Language Repertoires and State Construction in Africa

David Laitin addresses the problem of language planning in Africa and the role of language politics in the process of state formation.

David D. Laitin (Author)

9780521033275, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 18 January 2007

220 pages
22.9 x 15.1 x 1.4 cm, 0.338 kg

"...an elegant and compelling analysis of language politics and policy choice in Africa, by a long distance the most comprehensive undertaken in any field...In a mere 164 pages of text, Laitin sketches an amazingly comprehensive portrait. In its scope and succinctness, this comparative study is a model...a masterful analysis of one of the most important aspects of identity politics in Africa and elsewhere. It is must reading for all students of African politics, as well as those concerned with the comparative politics of cultural pluralism." Crawford Young, American Political Science Review

Most African countries have a population composed of a multitude of language groups and most African citizens have a varied repertoire allowing them to rely on different languages for use in the home, at school, in the market, at work and in communicating with political authorities. Language Repertoires and State Construction in Africa analyses the complex language scene in Africa today and asks whether this distinctive web of language use is symptomatic of the early stage of state construction. If so, one would expect that as each of these states develops there will be a rationalisation of language use and agreement on a common language within the country's borders. Alternately, Africa's language scene may be the result of a particular historical context of state construction, with the implication that political development will not lead to the one-state, one-language outcome typical of the idealised nation-state.

Preface
Part I. Language Repertoires and the State: 1. Language repertoires as political outcomes
2. Three theories explaining language outcomes
3. Do language outcomes matter?
Part II. Sociological and Political Forces Described: 4. The micro dynamics of language use in contemporary Africa
5. Macro forces shaping the contemporary language situation in Africa
Part III. Strategic Theory Applied: 6. Strategic theory and Africa's language future
7. Case studies from independent Africa
Part IV. Conclusion and Policy Recommendations: 8. Shaping the 3 + 1 language state
Notes
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Political structure & processes [JPH]