Archive: past updates

Dear members of our informal Circle on the Promotion of African Languages, Past webinar: Mufwene on 27 February It was great to see over 50 participants in the first of our series of webinars, given by Salikoko Mufwene on 27 February. In his talk, he made a number of new, thought-provoking and important points. One of them, for example, was that a transition to indigenous languages as medium of instruction needs to be implemented at all levels, but starting with tertiary education - so that people know that indigenous language knowledge can be a valuable asset in life. His talk was based in part on a chapter in a British Council book that can be downloaded from Researchgate here. The chapter itself, on Linguistic diversity, formal education and economic development is also on researchgate as a preprint. However, Mufwene also presented some new ideas, due to appear in the International Journal of the Sociology of Language. We will let you know when it becomes available. Finally: the recording of the webinar is available through Leiden University! Upcoming webinar: van Pinxteren on 27 March The next webinar, on 27 March at 4 pm CEST, will examine theoretical developments in the domain of medium of instruction in higher education after the work of Prah and others. It will expose the fiction that African educational systems can expand indefinitely using former colonial languages as medium of instruction. 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. The webinars of 27 February and 27 March aim to provide a bit of a theoretical and general background. The webinars after that will zoom in on specific country situations. All information about the upcoming webinars and more can be found on the website: https://bit.ly/afrilang. Please do share this information with possibly interested colleagues, students and on social media! New publication on indigenous language-media in Kenya. In a recent article in African Studies Review, circle members Fridah Erastus and Hildah Gataaka Kinyua discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the spread of indigenous language use in the media (especially radio) in Kenya. The advantages include further development of indigenous languages and greater accountability. The authors conclude that the advantages far outweigh possible disadvantages. Due to the continuing inequality in publishing opportunities between Northern and Southern scholars, the article is not open access - find it here. If you need it and cannot get access otherwise, send me a message and I'll be happy to share it with you. New members: We have five new members to welcome: Dr David Barasa, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya; Mbali Dhlamini, University of Western Cape, South Africa; Ekiyokere Ekiye (Nigeria), PhD student, University of Aberdeen, UK; Dr Constantine Kouankem, University of Bertoua, Cameroon; and Dr Benard Mudogo, of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya. The membership procedure is very easy: if people send me 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. 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).