Language and Development in Africa

H. Ekkehard Wolff has taught at universities in Germany, Finland, Nigeria, Niger, Ethiopia and South Africa. His research encompasses both major African languages and endangered languages, and he was awarded the traditional title Midala Lamang by the Emir of Gwoza in 1992. He has written extensively on language policies and their implementation in Africa, in particular with regard to the politics of language in education.

• 1. Introduction: approach, questions and themes; 2. Background: Africa and the 'West' - a difficult relationship; 3. Perception: between ignorance, half knowledge and distortion; 4. De-marginalisation: the cradle of mankind and home of human language; 5. Re-conceptualisation: the overdue linguistic turn in development discourse; 6. Challenges: linguistic plurality and diversity - problem or resource?; 7. Future: synopsis and options for language planning; 8. Agenda: arguments and steps; 9. Basic sociolinguistic facts: 'languages', 'dialects', numbers of speakers.

'Language and Development in Africa is generally a very straightforward, practical guide to broaching the complex linguistic situation across the continent. Because all but one of the chapters are grounded in the twenty themes established in the introductory chapter, the reader remains constantly aware of the overarching goals of this book, viz. to improve and widen understanding of the complexity of language usage and policies in Africa, and also to effect change on the continent as it concerns the interaction of language and development … the extensive maps, figures, and tables serve as effective illustrations of the longer, textual explanations. Most surprisingly, two other sections are provided to share with the reader additional scholarly sources for consultation and an exhaustive glossary of all linguistic terms referenced in the text.' Troy E. Spier, LINGUIST List (https://linguistlist.org)