African Radio and Minority Languages

Limukani Mathe (PhD) is a Research Fellow and Lecturer at North-West University in South Africa. Prior to that he was a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg and a Guest Lecturer at the University of Fort Hare. His research interests are in media representation with a particular focus on digital culture, journalism practices and indigenous text in the Global South. Mathe has edited books, contributed book chapters and also published in high-impact journals. His recent edited book, Reconceptualising Multilingualism on African Radio: Language and Identity reflects on the evolving identities and lingua in Africa and radio as a mirror of such realities.

• 1. African Radio and Minority Languages: An Introduction 2. The Political Economy of African Radio: Historical Foundations 3. Minority Language(s) Accommodation on Public and Commercial Radio: Limits and Prospects 4. Community Radio and Linguistic Patterns of Marginalisation 5. Rethinking Radio’s Ethnolinguistic Public Sphere: A Conclusion

“In African Radio and Minority Languages: Participation and Representation, Limukani Mathe makes an invaluable contribution to a growing body of literature that can be defined as radio studies in Africa. Radio continues to be Africa’s medium of choice – defying the fate of many other legacy media even in the digital age. In this new and important addition, Mathe presents a compelling examination of the intricate dynamics between language, media, and cultural representation in Africa’s diverse linguistic landscape. This books shines a spotlight on the critical role of radio as the voice of the voiceless – especially minority language speakers who are often excluded from public discourses in the mainstream media often dominated by a few major languages. Mathe’s study exposes the historical and socio-political forces that explain the marginalisation and exclusion of minority languages in radio broadcasting in Africa. This book is essential reading for scholars, media practitioners, and policymakers interested in the intersection of language, culture, and public representation in Africa. By challenging existing structures in the broadcasting landscape, the book makes a significant contribution to conversations around media and diversity, language power, and access to information more broadly.”Prof Dumisani Moyo, Executive Dean, Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, South Africa“This timely and transcendent monograph provides a tantalizing testimony to the deeply influential role radio continues to play in African societies amid an unprecedented proliferation of digital technology. Coming at a time when minority language groups are becoming more active in demanding their linguistic recognition, Mathe’s inquisitive analysis, provides practical and scholarly approaches central to decentralizing radio's ethnolinguistic public sphere, allowing us to rethink a tripartite broadcasting model for Africa”.Prof Bruce Mutsvairo, Department of Media and Culture Studies, Utrecht University“In this monograph Mathe engages with the all-important issue of communication and identity through language. Africa is a diverse continent when it comes to languages and cultures and coming up with a well balanced menu that caters for everyone in public media becomes a nightmare. Also equally nightmarish is the potential of some languages being ignored and erased from the airwaves while others are privileged, and Mathe’s intervention in this regard alerts us to the need for creativity that ultimately leads to inclusive representation. This book occupies a special place in the debate as it provokes us to think deeper on issues of radio, language, power and identity”.Prof Shepherd Mpofu, Department of Communication Science, University of South Africa"Limukani Mathe offers us a gem of a book that brings a nuanced and fresh perspective on role of radio in upholding African languages. The book lays bare crucial historical underpinnings, intricate political economic arrangements together with evolving ownership dimensions behind the uneven access to broadcasting resources. More importantly the book argues and reveals how African languages ought to be integral to citizen representation and participation of minorities in the African public. It is a must-read book for all Africans interested in preserving and celebrating African languages through the mass medium of radio”Professor Winston Mano, University of Westminster, London, UK