3 - Trans-nationalizing the African Public Sphere: What Role for Trans-border Languages?
Corresponding Author(s) : Maimouna Barro
Africa Development,
Vol. 35 No. 1-2 (2010): Africa Development: Special Issue on Language, Literature and Power in the Public Sphere
Abstract
At a time when the notion of ‘trans-national public spheres’ is gaining more and more currency in academic circles, the role played by languages, and trans-border languages in particular, cannot be ignored in our attempts to rethink the African public sphere. In the African context, language has been a major factor in determining cultural and ethnic identity among various groups, whether they live within the same nation-state or are territorially dispersed. This situation problematizes the idea of a Westphalian citizenry resident in a national territory, and challenges the assumption that lan- guages map onto states. This paper focuses on the Fulfulde language – a trans-border language spoken across several national boundaries in West Africa – and assesses ways in which trans-border languages contribute to the emergence of a transnational public sphere in Africa.
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- Ade-Ajayi, J.F. and Crowder, M., 1972, History of West Africa, New York: Columbia University Press.
- Bâ, A.H., 1972, Aspects de la civilisation africaine, Paris: Présence africaine.
- Bamgbose, A., 1991, Language and the Nation: The Language Question in Sub-Saharan Africa, Edinburgh University Press.
- Chumbow, B.S., 2005, ‘The Language Question and National Development in Africa’, in Thandika Mkandawire ed.
- Fagerberg-Diallo, S., 2001, ‘Constructive Interdependence: The Response of a Senegalese Community to the Question of Why Become Literate’, in D. R. Olson and N. Torrance, eds., The Making of Literate Societies, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
- Gueye, T.Y., 1983, Rella, ou Les voies de l’honneur, Dakar: Nouvelles Editions Africaines.
- Habermas, J., 1991, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry Into a Category of Bourgeois Society, Cambridge, Massachussetts: MIT.
- Jallo, Y.D., 1993, Ndikkiri Jom Moolo, Ndakaaru [Senegal]: Goomu Winndiyan koobe Demde Ngenndiije.
- Kane, A.E., 1999, Markere, Dakar: Nouvelles Editions Africaines. Kane, C.H., 1961, L’aventure Ambigue, Paris: Julliard.
- Kane, C.H., 1995, Les Gardiens du Temple, Paris: Stock.
- Kestleloot, L., 2001, Histoire de la literature negro-africaine, Paris: Karthala. Mkandawire, T., ed., African Intellectuals: Rethinking Politics, Language and Gender in Africa, London: Zed Books.
- Mohammadou, A., 2000, ‘Nouvelles Tendances en Littterature Peule’, in U. Beaumgardth and A. Bounfour, eds., Panorama des Litteratures Africaines, L’Harmattan/INALCO.
- Parker, R., 1991, ‘The Senegal-Mauritania Conflict of 1989: A Fragile Equilibrium’, Journal of Modern African Studies, 29 (1): 155-171.
- Pulaagu: Revue de Prestige du Festival des Arts et de Culture des Foulbes, Edition Speciale 2008, Dakar: Imprimerie Graphi Plus.
- Seydou, C., 2000, ‘Literature Peule’, in U. Beaumgardth and A. Bounfour, eds., Panorama des Litteratures Africaines, L’Harmattan/INALCO.
- Tocqueville, A. de, 2000, Democracy in America, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
References
Ade-Ajayi, J.F. and Crowder, M., 1972, History of West Africa, New York: Columbia University Press.
Bâ, A.H., 1972, Aspects de la civilisation africaine, Paris: Présence africaine.
Bamgbose, A., 1991, Language and the Nation: The Language Question in Sub-Saharan Africa, Edinburgh University Press.
Chumbow, B.S., 2005, ‘The Language Question and National Development in Africa’, in Thandika Mkandawire ed.
Fagerberg-Diallo, S., 2001, ‘Constructive Interdependence: The Response of a Senegalese Community to the Question of Why Become Literate’, in D. R. Olson and N. Torrance, eds., The Making of Literate Societies, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Gueye, T.Y., 1983, Rella, ou Les voies de l’honneur, Dakar: Nouvelles Editions Africaines.
Habermas, J., 1991, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry Into a Category of Bourgeois Society, Cambridge, Massachussetts: MIT.
Jallo, Y.D., 1993, Ndikkiri Jom Moolo, Ndakaaru [Senegal]: Goomu Winndiyan koobe Demde Ngenndiije.
Kane, A.E., 1999, Markere, Dakar: Nouvelles Editions Africaines. Kane, C.H., 1961, L’aventure Ambigue, Paris: Julliard.
Kane, C.H., 1995, Les Gardiens du Temple, Paris: Stock.
Kestleloot, L., 2001, Histoire de la literature negro-africaine, Paris: Karthala. Mkandawire, T., ed., African Intellectuals: Rethinking Politics, Language and Gender in Africa, London: Zed Books.
Mohammadou, A., 2000, ‘Nouvelles Tendances en Littterature Peule’, in U. Beaumgardth and A. Bounfour, eds., Panorama des Litteratures Africaines, L’Harmattan/INALCO.
Parker, R., 1991, ‘The Senegal-Mauritania Conflict of 1989: A Fragile Equilibrium’, Journal of Modern African Studies, 29 (1): 155-171.
Pulaagu: Revue de Prestige du Festival des Arts et de Culture des Foulbes, Edition Speciale 2008, Dakar: Imprimerie Graphi Plus.
Seydou, C., 2000, ‘Literature Peule’, in U. Beaumgardth and A. Bounfour, eds., Panorama des Litteratures Africaines, L’Harmattan/INALCO.
Tocqueville, A. de, 2000, Democracy in America, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.