African Voices: An Introduction to the Languages and Linguistics of Africa

by Vic Webb (editor), Kembo-Sure (Editor)

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.

Genres: Linguistics, Africa, Nonfiction, Language

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 2000

About the author

South African linguist

Reviews

[Rowena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Language is strongly tied into identity, especially in Africa. Despite having 53 countries, Africa is home to at least 2,000 languages, so contrary to popular belief, there is no language called "African"!

This is an introductory textbook for African linguistics and, judging from the group discussion questions in the back of each chapter, it is probably more suited for African linguistics students living in Africa. Even so, I got a lot out of it and it’s definitely a must for those interested in African languages.

I skipped 2 chapters on phonetic characteristics of language. I was more interested in the functions of language in society and how languages have evolved.I learned about the linguistic groups in Africa, I was surprised that there were only 4:

Afro-Asiatic
Nilo-Saharan
Niger-Congo (Bantu)<--- my linguistic group
Khoisan


I learned that language is a complex and highly political issue in Africa, made worse by colonialists drawing up arbitrary lines between countries, thus dividing people from different tribes trans-borderly

The book also goes into the ethnic revival of languages, some pidgins that were formed when people of different tribes came to work together, the popularity and the prestige of European languages in the area.

Despite already knowing that there are a lot of languages spoken in Africa, this book opened up my eyes even more so to the issues.

[iitu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating information not just about African Languages but also about general linguistics, language learning and language politics. A sentence underlined: "Willingness to make a fool of oneself is often part of the learning process, something that children usually find easy, but that is very difficult for both adolescent and adult learners." Be a fool!