The nature of gazing at someone or something, as a form of communication among the Bahemba people in eastern Zaire, is analyzed across a range of situations. Variations of steady gazing, a common eye contact routine, are outlined, including: (1) negative non-gazing or glance routines, especially in situations in which gazing would ordinarily…

The purpose of this text is to introduce the Oromo language, spoken in parts of Ethiopia and Kenya, to Peace Corps volunteers. The Oromo language (also referred to as Galla) used in the text is based on the standard language spoken in the western and southwestern provinces of Wollega, Illubabor, and Kaffa. However, with dialectal differences taken…

This is a Mandinka-French glossary designed for students of Mandinka. In addition to the French translation, sample sentences and their translations are provided, and notes on grammar and usage are given for some entries. (CLK)

Attempts to show that the comparison of language structures may be relevant to diachronic linguistics, and in particular to areal linguistics. The article is based on an ongoing comparative study aimed at devising a typology of African languages. (Author/RM)

The dialects of Mandekan, a language spoken widely in West Africa, are described. The information was collected for the benefit of students of the languages, developers of texts in any of the dialects, and researchers in Mandekan-speaking areas. A phonetic grid of vowels, consonants, and tone establishes a broad system of symbols for transcription…

This book is intended for the person who has had 100-200 hours of language training in Kpelle, a language of Liberia. The text has six parts: (1) an introduction to the languages of Liberia, including charts and maps showing the distribution of African languages, the location of Liberian languages, and indications on the relatedness of the…

This handbook contains 20 lessons on Kabiye phonology and grammar and is intended particularly for Peace Corps volunteers in Togo. Each lesson contains explanations in English, vocabulary, and oral and written exercises. A number of pen-and-ink drawings of cultural interest illustrate the lessons. An answer key to the written exercises and a…

This handbook contains 28 lessons on Soninke phonology and grammar and is intended particularly for Peace Corps volunteers in West Africa. Each lesson consists of explanations in English of Soninke grammatical features, vocabulary, and drills and exercises. An answer key and glossary complete the volume. (JB)

This "Luganda Basic Course" is not a course in the usual sense. Rather, it is a collection of materials which can be useful in the interaction between teachers and learners. It follows the method by which foreigners interact when they do not speak a common language: personal names and names of respective countries and cities are…

Ongoing change in Wolof noun classification is traced by comparing nineteenth-century linguistic evidence with modern sociolinguistic data. Upwardly mobile middle-aged men of high caste tend to reduce the noun class system, whereas other speakers tend to elaborate it. (Author/RM)

Is Black English a true language form? A history of its development was discussed with suggestions for language teachers and school systems in meeting the language needs of the black student. (RK)

This paper explores the syntactic and semantic character of previously undescribed sentence complements (SCs) in Emai, a Benue-Congo language of Nigeria's Edoid group. Data come from ongoing documentation incorporating oral narrative texts as well as dictionary and grammar descriptions. To delineate the grammatical properties of SCs, the paper…

Historical and comparative study of Haitian Creole and the ceremonial language of the Voodoo cult. (RS)