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Articles · Vol. 35 No. 1-2 (2010): Africa Development: Special Issue on Language, Literature and Power in the Public Sphere

Trans-nationalizing the African Public Sphere: What Role for Trans-border Languages?

  • Maimouna Barro
    Maimouna Barro
    Center for African Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. Email: barro@illinois.edu
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Vol. 35 · 2010 No. 1-2 Africa Development: Special Issue on Language, Literature and Power in the Public Sphere AD

Abstract

At a time when the notion of ‘trans-national public spheres’ is gaining more and more currency in academic circles, the role played by languages, and trans-border languages in particular, cannot be ignored in our attempts to rethink the African public sphere. In the African context, language has been a major factor in determining cultural and ethnic identity among various groups, whether they live within the same nation-state or are territorially dispersed. This situation problematizes the idea of a Westphalian citizenry resident in a national territory, and challenges the assumption that lan- guages map onto states. This paper focuses on the Fulfulde language – a trans-border language spoken across several national boundaries in West Africa – and assesses ways in which trans-border languages contribute to the emergence of a transnational public sphere in Africa.

Trans-nationalizing the African Public Sphere: What Role for Trans-border Languages?

À une époque où la notion de « sphères publiques trans-nationales » se répand de plus en plus dans les milieux universitaires, le rôle joué par les langues en général et les langues transfrontalières en particulier ne peut être ignoré dans nos efforts pour repenser la sphère publique africaine. Dans le contexte africain, la langue a été un facteur important dans la détermination de l’identité culturelle et ethnique au sein de différents groupes, qu’ils vivent au sein de le même État-nation ou qu’ils soient éparpillés sur des territoires. Cette situation rend problématique l’idée d’une citoyenneté westphalienne résidant sur un territoire national, et conteste l’hypothèse que les langues correspondent plus aux États. Ce document met l’accent sur la langue fulfulde -une langue transfrontalière parlée à travers plusieurs frontières nationales en Afrique de l’Ouest- et évalue les moyens par lesquels les langues transfrontalières contribuent à l’émergence d’une sphère publique transnationale en Afrique.

Keywords

Transnational Public Sphere Trans-border Fulfulde Puular Languages Africa

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Author Biography

  • Maimouna Barro

    Center for African Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA. Email: barro@illinois.edu

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