,015,000, credible estimates put the number at closer to 500,000. The opposition claimed that the Government inflated the census in anticipation of the December presidential election. (...) Opposition leaders charged earlier in the year that census results showing a twofold population increase were flawed and that numbers were inflated to perpetuate election fraud. (2002) [14]
  • IMF: 1.205 million (2007 est.) The data correspond to the official 2001 Census data. From 2001 onwards, the 2.9% population growth rate was provided by the authorities. [15]
  • Eq. Guinea Stat. Office: 1,014,999 (2001 census) [16]

☆ CieloEstrellado 00:22, 9 July 2008 (UTC)


A different unsigned user went ahead and updated the economics section. They replaced the old IMF number with a newer Worldbook number for GDP (PPP) per capita. The number fell about in third. The stat was actually produced separately for the CIA figure, so I just updated that section with the new number.

The IMF number is wrong, feel pretty sure aobut it. My memory is telling me it is wrong, and there is also this from the IMF: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2003/cr03386.pdf — their general country publication "Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix"... which states a number far conservative compared to the new CIA data. Okay, there are so many numbers I think it helps to put them all side-by-side:

  • Worldbook (old data): >52,000
  • IMF (current on their site): 33,994.047
  • Worldbook (2007 est): 12,900
  • IMF (data in the publication, from 2001): 2,102

Interestingly, the Worldbook GDP is lower, but their population estimate is the lower estimate. IMF, which has the higher numbers, also uses the official population count nearly double the worldbook number. — robbiemuffin page talk 22:36, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

The CIA World Factbook 2008 has been changing.[17] With the page update of February 28 2008 it gave population 551,201 (July 2007 est.), GDP PPP $25.69 billion (2005 est.), GDP official exchange rate $9.512 billion (2007 est.), GDP per capita PPP $44,100 (2007 est.). With the page update of July 15 2008 it gave population 616,459 (July 2008 est.), GDP PPP $15.54 billion (2007 est.), GDP official exchange rate $10.49 billion (2007 est.), GDP per capita PPP $12,900 (2007 est.). --164.36.38.240 (talk) 16:22, 24 July 2008 (UTC)
The CIA has updated the figure again. As of Setember 4, 2008 it says: $ 28,200 (2007 est.) ☆ CieloEstrellado 02:46, 1 October 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Portuguese language

This article from the Portuguese "Público" newspaper this morning states:

  • "Equatorial Guinea has currently the status of a CPLC observer, which does not allow the country to participate in meetings and debates, but [President] Nguema stressed that the next step is to become a full member. For that, Equatorial Guinea will have to make Portuguese its third official language. Currently, the country has Spanish and French as official languages, but Portuguese is the third most spoken language."
  • "Last year, Obiang Nguema, in power since 1979, said he was ready to adopt Portuguese as the third official language."

According to the above, Portuguese is not an official language of this country yet. CIA Factbook, BBC country profile, etc., also do not state any official status of the Portuguese language in the country. Such appears to be more of an intention, not a current reality. Mentions to official Portuguese should therefore be removed from this article, or sources clearly stating the officialness of Portuguese should be provided. Any feedback? Húsönd 13:32, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

I have removed this as an official language, as even the article states the future intention but not current reality. It should only be added back with a source stating it is a current official language. Kman543210 (talk) 05:12, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
This source seems to state that Equatorial Guinea did in fact change Portuguese to one of its official languages: [18] Calafalas (talk) 13:16, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
Reports are contradictory. Maybe we should add Portuguese only if it is listed as an official language of this country in an official website (such as the Government of Equatorial Guinea), or reliable websites such as the CIA World Factbook. Húsönd 16:08, 1 September 2008 (UTC)
As far as I know the Constitution has not been amended yet, not that it mean much for a guy such as Obiang anyway. Regards, Asteriontalk 21:29, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

Being part of CPLP is one thing. The act of adopt the Portuguese language is another thing completely different. Macau has Portuguese language as its official language, but still not a full member...so what? Emerson

The thing is, we have conflicting sources about Guinea Equatorial having adopted Portuguese as an official language. The lack of an official source and therefore confirmation prevent us from stating what cannot be verified. Húsönd 05:02, 21 September 2008 (UTC)


