The Languages of Africa and the Diaspora Educating for Language Awareness

This book takes a fresh look at subordinated vernacular languages in the context of African, Caribbean, and US educational landscapes, highlighting the social cost of linguistic exceptionalism for speakers of these languages. Chapters describe contravening movements toward various forms of linguistic diversity and offer a comprehensive approach to language awareness in educative settings.

Jo Anne Kleifgen is Associate Professor of Linguistics and Education and co-directs the Center for Multiple Languages and Literacies at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her interests include discourse in multilingual classrooms, the use of new technologies to support Haitian and Latino bilingualism/biliteracy and communicative practices in high-tech, multilingual workplace settings. George Clement Bond is the Director of the Center for African Education and William F. Russell Professor for Anthropology and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. His interests include education and elite formation in the United States and Africa, African studies, African religions and politics, agrarian transformations and cultural dimensions of urban and minority populations.