Language and Mobility in Africa

Lisan Matters Circle organizes:

Language and Mobility in Africa Conference

13-Nov-2025 | 14-Nov-2025

Faculty of Letters and Humanities Ain Chock |Hassan II University of Casablanca

Casablanca | Morocco

Migration into and within Africa has been increasingly motivated by social, political, educational and economic purposes. Movements of peoples in contemporary times, en-masse or in smaller groups have an impact on language practices in multilingual Africa. These movements raise a number of interesting questions such as; What changes are there in contexts where different languages come into contact as a result of different people mobility? How mobile are languages and how stable are the language effects owing from these interactions or contact situations? Who are the main actors in shifting language practices and use? What are the motivations of language use in contexts of migration and mobility and how does this shape language ideologies? What new forms of language practice and multilingualism emerge in such contexts? Are some languages stigmatized and how does a migration or mobility context feed into dominant versus less dominant languages? What role do heritage languages play in day-to-day language practices as well as in use in different societal contexts such as education, civil services, politics, health and law enforcement?

This two-day conference aims to discuss how recent migrations and ongoing peoples’ mobility impacts and interacts with language use in different contexts in Africa and the diaspora with a focus on movements within and into the continent. The conference is an opportunity to engage with some of the questions above and will also be open to exploring other adjacent issues to do with the effects of mobility on language.

Keynote Speakers

Hind Tak-Tak

University of Hassan II of Casablanca

Morocco

Miriam Weidl

University of Vienna

Austria

Rajendra Chetty

University of the Western Cape

South Africa

Tony Capstick

University of Reading

United Kingdom

Organized by: