Shows that multilingualism does not pose for Africans the problems of communication that Europeans imagine and that the mismatch between policy statements and their pragmatic outcomes is a far more serious problem for future development.

Particular attention is paid to the Nigerian experience which, as the most populous of the African states with many years' experience in the formulation of language policy, furnishes an invaluable intra-African example for policy makers in other parts of Africa, particularly in South Africa, where crucial decisions on language policy are currently under discussion. The essays in this volume clearly show that multiculturalism, pluralism and multilingualism as facts of African life have to be seen positively as resources upon which development must be built and not as impediments to national unity and development. The contributors' cross-disciplinary approach demonstrates the basic fact that all facets of social life, from the farm and the factory to the home or the debating chamber, are embedded in language.