Synopses & Reviews
<div><em>The Languages of Urban Africa</em> consists of a series of case studies that address four main themes. The first is the history of African urban languages. The second set focus on theoretical issues in the study of African urban languages, exploring the outcomes of intense multilingualism and also the ways in which urban dwellers form their speech communities. The volume then moves on to explore the relationship between language and identity in the urban setting. The final two case studies in the volume address the evolution of urban languages in Africa.<br /><br />This rich set of chapters examine languages and speech communities in ten geographically diverse African urban centres, covering almost all regions of the continent. Half involve Francophone cities, the other half, Anglophone. This exciting volume shows us what the study of urban African languages can tell us about language and about African societies in general. <br /><br />It is essential reading for upper level undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in sociolinguistics, especially those interested in the language of Africa.</div>>
Synopsis
The Languages of Urban Africa consists of a series of case studies that address four main themes. The first is the history of African urban languages. The second set focus on theoretical issues in the study of African urban languages, exploring the outcomes of intense multilingualism and also the ways in which urban dwellers form their speech communities. The volume then moves on to explore the relationship between language and identity in the urban setting. The final two case studies in the volume address the evolution of urban languages in Africa.
This rich set of chapters examine languages and speech communities in ten geographically diverse African urban centres, covering almost all regions of the continent. Half involve Francophone cities, the other half, Anglophone. This exciting volume shows us what the study of urban African languages can tell us about language and about African societies in general.
It is essential reading for upper level undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in sociolinguistics, especially those interested in the language of Africa.
Synopsis
<div><em>The Languages of Urban Africa</em> consists of a series of case studies that address four main themes. The first is the history of African urban languages. The second set focus on theoretical issues in the study of African urban languages, exploring the outcomes of intense multilingualism and also the ways in which urban dwellers form their speech communities. The volume then moves on to explore the relationship between language and identity in the urban setting. The final two case studies in the volume address the evolution of urban languages in Africa.<br /><br />This rich set of chapters examine languages and speech communities in ten geographically diverse African urban centres, covering almost all regions of the continent. Half involve Francophone cities, the other half, Anglophone. This exciting volume shows us what the study of urban African languages can tell us about language and about African societies in general. <br /><br />It is essential reading for upper level undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in sociolinguistics, especially those interested in the language of Africa.</div>>
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements \ Notes on Contributors \ 1. Introduction to the languages of urban Africa
Fiona Mc Laughlin (University of Florida, USA) \ 2. The historical dynamic of multilingualism in Accra
M.E. Kropp Dakubu (University of Ghana-Legon, Ghana) \ 3. The Story of Old-Urban Vernaculars in North Africa
Atiqa Hachimi (University of Florida, USA) \ 4. The spread of Lingala as a lingua franca in the Congo basin
Eyamba G. Bokamba (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA) \ 5. Senegal's Early Cities and the Making of an Urban Language,
Fiona Mc Laughlin (University of Florida, USA) \ 6. Discourses, community, identity: Processes of linguistic homogenization in Bamako, Mali
Cécile Canut (CNRS-Paris, France) \ 7. The Multiple Facets of the Urban Language Form, Nouchi
Sabine Kube-Barth \ 8. On assessing the ethnolinguistic vitality of Ga in Accra
James Essegbey (University of Florida, USA) \ 9. Multilingualism and language use in Porto Novo
Wale Adeniran (Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria) \ 10. Language choice in Dar es Salaam's billboards
Charles Bwenge (University of Florida, USA) \ 11. Innovations on the Fringes of the Kiswahili Speaking World
Haig Der-Houssikian (University of Florida, USA) \ 12. Polarizing and blending: compatible practices in a bilingual urban community in Cape Town
Kay McCormick (University of Cape Town, South Africa) \ References Index