African Languages Studies Programs around the world
AFRICA: Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambico, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan,
EUROPE: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland,
USA: Boston University, Cornell University, Five Colleges African Studies Program, Harvard University, Howard University, Indiana University, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, Ohio University, Stanford University, University of California at Berkeley, University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), University of Florida, University of Georgia, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin Madison, Yale University
AFRICA. African Languages and Linguistics courses are offered by:
Malawi
- University of Malawi, Chancellor College, African Languages and Linguistics Department
- University of Malawi, Center for Language Studies
Senegal
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Dept. of Applied Language Studies
- Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Depr. of Language & Literature
- North-West University, School of Languages
- Rhodes University, Dept. of English Language and Linguistics
- Rhodes University, School of Languages
- Stellenbosch University, Dept. of African Languages
- University of Johannesburg, Dept. of African Languages
- University of Johannesburg, Dept. of Linguistics and Literary Theory
- University of KwaZulu-Natal University of Limpopo, School of Language and Communication Studies
- University of Pretoria, Dept. of African Languages
- University of South Africa, Dept. of African Languages
- University of South Africa, Dept. of Linguistics
- University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, Dept. of African Languages
- University of the Western Cape, Dept. of Linguistics, Language and Communication University of Venda, MER Mathivha Centre for African Languages
Zambia
EUROPE
- Wien Universität, Institut für Afrikawissenschaften. African Studies within the humanities and social sciences at the University of Vienna, Austria. (website in German)
- Universiteit Gent, Vakgroep Afrikaanse / Department of African Languages and Cultures. The BA and Ma programme in African Languages and Cultures is unique in Belgium. In the first year all students have to follow three main subjects: 'Sociolinguistics of Africa', 'Cilubà I' and 'Introduction to African Linguistics'. Specialisms within the programme are: sociolinguistics and critical discourse analysis with applications on present-day phenomena; colonial linguistics and history; computational linguistics en lexicography; anthropology of present-day popular culture and youth movements.
Germany
- Bayreuth Universität, Institut für Afrikastudien (IAS). The IAS promotes and coordinates African studies in 14 disciplines distributed over four of the six faculties of the University of Bayreuth. Bachelor and Master degree programmes offered: African Languages, Literatures and Art (BA); African Language Studies (MA). For information on the doctorate programme, see BIGSAS: Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies. A database lists all publications produced within the framework of Africa-related research (see here) and the Ph.D. and Habilitation Theses on Africa-related topics presented at the University of Bayreuth (see here).
- Berlin Humboldt-Universität (HU), Seminar für Afrikawissenschaften. Institut für Asien- und Afrikawissenschaften. Part of the Department of Asian and African studies; three disciplines: History in Africa, African linguistics and African literatures and cultures. (website only in German)
- Frankfurt am Main, Goethe Universität, Zentrum für Interdisziplinäre Afrikaforschung (ZIAF) / Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Africa is an amalgamation of scientists and scholars from various faculties of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. Current projects in African Linguistics are: Diachronic stratification of language contacts in the Sahel and Sudan zones, Language contact between Atlantic and Mande languages in Guinea.
- Hamburg Universität Asien-Afrika Institut, Abteilung für Afrikanistik und Äthiopistik. From linguistic basic research (language documentation) to the application orientated sociolinguistic research, and languages and literatures of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Part of the Department of Asia-Africa. (website in German)
- Köln Universität, Institut für Afrikanistik. The institute is part of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Cologne. Research and teaching areas are the languages and literature as well as the history and cultures of Africa south of the Sahara. The focus is set on the analysis and description of the approximately 2000 languages of Africa.
- Leipzig Universität, Institut für Afrikanistik. Institute of African Studies at the University of Leipzig spans a wide multidisciplinary range which is characterised by the combination of linguistics, philology, historical and social sciences as well as cultural studies.
- Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien (IfEAS). The department covers a broad spectrum in both teaching and research activities. These include not only classical topics in anthropology, but also the politics and sociology of development, modern popular culture (particularly literature, music, theatre and film), and the languages of Africa. Online publications: Swahili Forum.
Italy
- Istituto Universitario Orientale, Napoli (Central, North, & Northeast Africa, Middle East, and Asian Studies). Born in the 1732, the "Orientale" University of Naples is the oldest school of Sinology and Oriental Studies in Europe and has a strong tradition of language, cultural and social studies, both ancient and modern, relating to Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The following courses are available in the academic year 2008-2009: African and Asian Languages and Cultures, Asian and African Linguistics.
- Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente, Roma. The Italian institute for Africa and the East is a public corporate body for the study and the knowledge of the countries of Africa and Asia, under the Office of the Foreign Business supervision. Heir of a long history, that goes up again to his foundation in 1932, it offers various activities, as courses of languages, cycles of lectures, conferences, studies, and a rich library.
- Venice University, Faculty of Letters and Philosophy. African Linguistics: course available in the academic year 2009/2010 (Ilaria Micheli).
Leiden, Afrika-Studiecentrum / African Studies Centre. The ASC is an independent scientific institute that generates and disseminates knowledge on Africa. The ASC's main aim is to promote a better understanding and insight into historical, current and future societal developments in Sub-Saharan Africa. It publishes books and articles (see here African Studies Abstracts Online), organizes seminars and has an extensive library that is open to the general public. The focus of the ASC's research is directed by a social-sciences perspective in its broadest meaning, i.e. including not only the social sciences as such and economics but also such disciplines as history, law, ecology, nutrition and linguistics.
- Warsaw University, Faculty of Oriental Studies, Dept. of African Languages and Cultures has three sections: Ethiopian, Hausa and Swahili Studies and offers a five-year program. Graduates are awarded a Master of Arts degree and have possibilities to specialize in one of the following disciplines: linguistics, literature, history and sociology.
- Centro de Estudos Africanos da Universidade do Porto (CEAUP). African Linguistics courses.
- Göteborg University, Studies in African Languages. Part of the Department of Oriental and African Languages. Provides insights into the language situation in the African countries, as well as skills in describing and analysing individual African languages.
- Basel Universität, Zentrum für Afrikastudien. With the foundation of the Centre for African Studies Basel (CASB), the University of Basel has created a prominent centre for Africa-related teaching and research in Switzerland. The Centre is supported by the Faculty of Philosophy and History, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and the Theological Faculty. The Centre also profits from courses offered by other universities, particularly those of Zurich (African languages).
- Zürich Universität, Seminar für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaften. Fachverein Allgemeine Sprachtwissenschaft Afrikanistik (FASA)
- University of London: SOAS: The School of Oriental and African Studies. SOAS is a college of the University of London and the only Higher Education institution in the UK specialising in the study of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East. The School also produces The Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies wich contains contributions to the knowledge of Asian and African languages, culture, history, religion and literature.
- The African Studies Center (ASC) at Boston University offers courses in several African languages, including Hausa, Bambara, Setswana/Sesotho, Swahili, Yoruba, Zulu, Arabic. Also, the African Studies Center collaborates with the Department of Africa & African American Studies at Havard University.
- Cornell University's Africana Studies and Research Center is concerned with the examination of the history, culture, intellectual development, and social organization of Black people and cultures in the Americas, Africa, and the Caribbean. Its program is structured from an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective and presents a variety of subjects in focal areas of history, literature, social sciences, and African languages including Swahili, Yoruba, Zulu.
Five College African Studies Program
- Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and University of Massachusetts comprise the Five Colleges. No campus of the Five Colleges has sufficient teaching resources on Africa to enable you to complete the certificate program, but collectively, the five campuses taken together provide one of the richest resources of African Studies expertise and courses anywhere in America. The Five College Center for the Study of World Languages also supports instruction in African languages including Swahili and supervised independent study in Twi, Woloff, Yoruba, Hausa, and Zulu.
- Department of African and African American Studies. Established in 2003, the African Language Program in the Department of African and African American Studies offers instruction in more than ten languages every semester. African languages can be taken to fulfill the foreign language requirement for Harvard College. These languages are a core part of the African Studies Track in the Department of African and African American Studies (AAAS) and relate well to a variety of courses within Harvard College, and other constituents of Harvard University. All language offerings are contingent upon enrollment of at least two Harvard undergraduate students or one graduate student.
- Howard University, African Studies Department. Since 1991 offers undergraduate and graduate african studies programs, including African Language.
- Indiana University. African Studies Program. The African Languages Program at IUB regularly offers courses in Bambara/Bamana, Kiswahili, Twi, and Zulu. We offer Kiswahili and Twi as intensive summer courses, as well as other languages, such as Wolof, Luo, and Moroccan Arabic, on demand.
