Although multilingualism is the norm in the day-to-day lives of most sub-Saharan Africans, multilingualism in settings outside of cities has so far been under-explored. This gap is striking when considering that in many parts of Africa, individual multilingualism was widespread long before the colonial period and centuries before the continent experienced large-scale urbanization. The edited collection African Multilingualisms fills this gap by presenting results from recent and ongoing research based on fieldwork in rural African environments as well as environments characterized by contact between urban and rural communities of speakers. The contributors-mostly Africans themselves, including a number of emerging scholars-present findings that both complement and critique current scholarship on African multilingualism. In addition, new methods and tools are introduced for the study of multilingualism in rural settings, alongside illustrations of the kinds of results that they yield. African Multilingualisms reveals an impressive diversity in the features of local language ideologies, multilingual behaviors, and the relationship between language and identity.
Pierpaolo Di Carlo is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Linguistics at University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. Jeff Good is professor in the Department of Linguistics at University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.
Contents Preface (Gabriel Mba) Editors' Preface (Jeff Good and Pierpaolo Di Carlo) Biographical Notes Introduction African Multilingualisms: Understanding the Diversity of Multilingualisms in Sub-Saharan Africa Pierpaolo Di Carlo and Jeff Good The Diversity of Multilingualisms in Rural Spaces 1. Multilingualism among the Mbororo of the North-West Region of Cameroon: An Overview Pius W. Akumbu and Esther P. Chie 2. Nuances in Language Use in Multilingual Settings: Code-Switching or Code Regimentation in Lower Fungom?' Rachel A. Ojong Diba 3. The So-Called Royal Register of Bafut within the Bafut Language Ecology: Language Ideologies and Multilingualism in the Cameroonian Grassfields Pierpaolo Di Carlo and Ayu'nwi N. Neba 4. Multilingualism as It Unfolds: Language Vitality in Naturally Occurring Speech in Kelleng, a Rural Setting in Cameroon Emmanuel Ngue Um, Marguerite G. Makon, and Celestine G. Assomo 5. An Ecological Approach to Ethnic Identity and Language Dynamics in a Multilingual Area (Lower Casamance, Senegal) Alexander Yao Cobbinah 6. Multilingualism and the Paradox of Language Creation: The Case of Lita (Research Note) Gratiana Ndamsah Multilingualisms in Contact 7. Multilingualism in Rural Africa: A Case Study of Ossing Village in Cameroon Tabe Florence A. E. 8. Spaces and Interactions in Multilingual Repertoire Construction: A Case Study in an Urban Area of Casamance (Senegal) Ndieme Sow 9. Analyzing Court Discourse in a Multilingual Setting: The Case of the Buea Court of First Instance Endurence M. K. Dissake and Gratien G. Atindogbe 10. Multilingualism and Language Ideologies in the Context of War: The Case of Refugees from Boko Haram in the Minawao Camp in the Far North Region of Cameroon (Research Note) Amina N. Goron Methodologies for the Study of Rural Multilingualisms 11. What an Ethnographically Informed Questionnaire Can Contribute to the Understanding of Traditional Multilingualism Research: Lessons from Lower Fungom Angiachi D. Esene Agwara 12. Ways to Assess Multilingual Competence in Small, Unwritten Languages: The Case of Lower Fungom Gabriel Mba and Angela Nsen Tem 13. Essentialism and Indexicality in a Multilingual Rural Community: The Case of Lower Bafut in North-West Cameroon Margaret Chenemo and Ayu'nwi N. Neba About the Contributors
"This is an authoritative volume on facets of multilingualism in rural Africa written generally by Native linguists. It debunks two myths in particular: that multilingualism is a peculiarity of urban ecology and it necessarily disadvantages minority languages. Congratulations to the editors for helping enrich and decolonize knowledge of my home continent." -- Salikoko S. Mufwene, University of Chicago "Di Carlo and Good have broken new ground by showing that multilingualism flourishes well beyond the African city. In addition to inspiring a new generation of linguists and Africanists, this volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of African multilingualism and of multilingualism everywhere." -- Fiona McLaughlin, University of Florida "Whether you still think multilingualism is a recent and urban phenomenon or you are already familiar with rural multilingualism in the Global South, you need to read this book. This volume presents dazzlingly diverse multilingual settings in Senegal and Cameroon, and, importantly, combines the perspectives of Northern and Southern researchers in their description." -- Friederike Lupke, University of Helsinki "Di Carlo and Good have assembled a set of detailed studies contradicting the general belief that multilingualism is an urban rather than a rural phenomenon. Complex communities of practice govern linguistic behavior in the country as well as in the city, yet previous studies have neglected the former. This book, rich in ethnographic detail, presents a challenge to prevailing orthodoxies." -- Tucker Childs, Portland State University "This book is an important step toward decolonizing linguistics in Africa. This superb collection of informative chapters shed light on rural multilingualism, individual and societal language repertoires, linguistic ideologies, and language vitality in Sub-Saharan Africa. The contributions show that if linguistics had been born in Africa, the discipline's theorizing on multilingualism could have been radically different." -- Cecile B. Vigouroux, Simon Fraser University, Canada
