Language and National Identity in Africa

This book focuses on language culture and national identity in Africa. Leading specialists examine countries in every part of the continent - Egypt Morocco Sudan Senegal Mali Sierra Leone Ghana Ivory Coast Nigeria Cameroon Congo Kenya Tanzania Zanbia South Africa and the nations of the Horn Ethiopia Eritrea Djibouti and Somalia. Each chapter describes and examines the country''s linguistic and political history and the relation of its languages to national ethnic and cultural identities and assesses the relative status of majority and minority languages and the role of language in ethnic conflict. Of the book''s authors fifteen are from Africa and seven from Europe and the USA. Jargon-free fully referenced and illustrated with seventeen maps this book will be of value to a wide range of readers in linguistics politics history sociology and anthropology. It will interest everyone wishing to understand the dynamic interactions between language and politics in Africa in the past and now.