Research on Language Status and Language Policies in African Countries was released at a news conference at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) on March 31.

The new book, as an achievement of the State Language Commission’s key project: Language Status and Language Policies in African Countries, was recently published by the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

Participants of the news conference of Research on Language Status and Language Policies in African Countries gather for a group photo. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Li Hongfeng, leader of the project and dean of the School of African Studies at BFSU, reviewed the process of the project and expressed his gratitude to supportive experts and scholars at home and abroad.

Luo Lin, head of the Academy of International and Regional Studies at Beijing Language and Culture University and vice-chairman of the Foreign Language and Literature Teaching Steering Committee under the Ministry of Education, congratulated the team on the release of the book and highlighted the correlation and mutual promotion between foreign languages and regional and country studies.

Luo added that he believes the development of BFSU’s regional and country studies enjoys broad prospects and a promising future.

Gou Haodong, former minister-counselor of the Chinese embassy in Tanzania and deputy representative of the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the African Union, encouraged Chinese researchers engaging in African studies to conduct more field research and make greater contributions to building a community of a shared future between China and Africa.

Zhang Tianwei, deputy head of the National Research Centre for State Language Capacity, spoke highly of the project outcomes and gave suggestions from the perspective of constructing philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics.

Fu Rong, a professor at the Faculty of French and Francophone Studies at BFSU, analyzed the role foreign language teaching plays in promoting the development of language policies and other fields in a speech titled “Language Policies and Foreign Language Teaching”.

Participants of the news conference share insights on Research on Language Status and Language Policies in African Countries. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

Li Anshan, a professor emeritus at Peking University, expounded on the significance of languages to humanistic research and language policy studies, and affirmed the book’s contributions in enriching the content and connotation of China’s African studies in his concluding speech.

Xu Ye (L), secretary of the CPC branch of the schools of Asian and African Studies at BFSU, and Gou Haodong (R), former minister-counselor of the Chinese embassy in Tanzania and deputy representative of the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the African Union, unveil the book. [Photo/bfsu.edu.cn]

The book, with substantial and innovative content, has filled the gaps in China's research on language status and language policies in African countries, provided references for national language capacity building, and will play a role in improving the integrity of China's African studies, according to those who participated in the news conference.