This study on the African child had three objectives: (1) to become familiar with the environment of the African child, (2) to investigate the vocabulary to which the child is exposed at home and at school, and (3) to compare the vocabulary of the native language with that of the school. The first part of the study constituted a linguistic study…

This introduction to Akan is designed to provide the basic structures and vocabulary that a non-native speaker would need to use Akan. The text is based on the Asante dialect of Akan, and is divided into twenty units. Each unit consists of a conversation given in English and Asante, drills for the classroom or individual practice, grammar notes,…

The sixteen articles on prosodic analysis collected here were written by members of the Department of Phonetics and Linguistics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, between the years 1948 and 1961. In 1948, Professor Firth, then head of the department, published his paper "Sounds and Prosodies," in which he launched the new…

The present Information Circular covering the language situation in East Africa has been prepared as a bibliographic reference tool for specialists, universities, and libraries. The introductory section describes the work of EARIC (East African Research Information Centre), which is sponsored by the East African Academy and financed by the Ford…

This section of an introductory course in Sara-Ngambay, the accepted standard dialect spoken in the town of Moundou in southern Chad, is intended for Westerners who wish to learn to speak the language. The student is to assimilate the linguistic content of the 20 lessons in this volume through the study of dialogues dealing with the roles…

This introductory course in Sara-Ngambay, the accepted standard dialect spoken in the town of Moundou in southern Chad, is intended for Westerners who wish to learn to speak the language. An introduction to the course discusses the scope, orientation, and production of the manual and includes an extensive explanatory section on symbolic…

Recent work in the field of sociolinguistics is discussed as it relates to problems of national integration in a multilingual society. The implications of such a situation for language teaching programs are also discussed. (RM)

The account of language use in Accra, capital of Ghana, focuses on the social history of language use and on issues of language choice in a multilingual society. The first chapter gives an account of a language dispute that demonstrates both literally and symbolically the historically rooted relationships of the four main languages of Accra: Ga,…

Outlines the various uses of English, explains the problems of teaching it, and then concludes with suggestions based on situation factors relevant to English language instruction in West Africa. (FB)

Examines the place of Portuguese in Portugal's former African Colonies. Characterizes the postcolonial position of Portuguese in Africa as a complex relationship between Portuguese as the official language and the other languages of these countries. (Author/VWL)

Examines language shift from majority African languages, such as Sotho, Xhosa, and Zulu to English in South Africa. Examines the extent to which sociopolitical changes that have taken place in South Africa have impacted everyday linguistic interaction and have contributed to language shift from the indigenous African language to English,…

Provides a synoptic history of African language programming in the United States and follows with an exploration of the design, properties, and national impact of a National African language Resource Center. (Author/VWL)

Presents a rationale for the supervised tutorial component of the African language program at Michigan State University. The supervised tutorial is one of two modes through which African languages are offered at Michigan State University. The other, which is teacher led, is offered for high enrollment languages such as Arabic, Swahili, and Hausa.…

Analyses of how African communities use language show that indigenous languages coexist with metropolitan languages in complex configurations of speech practices. Argues that these practices should suggest a rethinking of the purpose, function, and methodology of teaching languages in developing African contexts, building on the ways that local…

In the context of the works of African writers Chinua Achebe and Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, the complexity and controversy surrounding the adoption of English in African literary texts is discussed. The appreciation of English as a means of international communication is reconciled with the desire to preserve the languages and cultural identities of the…