This shows that multilingusim does not pose for Africans the problems of communication that Europeans imagine and that the mismatch between policy statements and their pragmatic outcomes is a far more serious problem for future development

African oral literature, like other forms of popular culture, is not a form of domestic entertainment but a domain in which individuals in a variety of social roles are free to comment on power relations in society. It can also be a significant agent of change capable of directing, provoking and recasting social reality.

Oral communication is quite different in its spontaneity and communicative power from textual and visual communication. Culturally-bounded expectations of ways of speaking and individual creativity provide the spark that can ignite revolution or calm the soul. This book explores, from a cross-cultural perspective, the centrality of orality in the ideological processes that dominate public discourse, providing a counterbalance to the debates that foreground literacy and the power of written communication.

This collection examines the way in which oral texts both reflect and affect contemporary social and political life in Africa. It addresses questions of power, gender, the dynamics of language use, the representation of social structures and the relation between culture and the state.

Radio has played a pivotal role in situations of conflict, crisis, change and development on the African continent. Local radio stations are as important as international broadcasters being both the barometers and agents of change. North America: Praeger

Introducing poetry, prose, songs and theatre from Nigeria, this engaging volume blends translated extracts with a rich commentary on the historical development and modern context of this hugely creative culture. Examining imaginative prose-writing, the tale tradition, popular song, Islamic religious poetry and modern TV drama amongst other topics, this is a clear and accessible book on a literary culture that has previously been little-known to the English-speaking readership.

First published in 1988, this book is a landmark in the study of one of the major African languages: Hausa. Hausa is spoken by 40-50 million people, mostly in northern Nigeria, but also in communities stretching from Senegal to the Red Sea. It is a language taught on an international basis at major universities in Nigeria, the USA, Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle and Far East, and is probably the best studied African language, boasting an impressive list of research publications. As Nigeria grows in importance, so Hausa becomes a language of international standing.

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