OK, if even a fiercely opposition website of the actual government in EG admits the incorporation of Portuguese language...IN SPANISH...

http://www.guinea-ecuatorial.net/ms/main.asp?cd=ni2431

http://www.guinea-ecuatorial.net/ms/main.asp?cd=ni5407 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.101.250.251 (talk) 05:23, 21 September 2008 (UTC)

plus, this one

http://www.guineaonline.com/servlet/comments?sId=167&Id=1236

None of these sources looks conclusive or reliable. This would be the source that could confirm if Portuguese has effectively become an official language of Equatorial Guinea. But as you can see, no mention is made. Húsönd 23:36, 21 September 2008 (UTC)



You must be kidding. This is just a matter of updating a website....president Obiang was on last CPLP summit to confirm full membership to EG...the primary newspaper source to this discussion tells it....and you MUST have Portuguese as an official language to be a full CPLP member....so, what he was doing there? Look at the same website you believe it´s THE source for this discussion, at the version of the Constitution there...it´s an old version, before the country´s adoption of French language as official (see ITEM 4):

http://guinea-equatorial.com/government/?PageID=26

Should we remove French also, based on this website?

Now, you are gonna say that the official website of CPLP has no importance whatsoever....

http://www.cplp.org/Guin%C3%A9-Equatorial.aspx?ID=258

Anyway, look out there...official languages for EG....Spanish, French and PORTUGUESE.

Emerson

One thing is to declare an intention to make Portuguese an official language (this is stated on the article), and another very different thing is to actually make it official. It requires a legislative act. We're lacking sources that would confirm this legislative act. The official website of the government of Equatorial Guinea does not provide the slightest confirmation that Portuguese is now official in that country. As far as I can see it, this is a case of declarations of an intent being mistaken by official actions. Although the CPLC website is the best source so far indicating that Portuguese may have become official in Equatorial Guinea, I'm not sure if it suffices to justify the lack of an official confirmation by the country's authorities (which would settle it). Now you err on a couple of your arguments: 1) EG is not a member of CPLP, it's an observer (as it already was an observer before the declarations of intent to make Portuguese official there); 2) French is stated on major references such as the CIA World Factbook as being official (Portuguese is not), so no problem whatsoever with that language. Húsönd 19:45, 22 September 2008 (UTC)


SEE HOW CONTRADITORY IS YOUR VIEW?

To you, no problem if French does not appear as an official language in the CONSTITUTION TEXT WRITTEN ON THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF THE COUNTRY. The very same website you claim as the ULTIMATE SOURCE for this discussion here. Now, if it appears on CIA World Factbook it´s ok (do you know they mention Portuguese as one language of Bermuda? See the discussion for Bermuda, people highly disagree with them, not only about this, but also on many other points towards that territory). Now, I am showing you an official website, of an international institution, which has EG as one of its OBSERVERS (I never said it was a full member...they are TRYING to be a full member) and to you this has no importance at all, you want the confirmation to come from the same source that contains outdated info on its very constitutional text. At the time EG adopted French, in late 90s, it took a long time to find a governamental source to conffirm that, and the same is happening now with Portuguese. Just see the discussion on this very same page, above. So, do not consider opposition websites of EG politicians. Do not consider the official CPLP website. Do not consider the many articles posted on many versions on Wikipedia in Portuguese, Spanish and English saying that SINCE 2007-07-13 EG ADOPTED PORTUGUESE AS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE. Do not consider all those things in the sake of a single article that you or someone else found on internet. You are obviously taking it passional, because I, again, showed you data from official opposition sources (www.guinea-ecuatorial.net), international organizations (www.cplp.org) and EG-made midia (www.guineaonline.com). If there´s any other official EG institution, I would bring here for sure. But it´s obvious for me that you are in a state of denial about EG and Portuguese language. Emerson —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.2.216.51 (talk) 00:05, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

