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Yet despite the officially marginalized status
of many African languages on the continent and African-based creoles and
language styles in the diaspora, these varieties are the articulators of
dynamic identities, both old and new. Far from enjoying a simple covert
prestige by their native speakers, language forms associated with Africa and
the diaspora have circulated widely through the channels of popular music
(African-American English and rap, Jamaican Patwa and reggae, French Creole
and zouk), religion (Arabic and Black Islam, Yoruba and Orisha worship), and
ethnic solidarity building (Swahili in the African American community). These
language varieties have entered into the public domain and the public cultural
consciousness in regions far removed from the places where they are spoken as
native languages. The fact remains, however, that their currency as forms of
popular expression (and their use in low and middle-level economic activity)
are unsupported by policies that promote their standardization and development
as vehicles of social, educational, and economic opportunity. The proposed
program will be used to explore this contradiction as well as to describe and
analyze these language forms and their power to capture the imagination of
both speakers and listeners.
Next: Importance of Empirical Research
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Harold Schiffman
8/17/2000