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Whilst continuing to call for further diverse citation practices in pre-modern African Studies how do we also address the diversity of the language of scholarship? It’s impossible to know all the languages but how much are people aware of what actually exists? /1
First: eg does anybody know what non-European languages a PhD in Africa can be produced in beyond Amharic and Arabic? How much of this work is engaged with or even known? Why are African scholars only known if they publish primarily in English or French? /2
Journals published in Africa need more engagement (eg Nigeria, Ethiopia, S Africa) but even these are mostly in English. Are there works in African languages which people need to be more aware of? /3
Second: the dominance of Anglo-/Francophone literature needs to engage more widely –eg why do so many studies (1400-1700) largely solely look at English, Dutch, French interactions and have this divide with Portuguese studies? Why is Portuguese usually the language not learnt? /4
Third(1): Even in Europe, how many people are aware of the Polish works on Nubia and West Africa? The Greek works on Nubia and Ethiopia? The Russian works on Benin/West Africa? Please note others /5
Third(2): or, more globally, the Japanese work on Nubia? Even works written in European languages but outside of that academy (eg South America)? Are there other common omissions? Please note any others /6
I’m equally guilty because there is too much for one person to engage adequately with, as always we need more collaborations. What works on pre-1500 Africa not written in English, French, German, or Italian do you think should and need to get more attention? /7
This is very much only an initial set of questions and examples (not to even mention source linguistic analysis needs), with many more needed to be had as well as the need for translating works for a wider global audience /8
