Language in Southern Africa (SoSe 2024)

 Southern Africa represents a ‘melting pot’ of cultures and languages. Relative isolation in early history, the diffusion of pastoralism and agriculture, European colonialism, apartheid and modern urbanism have left their linguistic legacy. This reading course will explore the languages of the subcontinent, the phenomena of language contact and pidginisation, and language policy in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and possibly Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Angola. The course assumes some familiarity with basic linguistic concepts from the introductory modules on African languages.