Zilibele Mtumane – författare

This collection explores topical and current issues in indigenous African language literature of South Africa. These include narratological elements of literature, language usage, poetry analysis, and song lyrics. Each scholar presents findings that are particular to their research, thus making the book a valuable source of knowledge penned in a diversity of writing styles across different literary genres.

Seventy per cent of the chapters are written in English and thirty per cent in isiZulu, a gesture towards encouraging research presentations in indigenous languages. Also of interest is that the chapter content covers traditional or largely obsolete forms such as folklore and essays.

Print edition not for sale in Sub Saharan Africa.

This collection explores topical and current issues in indigenous African language literature of South Africa. These include narratological elements of literature, language usage, poetry analysis, and song lyrics. Each scholar presents findings that are particular to their research, thus making the book a valuable source of knowledge penned in a diversity of writing styles across different literary genres.

Seventy per cent of the chapters are written in English and thirty per cent in isiZulu, a gesture towards encouraging research presentations in indigenous languages. Also of interest is that the chapter content covers traditional or largely obsolete forms such as folklore and essays.

Print edition not for sale in Sub Saharan Africa.

This book argues the case for indigenous African languages, which have been stripped of their importance and are now often overshadowed - both officially, through governmental language policies, and informally, through attitudes and ideologies - by former colonial languages. The authors present case studies from a range of countries in the region, arguing that languages tell us peoples’ identities, and that by dropping their own languages in favour of foreign and imperialist languages they lose their culture, history and identity as well. The book addresses many of the challenges currently associated with African languages, with the intention of influencing policy and practice in favour of their resuscitation. This book will be of interest to policy makers, academics and tertiary students in fields including Language Policy and Planning, Language Revitalisation, Heritage Language Learning, Indigenous and Endangered Languages, and Language Attitudes and Ideologies.