African Languages in the Diaspora

Abstract The African continent has been characterized by migration for ages. This concerns not only inner-African migration but also migration from Africa to other places of the world. To be sure, this has resulted in a spread of African languages beyond the borders of the continent, while this spread has yielded various processes of transformation and language contact phenomena. This chapter seeks to examine the major linguistic processes and developments that are connected to African languages in the Diaspora. Moreover, some light will be shed on the role that African languages or the African linguistic heritage play in African Diaspora communities, especially with regard to their function as strong markers of cultural identity.