The modern use of Arabic script for African languages

Some work on the modern use of Arabic script for African languages (especially Hausa) has appeared recently:

• Andy Warren-Rothlin, ‘Script Choice, Politics, and Bible Agencies in West Africa’, The Bible Translator: Technical Papers 60.1, 50-66.

• Andy Warren-Rothlin, ‘Arabic script in modern Nigeria’, in Roger Blench and Stuart McGill (eds), Advances in Minority Language Research in Nigeria Vol. 1 (Kay Williamson Educational Foundation African languages monographs 5; Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, 2012) 105-21. (For the full volume, see http://www.koeppe.de/titel_details.php?id=632)

Further broader work in this field is also expected later this year in a Brill volume on The Arabic Script in Africa, edited by Meikal Mumin and Kees Versteegh.

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Report on the First West Chadic Language Workshop

Report on the First West Chadic Language Workshop, held in Jos, 20-21^st April, 2012

 Roger Blench

A workshop was held in Jos, 20-21^st April, 2012, to bring together speakers of West Chadic languages, especially those concerned with either developed or potential orthographies. In practice, most of the languages represented were A3 languages. Speakers of the following languages attended;

• Ngas
• Mwaghavul
• Mupun
• Takas
• Chakfem
• Mushere
• Goemai
• Ywom
• Geji

As well as a survey team from Language Development Facilitators, staff of TCNN and a deputation from the Department of Linguistics, Nassarawa State University were also in attendance. More details of the programme are on the attached pdf. The workshop was used as an opportunity to record basic sociolinguistic and lexical data for lesser-known languages, including Ywom, Takas, Mushere and Cakfem. Video interviews with speakers were also recorded to introduce the languages and to make a plea for outside assistance with language development. These will be posted on Roger Blench’s YouTube page shortly.