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7 - Economy and Language in Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 March 2020

By
Paulin G. Djité
Edited by
Cécile B. Vigouroux  and
Salikoko S. Mufwene
Cécile B. Vigouroux
Affiliation:
Simon Fraser University, British Columbia
Salikoko S. Mufwene
Affiliation:
University of Chicago
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Summary

One of the root causes of the poor economic performance and fragility in Africa is the marginalization of the majority of the people, due to the absence of efficient and effective language policy and planning. Language policy and planning in Africa will need to focus on the management of multilingualism as a fundamental tool to achieve sustainable and long-term endogenous development. This chapter explores the nexus between language and the economy, and presents an economic situation that is directly impacted by the current language policies on the continent.

Keywords

Language policy and planningmultilingualismfragilityeconomic performance and development
Type
Chapter
Information
Bridging Linguistics and Economics , pp. 182 - 202
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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