Brief update, January 2025
Dear fellow advocates of African languages,
We hope this message finds you well at the start of this brave new 2025 and wish you all the best for the new year! A few small updates…
Call for book reviews
We are getting closer to publishing the inaugural issue of ‘Language Policy in Africa’. We are now looking for volunteers to do reviews of recent books that are related to language policy on the continent. Books that could be considered are, for example:
Ndhlovu, F. & Makalela, L. (2021). Decolonising Multilingualism in Africa: Recentering Silenced Voices from the Global South. Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781788923361
Kaschula, R. H., & Wolff, H. E. (Eds.). (2020). The Transformative Power of Language: From Postcolonial to Knowledge Societies in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108671088
Mpofu, P., Fadipe, I. A., & Tshabangu, T. (Eds.). (2023). Indigenous African Language Media: Practices and Processes. Springer Nature. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-99-0305-4 and/or:
Mpofu, P., Fadipe, I. A., & Tshabangu, T. (2023). African Language Media. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/African-Language-Media/Mpofu-Fadipe-Tshabangu/p/book/9781032395302
The Palgrave Handbook of Language Policies in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-57308-8 and/or:
McKinney, C., Makoe, P., & Zavala, V. (Eds.). (2024). The Routledge handbook of multilingualism. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003214908
Ndhlovu, F., & Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. J. (Eds.). (2024). Language and Decolonisation: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003313618
We are open to other suggestions as well. Book reviews or proposals for reviews can be made by responding to this message or directly through the Journal submissions site. The Journal is also open for submission of new articles.
Upcoming conference
Circle member Martha Mbu has shared information about the upcoming 1st International Conference of the Cameroon Association of Linguistics, Douala, 10-12 September 2025. The deadline for submissions is 30 March.
International Mother Language Day
February 21st is the 25th International Mother Language Day. The theme is ‘Make languages count for sustainable development’ – a very apt choice. If you are involved in activities on or around that day, let us know, and we will share the information in the next update.
New members
Three new members have joined since last time: Mbache Bernard from Cameroon, Dr Philip Oghenesuowho Ekiugbo, National Institute for Nigerian Languages, and Dr Zama Mthombeni, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
Of course, things can change – people change jobs, job titles and interests. Do let us know if this is the case.
As always, if you have things or hear of things that you think might be of interest to Circle members, don’t hesitate to send a short message, either via the mail or via WhatsApp - we will be happy to share the information.
Best regards,
Bert (also on behalf of Comfort, Sarita and Taiwo).