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Dear members of our informal Circle,

Most of you will have seen it – on 23 May, we went public with the inaugural issue of the Language Planning in Africa journal, featuring an editorial on the relevance of language policy in Africa, an opinion piece by Salikoko Mufwene and seven peer-reviewed articles. Since then, it has been accessed more than 800 times, which we think is a great score for a publication of this type. We are working to further improve the Journal and to get it indexed and we welcome new submissions on an ongoing basis. We would especially like to welcome book reviews of relevant recent literature.

We’re very happy that we managed to keep the Editorial Team together and working in good spirits during the full 18-month preparation process. Recently, however, Dr Lynn Kisembe of Moi University (Kenya) has had to step down from her editor role. She will…

Dear members of our slowly-growing informal Circle,

We are busy making the last tweaks to the inaugural issue of the new Language Planning in Africa journal, but it is not quite ready yet – we hope to be able to share information on it with you very soon. Your help in promoting the Journal, once it is out, will be greatly appreciated!

New members since the last update:

• Dr Maryam Jaffar Ismail, The State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), Tanzania; and

Dear colleagues interested in the promotion of African languages,

There are a number of pots on our fire, so to speak, which we hope will lead to some interesting news in the months to come. But for now, there is nothing much to report, except that we are welcoming three new members to our Circle:

• Dr Budzani Gabanamotse-Mogara, University of Botswana;

• Dr Philpo John, Mkwawa University College of Education, Tanzania;

Dear members of our informal Circle,

Today, 21 February, marks the 25th anniversary of International Mother Language Day. This day helps to remind us (if indeed reminding is needed) of the importance of people’s languages for the preservation of their culture, for their economic development, for the efficiency of their educational systems and indeed for the full and authentic development of all the talents available to mankind.

For Africa, there is still a long way to go before indigenous languages get the status and use in official domains that would benefit the continent most. However, I think that most of us in the Circle believe this time will come – it is up to us to study, publish and be active for the best possible transition to an increased use of African languages in all domains.

There is a special celebration going on today at the UNESCO headquarters in…

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

Dear Members,

I hope this message finds you well, as we are approaching the festivities of the end of 2024. Again, a few brief pieces of information:

Call for Papers: ECAS Conference 2025 in Prague, June 2025 - deadline for proposals is 15 December! 

There will be a panel organised by our Circle, on ‘Belonging in Africa, belonging in the world – the role of language’. If you think you would like to contribute (or know of others who might), submit via this link.

Journal progress

The first submissions for ‘Language Policy in Africa’ have now received two reviews. The review process has taken longer than expected – as a consequence, we are looking at publishing the inaugural issue of the Journal in early 2025. Please respond to requests for review, if you receive them! In the meantime, the Journal remains open for new submissions.

Circle activities

We look back on an interesting and successful set of presentations during the German African Studies Conference in Bayreuth earlier this month.

We will be present at the Swiss Research Africa Days at the end of October in Bern, with a panel ‘towards sustainable language policies in Africa.’ This panel will take place on Saturday 26 October from 13:15 to 14:45 CEST. If you are interested, you can join via Zoom free of charge.

Our panel proposal for ECAS 2025 in Prague was accepted, on ‘Belonging in Africa, belonging in the world – the role of language’. The Call for Papers should be out some time in November.

More than 100 members!

Five new members have joined since last time: Chukwuemeke Buzome, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria; Dr Abisoye Eleshin, University of Lagos, Nigeria; Tomoe Noguchi, PhD student, Kyoto University, Japan; Dr Timothy Olaosebikan, Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Nigeria; and Omusula…

Dear members of our informal Circle on the promotion of African languages,

A few brief pieces of information this time...

Circle activities

Our Circle is present at the German African Studies Conference in Bayreuth these days, where we have organized a panel on “the future of Africa’s education and the role of language.” A number of Circle members will be present, either as convenors, discussants and/or presenters. 

Dear members of our informal Circle on the promotion of African languages,

A few brief pieces of information this time...

Going to WOCAL?

Some of you are certainly planning to attend the upcoming 11th World Congress on African Linguistics, due to take place in Nairobi from 5 to 9 August. Perhaps you will be able to seek out other Circle members and make new acquaintances. If you meet other like-minded people who might profit from being part of our little network, let them know about us and the possibility of joining free of charge!