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So Many Languages to Choose from: Heritage Languages and the African Diaspora

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Handbook of Research and Practice in Heritage Language Education

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

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Abstract

This chapter highlights the difficulties inherent in defining heritage languages for immigrant Africans in the various African diasporas and provides key arguments in favor of coalescing efforts for immigrant heritage language development in the diaspora around a few African national languages, rather than the many indigenous African languages. It also provides key considerations, including the influence of language use in the immigrants’ home countries, on diaspora language use, language competence, home language practice by families, assimilative narratives that oppose linguistic diversity, and the availability of linguistic resources, such as books, that would support heritage language development. Recommendations and possible solutions for surmounting some of these challenges are also provided.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), Indianapolis, IN, USA

    James Kigamwa

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  1. James Kigamwa
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Correspondence to James Kigamwa .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. OISE/University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Peter Pericles Trifonas

  2. CERES/University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    Themistoklis Aravossitas

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Kigamwa, J. (2018). So Many Languages to Choose from: Heritage Languages and the African Diaspora. In: Trifonas, P., Aravossitas, T. (eds) Handbook of Research and Practice in Heritage Language Education. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44694-3_21

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