Language Policy and Multilingualism in African Contexts
Summary
African contexts present highly complex linguistic landscapes shaped by colonial history, post-independence state formation and ongoing processes of decolonisation. Language policies enacted by national and regional authorities seek to reconcile official and indigenous tongues within education, governance and public life. These policies often inherit structural inequalities from colonial regimes, privileging European languages over local varieties. Multilingualism in Africa is not simply the coexistence of multiple languages but an active social practice, involving code-switching, borrowing and translanguaging among speakers. Current research highlights how language planning influences identity, access to education and digital inclusion. Emerging agendas emphasise the intellectualisation of African languages – the development of registers and terminologies that enable them to serve in higher education, science and technology – as well as the deployment of information and communication technologies to promote minority languages. These efforts respond to constitutional and policy frameworks that increasingly recognise linguistic diversity as a resource for social cohesion and sustainable development, while grappling with practical challenges in implementation, standardisation and community engagement.
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Language Policy and Multilingualism in African Contexts publication trend
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Technical terms
Language policy: Official measures and regulations designed to manage language use in public institutions, education and media.
Multilingualism: The coexistence and active use of multiple languages within individuals, communities or societies.
Translanguaging: The dynamic practice whereby bilingual or multilingual speakers fluidly draw on all language resources to communicate and learn.
Intellectualisation: The planned process of developing specialised terminology and registers to enable a language to function in higher domains such as science, technology and academia.
Terminology development: The systematic creation, standardisation and dissemination of terms within a language for specialised or technical fields.
References
- Postcolonial Language Policy and Planning and the Limits of the Notion of the Modern State. Annual Review of Linguistics (2022).
- Intellectualization through Terminology Development. Lexikos (2017).
- Experiences and attitudes of Setswana speaking teachers in using an indigenous African language on an online assessment platform. South African Journal of Education (2021).
- Exploring intellectualisation of South African indigenous languages for academic purposes. Literator (2024).
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