The Impact of French on the African Vernacular Languages

The Impact of French on the African Vernacular Languages PDF Author: Sosthène Boussougou
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443883255
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Following independence from their respective colonial regimes, seventeen African countries adopted French as their national language. This political move has had a number of consequences, both positive and negative, leading to the central question of this book: was the adoption of French as their national language a blessing or a curse for these countries? Is Francophonie a symbol of unity, a means of networking for French speakers in a globalised world, offering a sense of belonging through linguistic and cross-cultural, shared values, or is it a form of cultural imperialism in disguise? The rationale for adopting French was prompted by the perception that linguistic diversity in French Africa was a source of instability, while French could act as a stabilising agent. The adoption of this language has, however, widened the gaps between ethnic and tribal groups, reinforcing inequalities between classes, particularly the elite and the rural population. It has also strengthened the view that African languages are not fit for the business world and are unable to compete with dominant languages, thus perpetuating the colonial myth. Language is inseparable from culture, and both language and culture constitute a nation’s heritage. As such, African heritage is being eroded by the day. This book offers detailed insights into the impact of French in Gabon, exploring what the French language has brought to the country, but also considering what it is taking away.

French Lessons in Africa

French Lessons in Africa PDF Author: Peter Biddlecombe
Publisher: Little Brown Uk
ISBN: 9780349105093
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
Having travelled across West Africa for over ten years, Peter Biddlecombe's often hilarious account of a long and lingering liaison dangereuse with the sixty per cent of the continent that is French-speaking is a highly readable, hugely entertaining introduction to the je ne sais quoi of French Africa. In countries such as Togo, Mali and Burkina Faso, Biddlecome encounters old-fashioned camel butchers, modern witch doctors who run mail-order companies, gold smugglers and counterfeiters who send their sons to Oxford. He also experiences a delicious foie gras of places: from eerie voodoo ceremonies in the old slave port of Ouidah to Italian ice-cream parlors in the middle of the Sahara desert. And Biddlecombe reveals not only Francophone Africa's politics, often bizarre business traditions and culture, but also provides a mass of practical advice on everything from how to eat a water-rat to talking your way through a road block in the middle of an attempted coup.

Travels with My Briefcase

Travels with My Briefcase PDF Author: Peter Biddlecombe
Publisher: Little Brown GBR
ISBN: 9780349105833
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
It is a great truth of modern life that businessmen today are the world's most accomplished travellers. Like Marco Polo, the business traveller has a purpose; he is a man with a mission. Not for him a simple trawl through tourist hell - his experiences are authentic, driven by career rather than courier. Consequently, the adventurous nature of such trips is never forced - the Hindu Kush, Amazonian jungle or Kalahari hold no fears for those who have faced the Tokyo underground in rush hour. In TRAVELS WITH MY BRIEFCASE Peter Biddlecombe introduces us to the world of the business traveller, stumbling across the humorous and the bizarre in the most unexpected places - like Switzerland - and generally proving that you don't have to be a student, aesthete or one-eyed skate-boarder to experience the thrill and excitement of exploring the world.

Contesting French West Africa

Contesting French West Africa PDF Author: Harry Gamble
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 1496202325
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 436

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Book Description
After the turn of the twentieth century, schools played a pivotal role in the construction of French West Africa. But as this dynamic, deeply researched study reveals, the expanding school system also became the site of escalating conflicts. As French authorities worked to develop truncated schools for colonial "subjects," many African students and young elites framed educational projects of their own. Weaving together a complex narrative and rich variety of voices, Harry Gamble explores the high stakes of colonial education. With the disruptions of World War II, contests soon took on new configurations. Seeking to forestall postwar challenges to colonial rule, French authorities showed a new willingness to envision broad reforms, in education as in other areas. Exploiting the new context of the Fourth Republic and the extension of citizenship, African politicians demanded an end to separate and inferior schools. Contesting French West Africa critically examines the move toward educational integration that took shape during the immediate postwar period. Growing linkages to the metropolitan school system ultimately had powerful impacts on the course of decolonization and the making of postcolonial Africa.

