An Introduction to African Languages

Providing an introduction to the linguistic study of African languages, the orientation adopted throughout this book is a descriptive-structural-typological one, as opposed to a formal-theoretical approach.
This book introduces beginning students and non-specialists to the diversity and richness of African languages. In addition to providing a solid background to the study of African languages, the book presents linguistic phenomena not found in European languages. A goal of this book is to stimulate interest in African languages and address the question: What makes African languages so fascinating? The orientation adopted throughout the book is a descriptive one, which seeks to characterize African languages in a relatively succinct and neutral manner, and to make the facts accessible to a wide variety of readers. The authors lengthy acquaintance with the continent and field experiences in western, eastern, and southern Africa allow for bot