Bloomsbury Academic French in Multilingual Anglophone Africa: Language, Literature, and Translation in Nigeria

Examining the impact of French language in Nigeria, this book discusses the prospects of French language use for development as well as its connection to literature and translation. Despite its ambiguous and indistinct official status in the country, French remains the preferred foreign language in Nigeria and academia. Michael Akinpelu and Tunde Ajiboye’s, French in Multilingual Anglophone Africa: Language, Literature, and Translation in Nigeria discusses how the French language is not only taught as a foreign language in Nigerian higher education, but is also an important linguistic code for literary creation, translation, and interpretation, blending local and international francophone cultures. Part I explores issues related to bilingualism, language resource management, and comparison between French and local languages. Part II considers the French language’s exploitation in relation to translation and interpretation with particular interests in cultural challenges. Part III provides historical context tracing the evolution of literary engagement of Nigerian writers’ contact with French and evolving perspectives on the language in Nigerian literature from the 1930s to present day. Using case studies, classroom fieldwork, and policy analyses, this book shows how French in multilingual Africa is not just a mode of communication, but a powerful instrument of socio-economic integration and mobility in a globalized world.