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African Language Program

Languages of Africa at Boston University

Are you interested in world cultures?

How broad is your horizon?

How rich your cultural perspective?

Is your foreign language no longer foreign?

Looking for classes of a more reasonable size? Tired of language classes where you can’t get a word in edgewise? Enjoy fulfilling your language requirement through the African Language Program. Become fluent in a language and in a culture. The importance and the value of being multilingual and multicultural will become clear to you. Make the world smaller by making your world larger.

The African Studies Center at Boston University can offer you an important selection of African languages - you are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn to speak an African language and to become culturally literate, with an African teacher, in a small group.

Africa is not as Anglophone, Francophone, and Lusophone as the British, French, and Portuguese would like us to think. Learn how to interact with Africans in their own languages, so that when you visit Africa, or go there to live or to work, you will have a totally different experience. Americans have been known to require visitors to their country to speak to them in understandable American English. Africans, on the other hand, are pleasantly surprised when they find that a visitor has made an effort to learn their language, and then extremely encouraging no matter how many mistakes you make.

Today there are more and more opportunities for study and work abroad in Africa. Boston University has a semester abroad internship program in collaboration with the University of Niamey, Republic of Niger.

Boston University offers you the unique opportunity to learn an African Language. You can now learn one of a number of widely spoken languages of Africa offered by the African Studies Center.

Courses in African languages are offered every semester, depending on student needs. Students benefit from learning in small numbers, from African instructors, in a comfortable environment with emphasis on spoken proficiency. African languages may be used to satisfy both undergraduate and graduate language requirements.

Regularly offered languages now include Zulu, Swahili, Twi and Arabic; Xhosa will be offered in the Spring and Wolof and Pulaar are expected next year. Each of these is offered through the third-year level. Other, less commonly taught languages may be offered upon demand.

Intensive instruction in a wide range of African languages is available to BU students during the summer, and is offered in cooperation with other African studies programs. Overseas study of the major languages of Africa in the intensive summer format is also possible through Boston University and its consortium partners. The African Language Program makes an effort to place undergraduate and graduate students in summer and study abroad programs in which they can use their African language.

The Minor in African Languages and Literatures enables undergraduates to study three years of an African language and to choose from a wide range of electives, including courses in African literature, oral traditions, education systems, and linguistics.


African Language Program

The African Studies Center offers several languages depending on student needs. Students benefit from learning in small numbers from African instructors in a comfortable environment with emphasis on their communicative and functional proficiency. African languages may be used to satisfy both undergraduate and graduate language requirements. The core of regularly offered languages usually includes Hausa, Mandinka-Bambara, and Swahili; each of these can be studied through the third-year advanced level. Arabic is also offered by Department of Modern Languages through the second-year intermediate level. Other, languages offered on demand include Amharic, Capeverdean, Ewe, Igbo, Kanuri, Lingala, Wolof, and Zarma-Songhai, among others.

Learning a foreign language enriches your world. Enhance your career goals by studying an African Language at Boston University. It will prepare you better, for example, to work with international organizations, non-government organizations (NGOs) or the Peace Corps Volunteers program.

Language is not just a means of communication. It is also a carrier of the culture and history of its speakers. For example, by studying Kiswahili at Boston University, you will also learn about East African culture and society, its ancient and modern roots. Study of Yoruba will take you closer to one of the largest and most dynamic populations of West Africa, and Zulu will introduce you to Southern Africa. In addition, you can:

  • Fulfill BU's Foreign language undergraduate requirement
  • Obtain a Graduate Certificate in African Studies
  • Be competitive in applying for scholarships and financial support. For example, you may become eligible for a FLAS fellowship (Foreign Language Area Studies) to fund your studies at BU
  • Prepare yourself to participate in BU's Study Abroad Programs or Group Project Abroad programs organized every summer by different US universities
  • African languages are challenging but fun to learn (Talk to our current and former students)
  • Get to meet other students with similar interests
  • Participate in fun events during the year of study (e.g. African Language Theater Night every Spring and Fall)
  • If you are a student from another university in the Boston area (e.g. Brandeis, UMass, Harvard, etc.) you can also cross-register at Boston University and get full course credit at your home university

For more information contact Zoliswa Mali, at the African Studies Center, 270 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215 @ 617-353-5137 or e-mail zolimali@acs.bu.edu

 
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June 1, 2007