Focusing on linguistic consciousness and the place of language in the writer's consciousness, this book provides an original and comprehensive treatment of the African literary situation.

The text celebrates the academic achievements of Professor Olasope Oyelaran. It brings together over 20 papers by an international group of scholars on African diaspora languages, literatures and culture, representing four generations, all of whom have been influenced by Oyelaran’s work in one way or another. Edited by three African scholars in the USA, UK, and Nigeria, the volume presents current research on topics in applied- and socio-linguistics, phonology, morphology, syntax, oral and written literature, and Yoruba language and culture in African diasporas in Brazil, Cuba, and Trinidad. The constellation of topics presented here will enlarge the reader’s understanding of a number of issues in the field of African and African diaspora languages, literatures, and cultures today. As such, the book makes an important contribution to the expanding work on the linguistic and cultural interface of Africa and its Brazilian, Cuban, and Trinidadian diasporas.

Michael Andindilile in The Anglophone Literary–Linguistic Continuum: English and Indigenous Languages in African Literary Discourse interrogates Obi Wali’s (1963) prophecy that continued use of former colonial languages in the production of African literature could only lead to ‘sterility’, as African literatures can only be written in indigenous African languages. In doing so, Andindilile critically examines selected of novels of Achebe of Nigeria, Ngũgĩ of Kenya, Gordimer of South Africa and Farah of Somalia and shows that, when we pay close attention to what these authors represent about their African societies, and the way they integrate African languages, values, beliefs and cultures, we can discover what constitutes the Anglophone African literary–linguistic continuum. This continuum can be defined as variations in the literary usage of English in African literary discourse, with the language serving as the base to which writers add variations inspired by indigenous languages, beliefs, cultures and, sometimes, nation-specific experiences.

Engaging questions of language, identity, and reception to restore South African and diaspora writing to the African literary tradition

Language in Contemporary African Cultures and Societies examines language in contemporary Africa by positioning language at the center of interrelationships between individuals, society, and culture. Because of how language permeates every aspect of human existence within each society, this book has assembled contributions by researchers and scholars who focus on different topics within African languages and cultures. By presenting African languages as resources and subject and subject of the study, this book discusses Africa’s multilingualism, language policy, preservation, and their uses in development, security, liberation, and identity formation in the diaspora. Based on empirical research and analysis of texts, this book takes a closer look at the continent and the diaspora by situating African languages, cultures, and literatures at the center, and shows how African languages are used in the liberation, transfer of knowledge, and promotion of literacy among Africans globally. It is a book that seeks to bridge the gap between the continent and the diaspora. All contributors are experienced scholars of language, literature, education and linguistics. The chapters provide a major means for examining the interplay of language, literature, and education.

Ruth Finnegan's Oral Literature in Africa was first published in 1970, and since then has been widely praised as one of the most important books in its field. Based on years of fieldwork, the study traces the history of storytelling across the continent of Africa. This revised edition makes Finnegan's ground-breaking research available to the next generation of scholars. It includes a new introduction, additional images and an updated bibliography, as well as its original chapters on poetry, prose, "drum language" and drama, and an overview of the social, linguistic and historical background of oral literature in Africa. This book is the first volume in the World Oral Literature Series, an ongoing collaboration between OBP and World Oral Literature Project. A free online archive of recordings and photographs that Finnegan made during her fieldwork in the late 1960s is hosted by the World Oral Literature Project (http: //www.oralliterature.org/collections/rfinnegan001.html) and can also be accessed from publisher's website.

This book introduces beginning students and non-specialists to the diversity and richness of African languages. In addition to providing a solid background to the study of African languages, the book presents linguistic phenomena not found in European languages. A goal of this book is to stimulate interest in African languages and address the question: What makes African languages so fascinating? The orientation adopted throughout the book is a descriptive one, which seeks to characterize African languages in a relatively succinct and neutral manner, and to make the facts accessible to a wide variety of readers. The author’s lengthy acquaintance with the continent and field experiences in western, eastern, and southern Africa allow for both a broad perspective and considerable depth in selected areas. The original examples are often the author’s own but also come from other sources and languages not often referenced in the literature. This text also includes a set of sound files illustrating the phenomena under discussion, be they the clicks of Khoisan, talking drums, or the ideophones (words like English lickety-split) found almost everywhere, which will make this book a valuable resource for teacher and student alike.

This book focuses on the languages and linguistics of Africa. Covering the major themes that are dealt with in university courses, and making extensive use of linguistic symbols and diagrams, this is an essential text for undergraduate and postgraduate linguistics students in South Africa and Africa as a whole, as well as for students of African studies worldwide. Its topics include general descriptions of African languages, the nature of languages in contact and in competition, language in education, and the need for governmental intervention in linguistic issues.

This innovative handbook takes a fresh look at the currently underestimated linguistic diversity of Africa, the continent with the largest number of languages in the world. It covers the major domains of linguistics, offering both a representative picture of Africa’s linguistic landscape as well as new and at times unconventional perspectives. The focus is not so much on exhaustiveness as on the fruitful relationship between African and general linguistics and the contributions the two domains can make to each other. This volume is thus intended for readers with a specific interest in African languages and also for students and scholars within the greater discipline of linguistics.

In this unprecedented anthology, some of the most prolific and widely read African novelists are analysed.