The Executive Secretary of the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN), Dr. Lang Fafa Dampha has disclosed that ACALAN’s meeting with the Centre for Research and Documentation on African Traditions and Languages (CERDOTOLA) and the International Centre for Bantu Civilization (CICIBA) held recently in Yaounde was geared towards developing the linguistic atlas for the Central African region.

Dr. Dampha said, “In view of strengthening of partnership in the domain of development and promotion of African languages, this meeting with CERTODOLA and CICIBA is specifically on the development of linguistic atlas for Central Africa. The linguistic atlas whose objective is to determine the number of African languages, their interrelations and dialectical variations is one of the six components of ACALAN.

“The linguistic atlas is been developed in terms of regional economic communities, ACALAN as AU language agency operates in terms of regional economic communities because the AU considers these regional economic communities as building blocks of African integration and development. This is why we are here today to collaborate with the Economic Communities of Central African States and the regional institutions of languages and culture. We have two such institutions like that here – CERTODOLA and CICIBA and to try to see how we can come together to maximise our efforts in trying to develop the Atlas of this region.”

At the end of the 2-day meeting, partnership among ACALAN, CERTODOLA and CICIBA in terms of development and promotion of African languages was strengthened. A roadmap that will lead to an effective development of the linguistic Atlas of the Central Africa and management structure of the linguistic atlas of this region was developed and the regional and national coordinators were formed, the scientific and technical committee for the Atlas project for the region was also be instituted.

Also the academy visited the PANMAPAL which is a pan-African Master’s and Doctorate program in African Languages and Applied Linguistics.