About the Project

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Microvariation and Youth Language Practices in Africa​​

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Youth languages are found in many parts of Africa. By studying the ways in which young people use language we can understand more about how youth languages emerge and how language change works. This project focuses on the Bantu speaking area. This is a vast area in Africa which hosts between 450-600 languages which are closely related and spans central, eastern and southern Africa.

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Key aspects

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key questions

The project is structured around four key questions which seek to identify commonalities and differences in youth language practices found in the regions under examination. It asks:

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Logo Icon Microvariation and youth language practices in Africa

Languages in Focus

The project focuses on four languages:

Kiswahili

and its youth languages Sheng, Lugha ya Mtaani, Yabacrâne and Kindubile

Lingala

and its youth languages (Lingala ya Bayankee, Kindoubil, Langila)

isiNdebele and isiZulu

with their speakers’ youth languages (Iscamtho/Scamto, S’ncamtho)

Chichewa

and its youth language Chibrazi

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Kiswahili

Kiswahili is a widespread language spoken in several eastern African countries by at least 100 million people. Kiswahili has long played a crucial role as a lingua franca throughout the region and exhibits a lot of historic and current variation.

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Lingala

Lingala is a contact language spoken by at least 40 million speakers. It emerged in the Congo Basin during the 19th century. A widely recognised language of music, media, popular culture and the police/military across the country, Lingala plays an important role in youth language practices and exhibits interesting variations.

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isiNdebele & isiZulu

IsiNdebele and IsiZulu are two closely related languages spoken in Zimbabwe and South Africa respectively. IsiZulu is well-documented and spoken by about 10-15 million people while Zimbabwean isiNdebele is spoken by about 5 million people.

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Chichewa

Chichewa is spoken by around 12 million people. It is the national language and the most commonly spoken language in Malawi.

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International Team of Experts

The project brings together an international team of experts and is structured around four streams of work. The team in the UK will lead the workstream focusing on Kiswahili and the team in Germany will lead the workshop focusing on Lingala. The two teams will work jointly on isiZuluisiNdebele, as well as a final comparative stream. Crucial to the project is the involvement of international experts and close collaboration partners based on the continent.