In this article, I explore language practices in Nigerian primary school classrooms against the backdrop of the policy of mother tongue education. Findings from the study show that there is a classroom bilingual practice that is rather unstructured in terms of curricular application and levels. The study shows that rather than implementing the…

It is asserted that before the end of the century there probably will be more black people who speak the English tongue as their native language than there will be British people. This use of a white language with its color prejudices and residual racisms is discussed in terms of the psychological identity strains it can create for black men,…

The loss of the copula in Black English Vernacular (BEV) is demonstrably traceable to norms of pidginization that have their roots in West African languages and in contact among those languages. An extensive examination of the verb systems of a number of West African languages reveals that in every case a variety of verbal forms serves the many…

For the whole of the last half-century, most theoretical syntacticians have assumed that knowledge of language is different from the tasks of speaking and understanding. There have been some dissenters, but, by and large, this view still holds sway. This book takes a different view: it continues the task set in hand by Kempson et al (2001) of…

Challenges the arguments for abstract phonology based on the treatment of the Nupe vowels in Larry M. Hyman's How Concrete Is Phonology?'' Language, v46 p58-76 1970. (RS)

Author discusses African literature which generally is written in English (or French), and of the changes taking place in African universities. (MB)

Assumes the overall frame work of Extended Standard Theory of grammar, with a focus on the lexicon. It assumes Chomsky's theory that the projection of a verb and its arguments onto syntax is determined by its lexical specifications. Emphasizes a lexical approach to Swahili verbal suffixes. (Author/VWL)

Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe, explores the relationship between Black American and African literature, the use of African and/or European languages to write African literature, social and political influences on literature, and the relationship between literacy and reading. Urges aspiring writers to find their own authentic voice. (DMM)

Examines tone perception in Mambila, a Benue-Congo language with four level lexical tones. A categorization experiment was run to determine some of the salient aspects of the perceptual nature of these tones. Results are discussed in light of what is known about universal tendencies of tone systems and the historical development of the Mambila…

Language attitudes are long-term phenomena that tend to become more specific over generations. The stigmatization of Khoekhoegowap in Namibia shows how negative images of minority languages are generated by external forces, but also how these forces may be reinforced by corresponding internal forces. This article discusses the case of…

Explores the relation between a nation or ethnic group and its language. Analyzes the link between ideas about Igbo language and the rise of Igbo ethnic identity in twentieth-century Nigeria. (Author/VWL)

The focus of this paper is on the effects of the use of the home language (i.e. isiZulu) on teachers' and learners' understanding and use of core concepts in mathematics and science at the senior phase, in contexts where the language of instruction is English. It reports on a national, collaborative, multilingual research project which attempts to…

The study aimed at finding out whether teachers can identify the courses of reading disabilities in learners. It intended to establish whether teachers have adequate knowledge of identifying learners with reading disabilities, determine the proportion of non-readers in grade five. It also investigated the existing methods and materials teachers…

The paper problematises student writing as social practice from the perspective of lecturers' discursive practices. The paper uses data from a major study at a higher learning institution in Tanzania to explore lecturers' discursive practices and familiarity with the university orders of discourse including English medium of instruction, in…