If they take a long time to make an official confirmation or even update their website, that's certainly not Wikipedia's fault. If there's no clear confirmation, then we should not confirm it. And although CPLP is quite a reliable source, many other reliable sources contradict that information, thereby delivering a stalemate here. Wikipedia is not a source for Wikipedia, and the fact that the Portuguese Wikipedia rushed to confirm the official status of Portuguese in EG based on declarations of intent does not mean that the English Wikipedia should follow suit. Your accusation about my state of denial is odd and unfitting. By the way, CIA world factbook does not state that Portuguese is official in Bermuda, just that it is spoken there. Which is true, due to a very significant Portuguese community there. Please stop edit warring. Húsönd 01:22, 23 September 2008 (UTC)


Again, you are kidding! What "many other reliable sources contradict that information"? WRITE THEM HERE, PLEASE, THE SAME WAY I AM DOING TO MAKE CLEAR MY POINT OF VIEW.
Bring one GOVERNAMENTAL source that totally DENIES the incorporation of Portuguese as an official language. Yes, DENIES, because you insist on the term CONTRADICT, and these sources you are thinking that CONTRADICT this information may just be outdated or uninformed of the recent change, due to the obivous lack of data that comes from inside EG. Then I will agree with the removal of Portuguese from the article.
Now, the lack of uptade at EG official government site is fragrant, it´s not a matter of doubt if they adopted Portuguese or not.
CIA World Factbook is a good source, but it´s not a Bible, nor EG its follower. Also, to ignore a source from a public, international organization like CPLP is a big bias. Would you ignore information contained on the website of Commonwealth just to give priority to CIA World Factbook? That´s what you are doing now with CPLP.
AND YOU ARE THE WAR EDITOR HERE. You don´t bring a single source, all you did to this very moment is to deny and deny the sources I post. BRING SOME SOURCES INSTEAD OF USING THIS CHEAP ARGUMENT THAT I AM MAKING A WAR EDITION HERE.
Emerson —Preceding unsigned comment added by 201.67.221.251 (talk) 16:35, 23 September 2008 (UTC)

Please stop screaming, I can read lower case. Your demand that I provide a governmental source denying that Portuguese is official, is ludicrous. It's like saying that Chinese should be added as an official language of Portugal unless I can find a source from the Portuguese government explicitly saying "Chinese is not official here". The CIA World Factbook is not a bible, but neither is CPLP. And I'm not ignoring CPLP. But honestly, I think the CIA World Factbook is way more reliable than the CPLP website. In fact, I wonder how they can assure that Portuguese is official in EG, if there's no media or source from that country reporting any decree or legislation establishing that Portuguese has effectively become an official language there. Perhaps they used Wikipedia as their solid source? Now seriously, unless some reliability is injected to support the claim that Portuguese is official in EG (and "official" requires legislation, not mere declarations), I don't think that we should insert on this article what may be just plain misinformation. Húsönd 22:34, 23 September 2008 (UTC)


YOU ARE JUST TRYING TO IMPOSE YOUR POINT OF VIEW, AND NOTHING ELSE. TRYING TO DEBATE SOMETHING WITH YOU IS USELESS BCAUSE YOU ARE IN A STATE FO DENIAL, AND THIS IS NOT A HEALTHY ATTITUDE ON AN INTELLECTUAL DEBATE. THIS IS A BIASED CONCEPTION, AND OF NO USE HERE. I BELIEVE EVERYBODY WILL AGREE THAT AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION SOURCE HAS MORE WEIGHT THAN THE CIA WORLD FACTBOOK, AND BELIEVE THAT THE CPLP SOURCE IS INFERIOR TO THE CIA WORLD FACTBOOK SOURCE IS A HUGE MISTAKE. AGAIN, WRITE HERE SOURCES, GOVERNAMENTAL SOURCES PROVING THAT IN 07-13-2007 EQUTORIAL GUINEA DIDN´T CONVERTED PORTUGUESE AS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE. AGAIN, WHERE ARE THE OFFICIAL SOURCES THAT MOTIVATES THE REMOVAL OF PORTUGUESE FROM THIS ARTICLE? IF YOU DON´T DO THAT, HOW CAN SOMEONE CAN GIVE YOU REASON IN THIS DEBATE? Emerson —Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.102.26.107 (talk) 03:43, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

  • I agree with the anonymous (you should write in lower case to be better understood), he add a very reliable source, which is CPLP, that clears the matter, I was also very confused. Much more reliable than newspapers, including Publico, which is the most reliable newspaper in Portugal, but Equatorial Guinea is a member of CPLP, and they gave the information to CPLP, while Publico is just a newspaper, I see publico has a good source, unlike most newspapers, but...

