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Paper short abstract

In this paper I advocate for a sociolinguistic approach to African migrations within the continent. I argue that a South-to-South focus prompts us to highlight the role of economic practices in the spread of languages in contact settings.

Paper long abstract

This paper takes as its point of departure the following observations: 1) Research on South-to-North migrations has been over-represented in migration studies in comparison to that of its South-to-South counterpart; 2) the linguistic dimension of population movements has hardly been considered by Africanists working on migrations within the continent; 3) there is a scarcity of sociolinguistic descriptions about the ways in which African speakers manage their language repertoires in different settings and, broadly, in different socio-cultural ecologies; 4) our knowledge on the linguistic diversity of the continent is still spotty; and 5) the inaccuracy of the early descriptions and codification of African languages that created arbitrary linguistic and socio-cultural boundaries complicates our task as analysts of language dynamics.

Based on different first-hand and second-hand fieldwork data, I show how a sociolinguistic approach can contribute to a better understanding of migrations within the continent. For instance, it highlights the fact that mobility is linked to a world of practices and ideologies; therefore it cannot be reduced to spatial trajectories, as refined as our description of them may be. I argue that examining migrants' language repertoires gives us access to this world of practices in which the repertoires reflect speakers' histories of social encounters. Finally I argue that a South-to-South focus prompts us to examine the role of economic practices in the spread of languages in contact settings.