The linguistic diversity of Africa is considered by some to be a problem for its people. For example, estimates range from as low as 800 to just over 2,000 languages spoken within the continent. In fact, there still exist some languages with no writing systems. This lesson introduces students to the study of languages, known as linguistics, and explores the linguistic categorization of African languages—including an examination of the possible causes for, and effects of, such language diversity. Students will think about language's role in shaping the environment, and the role of the environment in shaping language(s).

Geography, history, language arts, social studies

Standard 10: "The characteristics, distribution, and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics"
Standard 13: "How the forces of cooperation and conflict among people influence the division and control of Earth's surface"
Standard 18: "How to apply geography to interpret the present and plan for the future"

Two to four hours

• Computer with Internet access
• Writing materials

Students will

• explore (potential) language diversity within the classroom;
• define linguistic studies and discuss the need for such studies;
• research characteristics of Africa such as size, number of countries, topography, and total population;
• explore language diversity within Africa and discuss how language differences—or similarities—have led to cooperation and conflict within Africa; and
• present to the class findings on a current event gleaned from individual, or group, research conducted on a single African country.

Open the lesson by asking if there are any students who speak in a language other than English. For classes in which there are multilingual students, ask students if they would be willing to share with the class some common universal phrases translated into their known foreign language(s) (e.g., "hello," "goodbye," etc.) and/or even do a 1–10 number count. For classes with no multilingual students, begin the lesson by sharing examples of common universal phrases in some more commonly familiar spoken foreign languages. For example, if you engage your students in this lesson at the start of the day, you might consider sharing with the class how to say "good morning/day" in languages such as Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, German, and French.

Ask your students if there are any benefits to being a multilingual speaker. Are there any drawbacks to being a multilingual speaker?

Ask students if they can name any of the languages spoken in Africa (e.g., Swahili, Zulu, Ashanti, Yoruba), and then direct them to the Internet Public Library's Say Hello to the World page to find recordings of some common words and phrases in African languages.

Activity 1:
Ask the class if anyone knows what a linguist studies. Once the term has been defined, ask the class what need is served by the study of languages. [Language can reveal much about historical and sociological factors related to the extension and diffusion of cultures.]

In relation to the exploration of language diversity within Africa, have students access the Internet to answer the following questions individually, or in groups no greater than three [Tip: You may encourage students to get through this activity quickly by offering a prize for the first student or group to finish]:

1. What is the total land area of Africa?
2. How many countries make up Africa?
3. Describe the topographic variance of the African landscape (e.g., How does the landscape of sub-Saharan Africa differ from that of Northern Africa?).
4. What is the current total population of Africa? Give some examples of ethnic groups in Africa.
5. How many different languages are spoken in Africa? [Students are likely to come up with a variety of answers to this question, which should then prompt a discussion of the challenges faced by linguists in their efforts to classify and categorize languages.]

Activity 2:
Have the students access the Columbia Encyclopedia's entry on African languages to learn more about language families. [Note for students that the entry opens with a definition of African language, which may appear to some as an incomplete sentence.]

Have students read the introductory section to answer the following questions:

1. How are African languages classified? Why do you think African languages are classified this way?
2. What does the term 'African languages' historically mean, and how are these languages divided?
3. According to the Columbia Encyclopedia, what is the estimate for the number of languages spoken in Africa? In your opinion, why is there such variation among estimates?
4. What is a common feature of indigenous African languages? Is this a noticeable feature in the English language?
5. What is the general term for each of the principle linguistic families of Africa?

Activity 3:
Have students select one of the four Afro-Asiatic languages listed and read the corresponding section of the encyclopedia entry. Ask students to take notes on things such as the names and number of branches within their chosen language families, names and number of branch subdivisions, and any unique characteristics. Students may wish to access this online webbing tool to track visually the families, branches, and subdivisions.

Have students access the Languages of Africa map to help illustrate the extent of African language families.

Lead a discussion to compare and contrast students' findings on language families (e.g., Which language family is the most diverse [contains the greatest number of branches and branch subdivisions]? Which is the simplest [contains the least number of branches and branch subdivisions]?).

Activity 4:
Have students conclude this portion of the lesson by reading the closing section, titled "Twentieth-Century Developments," and then have them answer the following questions:

1. Two of Africa's major linguistic families, the Niger-Kordofanian and Nilo-Saharan languages, still do not have a writing system. Why is this now becoming an increasingly important issue?
2. Does the writer see Africa's linguistic diversity as a help or a hindrance to the African people? Why?
3. Why is the modern scientific study of African languages beneficial for Africans?
4. How does the study of African languages relate to people of non-African cultures? Why is it important to the rest of the world?

Have students read the article Dreams of a United Africa to answer the following questions:

1. The Organization for African Unity met in 2000 for what purpose?
2. According to the article, how many Africans were forced to leave their homes in 1999 and why did they leave?
3. To what single event do some trace Africa's troubles, and which countries were involved?
4. What colonial legacy remains in the wake of the Cold War?
5. According to Richard Roberts, why is the border between Nigeria and Benin such a "fascinating case"?

Ask your students to discuss their thoughts on the interrelation between language and conflict in Africa; then, have them propose and discuss solutions to address these problems.

Have students work individually, or in groups no greater than three, on the research of a particular African country's language characteristics, population figures, and topography. The method of selection will be left open to the teacher (e.g., assign, let students choose themselves, or have them draw from a hat). Have students organize a body of knowledge consisting of specific characteristics of their African country; then, have them search for a current event that is somehow tied to the language diversity of their country.

Instruct students to think geographically about the impact of language on the development/existence of the country they are studying, and about the significant impact that a country's culture and physical geography have on the development/existence of a language.

Tell students that their research will be presented to the class at a scheduled presentation time. Presentations may include (but are not limited to): imagery of the state's geographic location, population, language characteristics, state flag, people, etc.; and a discussion about the role that language has played in the current event being presented. If students choose a current event that involves a problem(s) within a country, have them suggest possible solutions in their presentations.

One possible news source is allAfrica.com.

• Have students do a web search for Africanisms in the English language. For example, some African words in Gullah have entered American English, including goober ("peanut"), gumbo ("okra"), and voodoo ("witchcraft").


• Have students watch the film The Gods Must Be Crazy. Students will be introduced to the highly unique and extremely interesting Khoisan language of the San Bushmen, which incorporates the extensive use of click sounds. They will not only see western culture from the viewpoint of the Bushmen, they will also get the opportunity to see Africa's beautiful landscape. After students watch the film, have them write a reaction paper on their impressions of Bushmen culture and society (e.g., What differences did they perceive between the Bushmen's culture and their own? What similarities? What was their favorite part of the film?).

Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001, African Languages Entry
Ethnologue Country Index
Internet Public Library: Say Hello to the World
Language Museum
Languages of Africa Map
Links to Language Resources on the Web
National Geographic Magazine: Africa MegaFlyover—Charting the Last Wild Places on Earth
National Geographic News: Dreams of a United Africa
National Geographic News: Explorer on Initiative to Document Cultures on the Edge
allAfrica.com