About husond Opinion saying that CIA is a more reliable source than CPLP (which has one of its members Equatorial Guinea itself), is mindbogglingly strange. CPLP is a much better source than CIA and it is quite logical why. Although we should search data directly from the government, without it, the best is CPLP, an organization that has the government of EQ as a member. --Pedro (talk) 22:27, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

I don't mean that CIA is necessarily more reliable, I mean that it is quite accurate and up-to-date, and therefore used as source for this kind of data. If Portuguese had effectively become an official language in Equatorial Guinea, I'm sure that the CIA Factbook would add that information very soon. Whereas CPLP I can predict that a simple declaration of intent by a representative of the EG government would suffice for them to take the info as granted. EG will have to make Portuguese official and in a verifiable way for it to become a full member of CPLP and for everyone else to be certain. The current state of matters provides contradictory information and it is wrong to have the article reflect on the contents of one source, while disregarding other sources. By the way, the user above refers to Público and it reminds me to add that even that newspaper is not certain about the status of Portuguese in EG. I recall Público reporting that Portuguese had become official there, only to say a few weeks later that after all Portuguese is to become official. Húsönd 19:20, 18 October 2008 (UTC)
  • You are judging the best source, which is the CPLP, with personal views/bias on the subject. Which in my opinion is completely wrong, the CIA or Publico here are nothing but "zeros to the left" in this matter compared to CPLP or whatever international organization EQ is part of. I'm afraid, the article shouldn't state your opinion over it unless there is a good/updated source that says otherwise. THERE IS NOT. Emerson is correct. --Pedro (talk) 22:24, 18 October 2008 (UTC)
  • Just checked some sources - and of course controversial even regarding the status of French... I don't know, but i'm sure there should be a mention to Portuguese in official languages, but stating its fragile, recent or pending status, or something like that. --Pedro (talk) 22:45, 18 October 2008 (UTC)
You're correct that the article should mention something about the pending status of Portuguese language, and it does and takes it a step further to even state was the CPLP website says: "July 2007, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema announced his government's decision for Portuguese to become Equatorial Guinea's third official language, in order to meet the requirements to apply for full membership in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP)... Its application is currently being assessed by other CPLP members, although the CPLP website already states that Portuguese is Equatorial Guinea's third official language." Although on the CPLP website, it is still an observer member and not a full member yet. The official website EQ government website does not give Portuguese as the official language [19], as well as this news article from just the end of July 2008 stating that they have to make it an official language first before becoming a full member [20]. Unfortunately the anon IP editor here signing as "Emerson" is a sockpuppet of User:Domaleixo and decided to stop discussion and continue an edit war on several articles on wikipedia. Kman543210 (talk) 08:22, 11 November 2008 (UTC)
Just to add some more info that could be useful for this discussion: to those who understand Portuguese, check this news — Entretanto, aquele país ainda não fixou uma data para adoptar o português como língua oficial (...). Ten Islands (talk) 14:40, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Not sure if this should go in Culture or maybe Demographics

OK, whatever, I got bored of y’all arguing up there about whether it’s official or not… but I know they are trying to push to get into the CPLP and my question is… on what basis?? Who in the country actually speaks Portuguese? And, while we’re at it, who, where speaks how much French? OK, grazie, peace 08:17, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

[edit] other languages of equatorial guinea.

the spanish version of this page does a better job with discussing Fang, Bube, Annobonese, Molengue, Igbo, ndowé, and English Creole. I think these are worth mentioning as they are the languages many people are speaking at home, though they may not be "official". 68.9.133.245 (talk) 05:11, 16 January 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Is Anyone Here from Equatorial Guinea?

I know that it helps a lot to write about a country, in a wiki article, when you can get someone's perspective on it who actually lives there. Or does the country not have internet access? I'm just curious. 68.167.1.235 (talk) 04:16, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Equatorial_Guinea"
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