There are about 2000 languages spoken on the African continent. This does not even include its vast diaspora. Our languages, like our peoples, are deeply diverse. Our languages are ancient and modern. They are recited, signed, written, and sung. They are Creoles and pidgins; they are holy languages and love languages. May the best language win.
Why Fante is the most romantic language in the world?
I am of the hope that, by the end of this exercise, you would appreciate a great deal, my presentation of the various perspectives relative to the subject matter, and in conclusion, rightly agree that indeed, Fante, is the most romantic Ghanaian language, therefore, the most romantic language in the world.
Where does a lost language go ?
Language is the foundation of human identity. In all its forms—whether it’s written, spoken, drawn, or signed—it has given us access to learn about societies that date back centuries before our time. It is a way for people and societies to connect and interact.
How Wolof became the dominant language in Sénégal.
As I walked through the streets of Dakar in Sénégal, I heard the whispers of Wolof all around me: Na nga def, mangi fi rekk, toubab. The words all blended together to my untrained ears. As a foreigner, I’d wrongfully expected to hear French, since Sénégal is a former colony of France. I later appreciated that the local language of the Wolof people was thriving here, unerased by the forces of colonization.
If you speak Arabic, you must be ___
For most of my life, I have straddled this reckless line of never being African enough and also never being Arab enough. As a Libyan, I have been told I break the mold of who should be an Arab and cannot be placed in one of the countries in the Levant, Machrek and Maghreb regions. The cultural rule of thumb is: if you speak Arabic and you don’t belong to one of those countries then you are not a “true” Arab speaker.
Sign Languages:
Non-Oral Languages of Africa
Many linguists describe communication in most African regions as being heavily oral. Historically, many stories have been passed down through word of mouth. But what happens when you do not speak with words, or listen with your ears? Different types of communication within African cultures are rarely discussed. What is not widely known is that African regions have a long …
Yoruba Is the Gift My Grandmother Gave Me
Yoruba is a language that exists entirely in the realm of my grandmother’s house, and here, in this church, where it is mine and ours, where I finally feel like a part of something.
Xhosa on the international stage
Behind every click, tonal pattern and phoneme, we hear a language so familiar to southern Africa and the continent. It is the language that was taken to the international stage, and amplified Makeba’s exoticness through her music, by having her sing her “click” songs—a diminutive term that white South Africans and Americans used to mimic the Xhosa language. A ‘click song’ to the colonial ear, ‘Qongqothwane’ to the Xhosa ear, but in its essence a song of good fortune.
Creoles: The Soulful Language of Black Folk
Language is an integral element of our identities. It serves as an embodiment of our communities, our heritage, and oftentimes, our history. Our words can be used to express our deepest truths, but the dialect that we speak them in can reveal hidden stories that we may have been completely unaware of.
Difficult love and camaraderie:
Representing sapphic sexualities in African cultures
I’d often wonder if African peoples from before they were colonized had more comprehensive concepts of what constitutes a person, and how they understood romantic and sexual encounters between people. I wonder if by revisiting some of these concepts and reintroducing them, we can build a bridge to better care for, and respect queer Africans. Indegious african perspectives on sexuality are desirable, but not necessary to guarantee the dignity of members of our community.
