LINGUIST List 27.123

Wed Jan 06 2016

Books: The Impact of French on the African Vernacular Languages: For Better or for Worse? Gabon as a Case Study: Boussougou, Menacere

Editor for this issue: Sara Couture <saralinguistlist.org>

Date: 17-Dec-2015
From: Chris Humphrey <chumphreyc-s-p.org>
Subject: The Impact of French on the African Vernacular Languages: For Better or for Worse? Gabon as a Case Study: Boussougou, Menacere
E-mail this message to a friend

Title: The Impact of French on the African Vernacular Languages: For
Better or for Worse? Gabon as a Case Study
Published: 2015
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
                http://www.cambridgescholars.com/

Book URL: http://www.cambridgescholars.com/the-impact-of-french-on-the-african-vernacular-languages

Author: Sosthène Boussougou
Author: Karim Menacere
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443877312 Pages: 160 Price: U.K. £ 41.99
Hardback: ISBN: 9781443877312 Pages: 160 Price: U.S. $ 71.95
Abstract:

Following independence from their respective colonial regimes, seventeen African countries adopted French as their national language. This political move has had a number of consequences, both positive and negative, leading to the central question of this book: was the adoption of French as their national language a blessing or a curse for these countries? Is Francophonie a symbol of unity, a means of networking for French speakers in a globalised world, offering a sense of belonging through linguistic and cross-cultural, shared values, or is it a form of cultural imperialism in disguise? The rationale for adopting French was prompted by the perception that linguistic diversity in French Africa was a source of instability, while French could act as a stabilising agent. The adoption of this language has, however, widened the gaps between ethnic and tribal groups, reinforcing inequalities between classes, particularly the elite and the rural population. It has also strengthened the view that African languages are not fit for the business world and are unable to compete with dominant languages, thus perpetuating the colonial myth.

Language is inseparable from culture, and both language and culture constitute a nation’s heritage. As such, African heritage is being eroded by the day. This book offers detailed insights into the impact of French in Gabon, exploring what the French language has brought to the country, but also considering what it is taking away.

Linguistic Field(s): Sociolinguistics

Subject Language(s): French (fra)

Written In: English (eng)

See this book announcement on our website:
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/books/get-book.cfm?BookID=95933


---------------------------------- Publishing Partner ----------------------------------
Cambridge University Press http://us.cambridge.org

----------------------------- Major Supporting Publishers -----------------------------
Akademie Verlag GmbH http://www.oldenbourg-verlag.de/akademie-verlag
Bloomsbury Linguistics (formerly Continuum Linguistics) http://www.bloomsbury.com
Brill http://www.brill.nl
Cambridge Scholars Publishing http://www.c-s-p.org
Cascadilla Press http://www.cascadilla.com/
Classiques Garnier http://www.classiques-garnier.com/
De Gruyter Mouton http://www.degruyter.com/
Edinburgh University Press http://www.euppublishing.com
Elsevier Ltd http://www.elsevier.com/
Equinox Publishing Ltd http://www.equinoxpub.com/
European Language Resources Association (ELRA) http://www.elra.info/
Georgetown University Press http://www.press.georgetown.edu/
John Benjamins http://www.benjamins.com/
Lincom GmbH http://www.lincom-shop.eu/
MIT Press http://mitpress.mit.edu/
Multilingual Matters http://www.multilingual-matters.com/
Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG http://www.narr.de/
Oxford University Press http://www.oup.com/us
Palgrave Macmillan http://www.palgrave.com/
Peter Lang AG http://www.peterlang.com/
Rodopi http://www.rodopi.nl/
Routledge (Taylor and Francis) http://www.routledge.com/
Springer http://www.springer.com/
University of Toronto Press http://www.utpjournals.com/
Wiley-Blackwell http://www.wiley.com/

--------------------------- Other Supporting Publishers ---------------------------
Association of Editors of the Journal of Portuguese Linguistics http://www.fl.ul.pt/revistas/JPL/JPLweb.htm
International Pragmatics Assoc. http://ipra.ua.ac.be/
Linguistic Association of Finland http://www.ling.helsinki.fi/sky/
Morgan & Claypool Publishers http://www.morganclaypool.com/
Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics / Landelijke (LOT) http://www.lotpublications.nl/
Seoul National University http://j-cs.org/index/index.php
SIL International Publications http://www.sil.org/resources/publications
Universitat Jaume I http://www.uji.es/CA/publ/
University of Nebraska Press http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/
Utrecht institute of Linguistics http://www-uilots.let.uu.nl/

Page Updated: 06-Jan-2016