Reviewed by Martha Michieka, East Tennessee State University
This book addresses language and nationalism in nineteen African countries. In the introductory chapter, Andrew Simpson establishes key language related issues and the challenge of nation building in modern Africa. In the remaining sixteen chapters, various renowned scholars provide detailed linguistic information and present a political history of specific countries in relation to nationalism.
Yasir Suleiman discusses two main formulations of national identity in Egypt: Egyptian nationalism and Pan–Arabic nationalism. He also addresses the question of whether fusha can express Egyptian nationalism. Moha Ennaji and Fatima Sadiqi explore nationalism and cultural identity in Morocco as marked by the linguistic and social influences of Berber, Arabic, French, and Islam. Wendy James sketches the range of languages in Sudan and how Arabic and English have come to be the main national languages. Fiona McLaughlin shows how Wolof has emerged as an informal national language of Senegal, a country officially considered Francophone. Ingse Skattum discusses multilingualism as an accepted part of the Mali national identity and the need to defend linguistic pluralism. Akintunde Oyetade and Victor F. Luke explore the possibility of Krio becoming a national language in Sierra Leone while Akosua Anyodoho and Kropp Dakubu revisit the role of English and Ghanaian indigenous languages in building Ghanaian national identity.
Anne Knutsen observes that the extended use of French in the Ivory Coast has given rise to the belief that French expresses the Ivory Coast identity and therefore will continue to serve as a national language. Andrew Simpson and Akintunde Oyetade discuss how various Nigerian ethnic groups express loyalties to their ethnic languages. Edmond Biloa and George Echu discuss the policy of French and English as the official languages for fostering national identity in Cameroon. Eyamba Bokamba argues for nationalism amidst stable multilingualism in D.R. Congo, explaining that monolingualism is not necessarily the key component in nationalism.
Chege Githiora gives a sociolinguistic profile of language in Kenya by emphasizing the role of Swahili as a vehicle of nationalism. Farouk Topan examines the history and current status of Swahili in Tanzania and predicts that Swahili’s current position will not be threatened by English. David Appleyard and Martin Orwin show how the four countries forming the Horn of Africa have each taken different paths to establish their own national identity. Lutz Marten and Nancy Kula argue that Zambian national identity is formed by multilingualism and by a long historical tradition. In the final chapter, Rajend Mesthrie discusses the complex linguistic situation in South Africa and the equally complex balance that has to be considered for national unity.
This volume does a thorough and comprehensible job of exploring the delicately intertwined relationships of language and politics in multilingual Africa. The book offers a one stop resource for anybody seeking to understand the language scenario in Africa.