Linguists use the concept of "diglossia" to describe any sociolinguistic situation where a low-prestige dialect coexists with a high-prestige one and these dialects are used in different social spheres. Recent observations on Reunion Island have challenged this view because people mix French and Creole extensively in the same utterance…

This volume brings together research carried out in a variety of geographic and linguistic contexts including Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe and the United States and explores efforts to incorporate linguistic diversity into education and to "harness" this diversity for learners' benefit. It challenges the largely…

Examines factors common to the various dialects of the French employed in Africa and demonstrates how these factors (1) determine the uniqueness of these dialects with relation to standard French, and (2) the resemblance of these dialects to African French-based Creoles. (AM)

This book explores the development of creoles and other new languages, highlighting conceptual and methodological issues for genetic linguistics and discussing the significance of ecologies that influence language evolution. It presents examples of changes in the structure, function, and vitality of languages, suggesting that similar ecologies…

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)

THIS INTRODUCTION TO THE STRUCTURE AND BACKGROUND OF THE SWAHILI LANGUAGE WAS WRITTEN FOR THE NON-SPECIALIST. ALTHOUGH THE LINGUISTIC TERMINOLOGY USED IN THE DESCRIPTION OF THE LANGUAGE ASSUMES THE READER HAS HAD SOME TRAINING IN LINGUISTICS, THIS HANDBOOK PROVIDES BASIC LINGUISTIC AND SOCIOLINGUISTIC INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS OF AFRICAN CULTURE…

An examination of pattern in certain languages spoken primarily by Blacks has both a narrow and a broad focus. The former is on structure and development of the creole spoken by Jamaicans in England and to a lesser extent, a Black country English. The broader focus is on the relationship between the Kwa languages of West Africa and the…

This study compared the impact of experimental bilingual schools to the impact of regular schools in Guinea-Bissau and Niger. The Guinea-Bissau school used Creole for instruction in the first two grades, then transitioned abruptly to Portuguese in third grade. Nigerian children were taught in one of the five main languages (Hausa, Zarma, Peul,…

A collection of papers addresses three aspects of the learning and use of French as a second language in Africa. The first two chapters look at the sociolinguistic dimension; the first examines the language question and language consciousness in parts of Africa where French was once or is still used as an official or "second" language.…

A study compares the adult functional literacy campaigns and programs developed in seven African nations: the Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, and Seychelles. After an introductory chapter outlining the background of African adult functional literacy efforts and some of the constraints on them, the second chapter gives an overview of…

This volume contains the proceedings of the symposium on African language, culture and society held at Ohio State University. Six of the papers deal with the related issues of language reform and language planning, including such aspects as the choice of national and official languages. They include both general proposals for theoretical models as…