Discusses the usage of Swahili and other languages in Africa and outlines an experimental college curriculum for teaching Swahili and related AFrican studies. Includes a bibliography of available texts in the area. (JM)

Proposes the study of Gullah as a means of discovering the African roots of Black English. (AM)

Discusses West Africanisms in Limonese Creole (LC), an English based creole language spoken in Costa Rica that shows substrate influence from the Kwa languages of West Africa, in particular from Akan (spoken in Ghana). Substrate influence is demonstrated through a comparison of LC and Akan morphophonology, morphosyntax, and lexicon. (Author/VWL)

Research was carried out on the ethnobotanical potentials of common herbs in Nigeria using Enugu State as a case study. A total of 200 questionnaires were administered on herb sellers in major herb markets in the state. In all, 96 different plant species were encountered in the markets. Attempts were made to write the names of the species both in…

This paper discusses the potentiality of Kiswahili in accelerating social, political, economic and cultural integration within the Great Lakes Region. Presently, Kiswahili is a "de facto" lingua franca spoken by almost 100 million people in the world (Ntakirutimana, 2000). This is an indication of its viability in promoting unity among…

The Kalenjin group of languages, spoken mainly in western Kenya, displays a harmony system involving the phonological feature Advanced Tongue Root ([ATR]). The study reported here addresses issues of the phonological representation of the [ATR] in Kalenjin and its phonetic interpretation. Specifically, it is shown that (1) the harmony system…

An analysis of applicative constructions in Bantu languages proposes a typology of applicative structures, using examples from Ndendeule and Swahili. First, the basic facts about applicative constructions are presented, including those concerning morphology, meaning, and alternative expressions, and several arguments are posited. Primary objects…

An analysis of noun classes in Tikar, a Benue-Congo language spoken in west central Cameroon, looks at patterns in the noun class system, concord system (possessives, demonstratives, demonstrative adjectives, demonstrative pronouns, third-person pronouns, relative pronouns, copula, adjectivals, and numerals) with an eye to determining whether…

Many tone languages exhibit some form of downdrift or automatic downstep, the lowering of high tones separated by low tones. In extreme cases, the realization of high tones at the end of a domain (such as the sentence) may be lower than the realization of low tones at the beginning. Tone languages with this property are cross-level tone languages.…

Describes attempts to determine the origin of the So tribe, an East African people, by means of comparing lexical data with those of other East African language groups. Comparisons are made between So and geographically related groups, possibly related tribal migrations, and various other East African languages. (CLK)

Based on previous research showing five examples of verb reduplication in Majang, a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family, this paper presents more specific examples of verb reduplication, its different uses, and the phonological rules governing it. Examples of possibly reduplicated forms from other parts of speech are also given, and data…

An examination of historical developments in western Africa during six climate periods extending over two millennia, this study demonstrates that numerous historical developments correlate with climate periods and/or were influenced by changes in rainfall patterns and ecological conditions. These include such diverse topics as the diffusion of…

The grammar, phonetics, and lexicon of Lorma, one of the Mande languages of Liberia, are described for the use of Peace Corps volunteers learning the language without teacher assistance. This handbook includes an introduction to the languages of Liberia, procedures for learning a language without assistance, guidelines for tutors, a reference…

This text is aimed at those interested in learning the Wolof language, the most widely used language in Senegal, spoken by more than 80% of the Senegalese and Gambian people. This manual can be best used under the following conditions: (1) the instructor is Wolof born or speaks the language fluently, (2) the course is taught in intensive or…

Semantic readings of genitive constructions in Akan are discussed in relation to the position that semantic operative rules operate on surface structure and that positing deep structures or semantic structures for associative (genitive) constructions is unnatural and unnecessary. (AM)