- African Studies Center at Michigan State University. The Center, through the Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages, offers instruction in 30 African languages. Regular classroom instruction is offered by faculty for Arabic, Hausa, and Swahili. 27 languages are offered in the learner-oriented, on-demand, and faculty-supervised program for the graduate student and research scholars, ensuring the availability of languages needed for all major regions of Africa.
- African-American and African Studies (AAAS), Ohio State University. A multidisciplinary curricula includes courses in literature, music, history, psychology, sociology, political science, community development and African languages (Kiswahili and Isizulu).
- Ohio University, Center for African Studies. African languages offered at Ohio University: Akan, Kiswahili, Wolof, Somali, Tigrinya. Published by the Department of Linguistics and the Center for African Studies : Studies in African Linguistics.
- Stanford University, Center for African Studies. CAS coordinates with UC Berkeley to form the joint Stanford/Berkeley joint center for African Studies in areas as anthropology, art and history, economics, education, engineering, law, political science and African languages. CAS offers a lot of African languages courses, including Swahili, Igbo, Xhosa, Zulu.
University of California at Berkeley
- Centre for African Studies. The CAS, in partnership with the Dept. of Linguistics, the Dept. of African American Studies and the Berkely Language Center, works to support the African language learning needs of students and faculty. Language courses available: Kiswahili, Wolof, Zulu; in the recent past: Afrikaans, Amharic, Bamana, Lingala, Malagasy, Shona, Xhosa and Yoruba.
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
- University of California at Los Angeles, African Studies Center (UCLA) The African Studies Center at UCLA was established in 1959 to further stimulate the growing national interest in the region and to develop outreach, academic, and research programs on Africa. African Languages at UCLA: UCLA offers regular instruction in Swahili, Afrikaans, Berber, Yoruba, Zulu (via distance learning with UC-Berkeley).
- University of Florida, Center for African Studies. The Center directs, develops, and coordinates interdisciplinary instruction, research, and outreach on Africa. Florida is the only comprehensive National Resource Center located in the Southeastern United States. The Center has over 100 affiliated teaching and research faculty in a wide variety of fields, including: languages, the humanities, the social sciences, agriculture, business, engineering, education, fine arts, environmental studies and conservation, journalism, and law.
- Georgia University, African Studies Institute. The African Languages Program is a unit in the Department of Comparative Literature. For the time being, 3 languages, Swahili, Yoruba and Amharic are being taught at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels. Swahili has a longer history at the University of Georgia, having been initiated in 1988. The instruction of Yoruba started in 1996. The instruction of Amharic began in 2007. The languages program is very popular with over 100 students a year.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, Center for African Studies. Established in 1970, the Center for African Studies at the University of Illinois is one of the leading African studies programs in the United States. The Center has an outstanding Africana library collection, a wide range of course offerings, including regular instruction in African languages, and an interdisciplinary Master of Arts degree program. Languages offered include Arabic, Bamana, Swahili, Lingala, Wolof, and Zulu.
- African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania provides courses in African languages and cultures to undergraduate and graduate students at Penn and the consortium colleges of Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore, as well as for other neighboring colleges and universities. African language courses are offered from elementary through advanced levels, and they are taught by native speakers who are trained in communicative language teachin. The following courses are offered: Amharic, Chichewa, hausa, Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili, Igbo, Oshiwambo, Twi, Wolof, Zulu, Shona, Yoruba, .
University of Wisconsin Madison
- The National African Language Resource Center, at the University of Wisconsin Madison (NALRC), was established in September 1999. It is a federally funded, nonprofit national foreign language center dedicated to the advancement of African language teaching and learning in the United States. The activities and services of the Center are in the following areas: National African Language Program Coordination; African Language Material, Development & Dissemination; Professional Development for African Language Educators; Research in African Language Pedagogy; African Language Program Development & Evaluation
- Department of African Languages and Literature. The mission of the Department of African Languages and Literature is to provide research and teaching in the areas of African languages, linguistics, literature, and oral traditions. Major Languages offered: Akan-Twi, Arabic, Hausa, Swahili, Xhosa, Yoruba.
- The Yale Council on African Studies supports and coordinates the study of Africa within Yale University. African studies at Yale began in the late 18th century with Divinity School study of African languages. Yale was one of the first universities to incorporate African studies into its mainstream curriculum prior to World War II. Competence in African language is essential for an appreciation of the complexities of African societies. At present, the Yale program offers regular courses in three major African languages: Swahili, Yoruba, and Zulu. The courses are open to undergraduates and graduate students.
