This volume, originally published in 1970, presents a survey of the languages spoken in an area extending from the Atlantic coast at the Sengal River eastward to the Lake Chad region. The area covered by this volume is mainly a goegraphical one, so it follows that not all the languages included are related to one another, though a certain degree of homogeneity appears.

This text offers a critical examination of aspects of the politics of the role of English in Africa and its Diaspora. It looks at its changed location in the post-Cold War era and the challenges it poses to the enduring quest for intellectual liberation, pan-Africanism and Afrocentricity. The study also explores the spaces and possibilities for appropriating the language towards a counter-hegemonic African-centred agenda under the present global order.

This bestselling text by Charles Barber recounts the history of the English language from its ancestry to the present day.

The history and development of English, from the earliest known writings to its status today as a dominant world language, is a subject of major importance to linguists and historians. In this book, a team of international experts cover the entire recorded history of the English language, outlining its development over fifteen centuries. With an emphasis on more recent periods, every key stage in the history of the language is covered, with full accounts of standardisation, names, the distribution of English in Britain and North America, and its global spread. New historical surveys of the crucial aspects of the language are presented, and historical changes that have affected English are treated as a continuing process, helping to explain the shape of the language today. This complete and up-to-date history of English will be indispensable to all advanced students, scholars and teachers in this prominent field.

This book introduces readers to the rich and fascinating history of West Africa, stretching all the way back to the stone age, and right up to the modern day. Over the course of twenty seven short and engaging chapters, the book delves into the social, cultural, economic and political history of West Africa, through prehistory, revolutions, ancient empires, thriving trade networks, religious traditions, and then the devastating impact of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and subsequent colonial rule. The book reflects on the struggle for independence and investigates how politics and economics developed in the post-colonial period. By the end of the book, readers will have a detailed understanding of the fascinating and diverse range of cultures to be found in West Africa, and of how the region relates to the rest of the world. Drawing on decades of teaching and research experience, this book will serve as an excellent textbook for entry-level History and African Studies courses, as well as providing a perfect general introduction to anyone interested in finding out about West Africa.

Rarely has a book so packed with accurate and well researched factual information been so widely read and popularly acclaimed. This Second Edition of The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language has been fully revised for a new generation of language-lovers. The book is longer and includes extensive new material on world English and Internet English, in addition to completely updated statistics, further reading suggestions and other references. First Edition Hb (1995): 0-521-40179-8 First Edition Pb (1997): 0-521-59655-6 David Crystal is a leading authority on language, and author of many books, including most recently Shakespeare's Words (Penguin, 2002), Language and the Internet (Cambridge, 2001) and Language Death (Cambridge, 2000). An internationally renowned writer, journal editor, lecturer and broadcaster, he received an Order of the British Empire in 1995 for his services to the English language.

The first volume devoted to interrogating the complex relationship -- both historic and contemporary -- between the United States and West Africa. Over the last several decades, historians have conducted extensive research into contact between the United States and West Africa during the era of the transatlantic trade. Yet we still understand relatively little about more recent relations between the two areas. This multidisciplinary volume presents the most comprehensive analysis of the U.S.-West African relationship to date, filling a significant gap in the literature by examining the social, cultural, political, and economic bonds that have, in recent years, drawn these two world regions into increasingly closer contact. Beginning with examinations of factors that linked the nations during European colonial ruleof Africa, and spanning to discussions of U.S. foreign policy with regard to West Africa from the Cold War through the end of the twentieth century and beyond, these essays constitute the first volume devoted to interrogating thecomplex relationship -- both historic and contemporary -- between the United States and West Africa. Contributors: Abdul Karim Bangura, Karen B. Bell, Peter A. Dumbuya, Kwame Essien, Andrew I. E. Ewoh, Toyin Falola, Osman Gbla, John Wess Grant, Stephen A. Harmon, Harold R. Harris, Olawale Ismail, Alusine Jalloh, Fred L. Johnson III, Stephen Kandeh, Ibrahim Kargbo, Bayo Lawal, Ayodeji Olukoju, Adebayo Oyebade, Christopher Ruane, Anita Spring, Ibrahim Sundiata, Hakeem Ibikunle Tijani, Ken Vincent, and Amanda Warnock. Alusine Jalloh is associate professor of history and founding director of The Africa Program at the University of Texas at Arlington. Toyin Falola is the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities and University Distinguished Teaching Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

Filled with real examples of the way people use English in different contexts, The Routledge Dictionary of English Language Studies is an indispensable guide to the richness and variety of the English language for both students and the general reader. From abbreviation to zero-article, via fricative and slang, the Dictionary contains over 600 wide ranging and informative entries covering: the core areas of language description and analysis: phonetics and phonology, grammar, lexis, semantics, pragmatics and discourse sociolinguistics, including entries on social and regional variation, stylistic variation, and language and gender the history of the English language from Old English to the present-day the main varieties of English spoken around the world, covering the British isles, the Caribbean, North America, Africa, Asia, and Australasia stylistics, literary language and English usage.

From Sanskrit to Scouse, this book provides a single-volume source of information about the English language. The guide is intended both for reference and and for browsing. The international perspective takes in language from Cockney to Creole, Aboriginal English to Zummerzet, Estuary English to Caribbean English and a historical range from Beowulf to Ebonics, Chaucer to Chomsky, Latin to the World Wide Web. There is coverage of a wide range of topics from abbreviation to Zeugma, Shakespeare to split infinitive and substantial entries on key subjects such as African English, etymology, imperialism, pidgin, poetry, psycholinguistics and slang. Box features include pieces on place-names, the evolution of the alphabet, the story of OK, borrowings into English, and the Internet. Invaluable reference for English Language students, and fascinating reading for the general reader with an interest in language.

A Companion to the History of the English Language addresses the linguistic, cultural, social, and literary approaches to language study. The first text to offer a complete survey of the field, this volume provides the most up-to-date insights of leading international scholars. An accessible reference to the history of the English language Comprises more than sixty essays written by leading international scholars Aids literature students in incorporating language study into their work Includes an historical survey of the English language, from its Germanic and Indo- European beginnings to modern British and American English Enriched with maps, diagrams, and illustrations from historical publications Introduces the latest scholarship in the field