Africa Study Bible, NLT

Africa Study Bible, NLT PDF Author:
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
ISBN: 1496424719
Category : Bible
Languages : en
Pages : 2162

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Book Description
The Africa Study Bible brings together 350 contributors from over 50 countries, providing a unique African perspective. It's an all-in-one course in biblical content, theology, history, and culture, with special attention to the African context. Each feature was planned by African leaders to help readers grow strong in Jesus Christ by providing understanding and instruction on how to live a good and righteous life--Publisher.

State-Building and Multilingual Education in Africa

State-Building and Multilingual Education in Africa PDF Author: Ericka A. Albaugh
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139916777
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
How do governments in Africa make decisions about language? What does language have to do with state-building, and what impact might it have on democracy? This manuscript provides a longue durée explanation for policies toward language in Africa, taking the reader through colonial, independence, and contemporary periods. It explains the growing trend toward the use of multiple languages in education as a result of new opportunities and incentives. The opportunities incorporate ideational relationships with former colonizers as well as the work of language NGOs on the ground. The incentives relate to the current requirements of democratic institutions, and the strategies leaders devise to win elections within these constraints. By contrasting the environment faced by African leaders with that faced by European state-builders, it explains the weakness of education and limited spread of standard languages on the continent. The work combines constructivist understanding about changing preferences with realist insights about the strategies leaders employ to maintain power.

The French War on Al Qa'ida in Africa

The French War on Al Qa'ida in Africa PDF Author: Christopher S. Chivvis
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107121035
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
This book investigates France's 2013 military intervention in Mali and its lessons for America's fight against terrorist groups in Africa and worldwide. Its assessment of new anti-terrorist military strategy will be of use to those in the foreign policy and national security communities.

Languages and Education in Africa

Languages and Education in Africa PDF Author: Birgit Brock-Utne
Publisher: Symposium Books Ltd
ISBN: 1873927177
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
The theme of this book cuts across disciplines. Contributors to this volume are specialized in education and especially classroom research as well as in linguistics, most being transdisciplinary themselves. Around 65 sub-Saharan languages figure in this volume as research objects: as means of instruction, in connection with teacher training, language policy, lexical development, harmonization efforts, information technology, oral literature and deaf communities. The co-existence of these African languages with English, French and Arabic is examined as well. This wide range of languages and subjects builds on recent field work, giving new empirical evidence from 17 countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as to transnational matters like the harmonization of African transborder languages. As the Editors – a Norwegian social scientist and a Norwegian linguist, both working in Africa – have wanted to give room for African voices, the majority of contributions to this volume come from Africa.

Colonial Madness

Colonial Madness PDF Author: Richard C. Keller
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226429776
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
Nineteenth-century French writers and travelers imagined Muslim colonies in North Africa to be realms of savage violence, lurid sexuality, and primitive madness. Colonial Madness traces the genealogy and development of this idea from the beginnings of colonial expansion to the present, revealing the ways in which psychiatry has been at once a weapon in the arsenal of colonial racism, an innovative branch of medical science, and a mechanism for negotiating the meaning of difference for republican citizenship. Drawing from extensive archival research and fieldwork in France and North Africa, Richard Keller offers much more than a history of colonial psychology. Colonial Madness explores the notion of what French thinkers saw as an inherent mental, intellectual, and behavioral rift marked by the Mediterranean, as well as the idea of the colonies as an experimental space freed from the limitations of metropolitan society and reason. These ideas have modern relevance, Keller argues, reflected in French thought about race and debates over immigration and France’s postcolonial legacy.

Encyclopedia of Language and Education

Encyclopedia of Language and Education PDF Author: Ruth Wodak
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780792347132
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
Made up of eight volumes, the Encyclopedia of Language and Education is the first attempt at providing an overview of the subject.

Africa Beyond the Post-Colonial

Africa Beyond the Post-Colonial PDF Author: Alfred B. Zack-Williams
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 135196044X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 155

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Book Description
Drawing together contributions from academics based in Africa and its diaspora, this work is unique in considering the situation and status of Africans globally. It explores a broad range of contemporary issues - from development and culture to linguistics - within the socio-political framework of Africa in the 21st century.