Panafrican

Master’s and PhD Project in African languages 

and Applied Linguistics
(PAMAPAL)

Background

The idea of developing a Panafrican Master’s and PhD program in African Languages and Applied Linguistics stemmed from discussions among a network of African language scholars on the “intellectualization” of African languages, that is, the gradual use of these languages in secondary and tertiary education as well as in other high-status functions. These discussions evolved into what is now the project for “Implementing the Language Plan of Action for Africa” (ILPAA), which was adopted in Yaoundé, Cameroon, in February 2004. ACALAN is the African Union’s technical institution charged with coordinating and assisting member states with the development and implementation of language policy and language-related programs on the continent.

The aim of PAMAPAL is to train qualified linguists, language professionals, educators and other practitioners to become specialized in African languages and the application of relevant linguistic theory in the resolution of the issues and challenges that arise in the implementation of status, corpus and acquisition planning connected with the intellectualization project. In this regard, we are especially concerned about the facilitation and establishment of mother tongue-based bi/multilingual educational systems on the continent. As in most other regions of the world, African culture in general and African languages in particular are also threatened by the current trend of globalization, manifested in, among other phenomena, the global hegemony of English. The role of African universities in this context is to ensure that the languages of the people are appropriately positioned in all domains of life. If African languages are to be strengthened in order to be one of the decisive features of the African renaissance and of the “African century” (with all that this implies in social, economic and political terms), a dedicated, competent corps of language professionals has to be created and consolidated in the course of the next ten years, more or less.

To read more and learn about the form and content of the program and all essential features of its delivery, please click here.

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