The Power of Babel: Language & Governance in the African Experience Paperback - 1998
by Mazrui, Ali Alamin/ Mazrui, Alamin M
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Description
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Details
- Title The Power of Babel: Language & Governance in the African Experience
- Author Mazrui, Ali Alamin/ Mazrui, Alamin M
- Binding Paperback
- Edition [ Edition: First
- Condition New
- Pages 235
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Univ of Chicago Pr, Chicago
- Date 1998
- Features Bibliography, Index
- Bookseller's Inventory # x-0226514293
- ISBN 9780226514291 / 0226514293
- Weight 0.81 lbs (0.37 kg)
- Dimensions 9.63 x 6.06 x 0.75 in (24.46 x 15.39 x 1.91 cm)
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Themes
- Cultural Region: African
- Ethnic Orientation: African
- Religious Orientation: Islamic
- Library of Congress subjects Sociolinguistics - Africa, Africa - Languages
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 97032844
- Dewey Decimal Code 409.6
From the rear cover
The Power of Babel draws on Ali Mazrui's earlier work in its examination of the "triple heritage" of African culture, in which indigenous, Islamic, and Western traditions compete for influence. In bringing the idea of the triple heritage to language, the Mazruis unravel issues of power, culture, and modernity as they are embedded in African linguistic life. The first section of the book takes a global perspective, exploring such issues as the Eurocentrism of much linguistic scholarship on Africa; part two takes an African perspective on a variety of topics from the linguistically disadvantaged position of women in Africa to the relation of language policy and democratic development; the third section presents a set of regional studies, centering on the Swahili language's exemplification of the triple heritage. The Power of Babel unites empirical information with theories of nationalism and pluralism -- among others -- to consider the future of a linguistically pluralisticAfrica and to offer the richest contextual account of African languages to date.
Media reviews
Citations
- Univ PR Books for Public Libry, 01/01/1999, Page 31