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Language Community Identity

Published on Multilingual April 2017, Community Lives How often these days are we asked for our ID? Doctors, hospitals, airlines, traffic cops and even some stores when we are paying up. They all want to verify that we are who we say we are, to establish that our identity is correct. But identities extend the… Read More »Language Community Identity

How two young boys preserved an entire language community (Part 3)

This is the third and concluding part of this blog series based on an interview I held with Abdoulaye and Ibrahima Barry. In the first part, I briefly introduced the creators of the ADLaM script and their journey so far. The second part dwelt on the factors which mitigate the promotion and use of indigenous languages. Here, I… Read More »How two young boys preserved an entire language community (Part 3)

How Two Young Boys Preserved an Entire Language Community (Part 1)

Language is an important part of our human heritage. It is the vehicle through which we communicate our innermost thoughts and feelings, as well as transmit culture, identity, ideologies, and values from one generation to another. This means that the language of a people essentially represents their unique existence. However, as shown by recent research,… Read More »How Two Young Boys Preserved an Entire Language Community (Part 1)

The ever-changing world of terms

Word shift. Loanwords. Portmanteau words. What sort of terms are these? Well, these are the terms we use to describe changes in the vocabulary of a language and therefore changes to the language itself. Language changes constantly and this extends from the level of words all the way to sentence structure. Have you ever used… Read More »The ever-changing world of terms