Transcommunality

In Languages and Literatures of Africa, Alain Ricard presents African languages and literatures in a new perspective focusing on the dialogue between them. An historical overview provides new insights into literatures of Africa, both oral and written. This book examines the dialogue between literatures written in different languages: Thomas Mofolo wrote Chaka (1926) in Sesotho and Sol Plaatje wrote Mhudi (1931) in English, but their novels should be read in counter-point. The same could be said of Senghor and Soyinka, involved in a conversation on Africa's future that lasted for several decades. Many African writers use more than one language: Okot p'Bitek (Acoli and English), Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Gikuyu and English), Amadou Hampate Ba (Fula and French), Alexis Kagame (French and Kinyarwanda). This book focuses on linguistic consciousness and the place of language in the writer's consciousness, providing an original treatment of the African literary situation. It expands and updates the original French edition which has been so widely welcomed.Ricard, Alain is the author of 'Transcommunality' with ISBN 9781592213009 and ISBN 1592213006.