Webinar date change (and other updates, 15 June 2023)
Dear members of our informal Circle on the Promotion of African Languages,
Upcoming webinar: date postponed to 31 July!
Our next webinar was originally scheduled for 26 June. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, it will now take place on Monday, 31 July at 4 pm CEST. The presenter is Prof Dr Andy Chebanne of the University of Botswana. Provisional title: The Proposed Languages in Education Policy for Botswana: Will it Make Local Languages a Social Development Resource?
Click here for the zoom link (it is the same for all webinars). You probably don't need it, but the meeting ID is 638 6323 9013. Passcode: pAkt*fW1.
All information about upcoming webinars and more can be found on the website: https://bit.ly/afrilang. Please do share this information with potentially interested colleagues, students and on social media!
Past webinar: Possa-Mogeira on 29 May
It was great to see so many Circle members at the fourth webinar, on 29 May. The talk examined the difficulties in developing a unified orthography for writing SeSotho in South Africa and Lesotho. What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? Would it be possible to continue with two different orthographies, as is currently the case? What progress is being made in using SeSotho as medium of instruction?
If you missed it or would like to revisit it: all webinar recordings are available through Leiden University.
ECPAL @ ECAS
We managed to have a nice hybrid get-together with a number of Circle members and some interested others, on 1 June, during the ECAS Conference in Cologne. At ECAS, there were three language-related panels, out of a total of hundreds. The presentations were all very interesting, but the number alone shows that language-related stuff still occupies a minor place in African studies as a whole. We will update you on some follow-up ideas a bit later.
ECPAL & LSA
Some of you may be interested in the next conference of the Lagos Studies Association. It will be in hybrid format, from 20 to 20 June and is free to attend. On 24 June from 12:45 to 14:15 (Lagos time), there will be a panel under the auspices of our Circle and chaired by Taiwo Oloruntoba-Oju on 'Knowledge Production in the Languages of the Masses'. Several Circle members will present. To join the panel, this is the zoom link!
Book review: The book 'Language and Education in Africa' has been reviewed in African Affairs by Prof Andy Chebanne. He calls it 'an excellent resource for language use planners, students in education, teacher trainers and all those who love Africa’s development and freedom.' Read the review is here. The book itself is available in open access from Leiden University.
CALL, 28 to 30 August. Some of you may be interested in the 52nd edition of this interesting colloquium series, to be held at Leiden University and possibly in hybrid mode as well. The sixth of our webinar series, on 28 August on Nigeria, will be part of the CALL programme as well.
New members: We have three new members to welcome: Abius Akwaake (Namibia), University of Turku, Finland; Dr Ebitare Obikudo, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria; and Caroline Story (USA), University of Cologne, Germany.
The membership procedure is very easy: if people send a message saying that they are interested in joining, I will welcome them and add them to the website and mailing list. It is also possible to apply through the application form on the website.
New ideas: we have started to think about what to take up from September. We are looking for help with book publication ideas, suggestions for webinars and other ideas. If you have ideas you want to share, now is a good time to do so! If there are things you would like to do yourself as well, possibly with other Circle members, don't hesitate to let us know!
Lastly: one of the features of our website is a forum, empty for now, where members can post questions and give answers, announce new materials and resources, share ideas, etc. It also has a closed section with an archive of all the updates (not empty). In order to profit from all these extras, you have to sign up with your e-mail address and a password of your choice. If you have not done this yet, do it now!
As always, feel free to share what you think might be of use to other Circle members!
Best regards,
Bert (on behalf of Comfort, Hildah, Sarita and Taiwo).