Language and Development Conference 2015 (& CFP)

The eleventh in a series of biennial Language and Development Conferences will be held in New Delhi, India on 18-20 November 2015, with the theme "Multilingualism and Development." Of the previous ten conferences, two have been held in Africa (2005 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa) and the other eight in various parts of Asia. Nevertheless, the conference topics seem as relevant to African realities as those in Asia and elsewhere.

In its own words, the conference series

... explores the role of language in development. It addresses the issues of world, national, second and minority languages and the role they play in economic, social and cultural development; language policy, conflict transformation, language rights and identity; communication, education and development and language pedagogy.

The current theme - Multilingualism and Development - begins with the simple observation that "Linguistic and cultural diversity is a fact of life in developing countries...," under which several subthemes and suggested topic areas (relevant for the call for papers - submissions due 26 June 2015 12 July 2015 - deadline extended) are outlined:

• Multilingualism and the metropolis
• The issues that might be addressed include but are not limited to the following:
• Identifying and describing the linguistic implications of urbanisation
• The benefits of linguistic hyperdiversity
• Linguistic barriers experienced by migrant populations in urban contexts
• How schools, health clinics and other government services cater for speakers of dozens of different languages in super-diverse urban contexts
• The practice of MTB MLE - and the capacity of schools to provide it - in multilingual urban contexts
• Social division as an unintended consequence of MTB MLE in multilingual contexts
• Multilingualism in semi-urban and urban non-metropolitan contexts
• Language, technology and multi-literacies
• Digital media as threat or opportunity for minority languages
• Digital media and non-Latin-based writing systems
• The use of digital media at times of crisis and natural disasters, especially in multilingual societies
• Digital media and language choice in education
• Digital literacy, language and gender
• Multilingualism, marginalisation and empowerment
• The tension between ideas of ‘development’ and formal education systems
• Educating girls and empowering women in multilingual societies
• Endangered languages and endangered livelihoods
• Language, identity and violence
• The role of parents in multilingual contexts
• Multilingualism in rural contexts, particularly in the context of accessing markets
• Prospects for indigenous peoples and speakers of minority languages in multilingual nations
• The roles of English in multilingual developing countries: empowering or marginalising?
• Describing and responding to the phenomenon of low cost private English-medium schools catering to the economically marginalised

The attention to English among the possible issues is perhaps a function of the British Council's co-sponsorship, as well as the fact that English is one of the official languages of India (which is hosting this year's conference). No problem there, but it is notable the prominence of Britain in organization of many of the past conferences, and the absence of major donor countries like the US and France. UNESCO and the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) are listed among the co-sponsors of the 2013 event,  Germany's GTZ was a cosponsor of the 2011 conference, and several Australian organizations were involved in organizing some of the early conferences.

The problem with calling some languages "local"

Only in Africa, it seems, can a language spoken by millions be called a "local language." The term is used widely, not just in Africa, and although I've also used it, I'm increasingly finding it problematic as employed in African contexts for two main main reasons:

1. It is inexact, often serving as a catch-all term for languages other than the main Europhone official languages, from those like Akposso that are truly localized in use, to languages like Hausa spoken across many borders by many people of many backgrounds as a first or second language. 
2. It is misleading. As a term, "local language" implies a low rank of importance relative to "official language" or "language of wider communication," when for some languages and/or in some contexts such a hierarchy of importance would be inappropriate. In Senegal and Mali, for instance, Wolof and Bambara, respectively, are spoken more widely than French, but are sometimes referred to as "local languages." Such indiscriminate use of the term arguably pigeonholes languages and disincentivizes thinking about their use in communication, education, extension, etc.

At this point, I'd like to suggest that more thought be given to using the term "local language" when speaking and writing about African languages. It probably should be used much more sparingly than it is now. Sometimes a language really is local, but other times, what we may call "local language" in Africa is actually more widely spoken than some European languages that we probably never would call "local."

It may be that a key piece in more deliberate use/non-use of "local language" in Africa is informing development, health, diplomatic, and other specialists about the sociolinguistics, culture, and policies regarding African languages in areas they work. Should a basic course about African languages and multilingualism in development and contemporary society (this is different than studying a language or intro to African cultures) be part of the education of non-Africans planning to work in Africa?