Linguistics in Africa: Introductory Note by the Editor

Extract

The present number of Africa is devoted to linguistic questions and deals with a number of tasks with which the Institute is concerned. The notes on the results achieved by the publication of the Short Guide to the Recording of African Languages bear on the survey and classification of African languages, and are related to the general report published in the January number of Africa, and at the same time to Dr. Lukas's article on the situation in the area lying between the Nile and Lake Chad. Dr. Lukas's contribution is the first of a series of articles in which it is intended to cover the whole of Negro Africa and to show in detail the present condition of linguistic research of the area dealt with in each article, the existing gaps in our knowledge, and the work to be undertaken in the near future; the articles will also help to classify the languages spoken in each area.