Share your favourite fun facts about African languages!
Do you know any interesting riddles or proverbs in the languages you work on or speak? Words with a surprising etymology, or an unusually specific meaning? Are there any words from an African language that ended up being borrowed in European languages like English, French or Dutch? For Stemmen van Afrika (‘Voices of Africa’), we are looking for fascinating linguistic facts that could be of interest to the non-academic but curious public. Any idea would be very welcome!
Stemmen van Afrika is a website maintained by a group of Africanists who aim to promote African languages and linguistics among the wider, Dutch-speaking public. We are working on a new way of sharing knowledge on African languages, through a so-called “scheurkalender”: a tear-off calendar. This is a typically Dutch phenomenon consisting of a calendar with a separate page for each day, which is torn off after reading. We want to fill each page with interesting facts about African languages and in order to come up with ideas, we need your help.
Submit your ideas, data, suggestions, or references through the form below.
Thank you for sharing your ideas with us!