African languages still missing out on social media platforms. A new book discovers
According to Prof. Motsaathebe, the publication seeks to contribute to broader debates on language inclusion, democracy and digital participation in Africa.
Black News 
A new book which tackles the issue of native languages in Africa and how the dialects shape social media platforms politically, has been released.
Co-edited by Prof. Gilbert Motsaathebe, who is the deputy dean for teaching and learning in the Faculty of Humanities at the North-West University (NWU), the publication explores how African indigenous languages are used and represented in political communication on digital platforms.
Titled ‘Digital Political Communication and Indigenous Languages in Africa,’ the book was co-edited with Dr Limukani Mathe and published by Palgrave Macmillan.
The publication examines how social media platforms such as Twitter, also known as X, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram shape political communication involving African indigenous languages.
The writer argues that despite growing calls for the decolonization of media and communication spaces, African indigenous languages continue to receive limited visibility across major digital platforms.
The Tanzania Times asked some experts in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to share their observations on the matter and majority agreed that English still dominates social media communication on the continent.
“It is sickening to also realize that African languages are only used for jokes, silly memes and short light videos for entertainment, but when it comes to all serious matters, including politics, people seem to switch on either English or French,” they pointed out.
Now, the new book further investigates how these languages are used in participatory journalism and citizen-driven online discussions.
According to Prof. Motsaathebe, the publication seeks to contribute to broader debates on language inclusion, democracy and digital participation in Africa.
“Social media platforms continue to play a major role in shaping political communication on the African continent, yet indigenous languages remain underrepresented in many digital spaces,” he said.
The Don added that the book examines how local language discourses operate in online environments where citizens actively participate in political conversations and interpretation of events.
“These forms of expression are central to understanding political communication in Africa today because they reflect how communities engage with issues using their own languages and cultural contexts,” said Prof. Motsaathebe.
The publication also highlights the opportunities and challenges presented by digital platforms in promoting linguistic diversity and democratic engagement.
Through contributions from different scholars, the book explores how online communication can both empower and marginalise indigenous language communities.
Prof. Motsaathebe thanked the contributing authors and the publisher for supporting the project.
“I extend my appreciation to all contributors and to Palgrave Macmillan for their support in bringing this publication to life,” he said.
The book forms part of ongoing scholarly conversations on digital media, political communication, decolonisation and African language visibility in contemporary media spaces.
