Dear colleagues,
The Editorial Board of the Journal of West African Languages (JWAL) wishes to inform you that we have reached the 50th edition of the journal this year. The year 2023 is JWAL Golden Jubilee Anniversary Year, and is worth celebration! To celebrate this golden jubilee, the Board has agreed to the following theme:
50 Years of Research on West African Languages
Besides publishing the usual JWAL Vol 50.1 and 50.2, we intend to publish a collection or collections of JWAL Vol 50.xx issues to commemorate this anniversary. The difference between the articles in the usual volumes and these anniversary volumes would be that the articles in the anniversary volumes will be REVIEW ARTICLES which are expected to be anywhere from 8000 to 10000 words. Each article will be on a particular topic that has featured prominently in the journal for over the past half century. The article would revisit and review important issues on the topic and summarise the major results achieved, propose new findings, and then point to how the topic might develop in the next 10 to 50 years or so.
Prominent and emerging scholars of West African linguistics are therefore encouraged to submit proposed topics and short abstracts between now and the end of January to be assesssed; a few examples are already provided below. Our goal is to get up to 50 such articles, which will be published online at the journal website as they get assessed and accepted from May until October and then collected together into the special bonanza golden anniversary issue, both in online and hard copy formats. Don't be left out in what is expected to be a rich record of the research in West African linguistics over the past 50 years.
The deadline for submitting a review article is May 31st 2023.
Proposed Review Articles for JWAL Golden Jubilee Special Issue:
1. Ekkehard Wolff: 'New perspectives on Central Chadic historical phonology and lexical reconstruction'.
2. Flavien Gbeto: Gbe Implosives
3. Annie Rialland: Intonation in West African languages
4. Felix Ameka and co-authors: Variation in Ewe Grammar (several articles)
5. Akinbiyi Akinlabi and co-authors: The syntax/phonology interaction of tone in Dan, a language of Cote D'Ivoire
6. Adams Bodomo and co-authors: Serial verb constructions in West African languages: 50 years on
7.
8.
9.
10.
.
.
.
.50.
NB: SUBMISSION TO THE GOLDEN JUBILLEE SHOULD BE SENT TO: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We are delighted to announce the latest edition of the Journal of West African Languages.
The Volume 49.2 is now available for free download here.
We are delighted to inform you that JWAL has been approved for inclusion in ERIH PLUS.The ERIH PLUS listing of the journal is available here
NOTES TO CONTRIBUTORS (Revised May 2016 for on-line publishing)
Contributors are asked to submit their document in as nearly the same format as would appear on the on-line page. Formerly the final formatting had to fit the traditional page size of JWAL as printed. Now that articles will appear only on line they can be formatted to fit an A4 page. See below for details.
EDITORIAL PROCEDURE: When manuscripts are received, they will be acknowledged. Before a decision on publication is made, articles will be reviewed by the Editor, and when he is satisfied, he will pass them to a referee for evaluation. This process takes some time. Every effort will be made to give authors a decision regarding publication as soon as possible.
AUTHORS should give their names, separate from the article, in the form in which they wish them to appear under the title of the article and in the references. The author’s institution should also be given, as well as their full mailing address and any available e-mail address.
METHOD: Submission should no longer be in paper form but electronically by e-mail attachment, which has been the actual practice for some years.
LENGTH OF ARTICLE: Articles average 20 pages. Less or more pages may be acceptable depending on the content. Authors must ensure that their papers are read by a professional proof-reader before submission.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Style sheetWe do not supply a style sheet. Requirements are as below. The less automatic styling there is, the easier it is to edit and typeset.
Word Format: Word 2007 or later editions. Preferably an article should be readable in either format.
Font size Abstracts to be in 9 point, line spaced 9 point, References and Footnotes in 10 point, line spaced 10 point. 12 point for everything else. Data fonts to somehow match text in size.
Abstractsto be indented 1 cm each side. Allow space below for translation into French/English.
Margins Page size A4, margins Top 2.54 Bottom 2.54 Left 3.17 Right 3.17
Font type Language Data to be Bold, and to use Charis SIL, or SILIPA or similar font, but not Times New Roman. All other words, section numbers etc. to be Times New Roman. If an unusual font is used, this should be supplied to the Editors.
Line SpacingExactly 12 point (not single) for ordinary text, Exactly point 13 for data examples. Double spacing will no longer be acceptable.
Line spacing between text and example, between example and text, between Section heading and text to be one line (12 point). Between Section heading and text to be 6 point.
ParagraphsBeginning of a paragraph should be by tab indentation 0.9 cm. No line gap for a new paragraph.
Examples numberingAvoid automatic numbering for Section heading and examples as this causes problems.
Examples alignment All data examples should be aligned correctly with the literal gloss morpheme by morpheme, using tabs. Failure to do this causes hours of wasted time in correcting.
Examples numbering should be backspaced to the margin.
DiagramsThe greatest problem arises from reformatting diagrams. That is why we want the page width as submitted to be the same as the final output for printing.
Numbering system Linguistic examples, tables, figures, and rules should each have a separate numbering system. Do not use automatic numbering. Numbering should not be bold and should be in Times New Roman.
Section numbering should start with 0 for the Introduction (which preferably should not have subsections), proceed to 1, 2, etc. for main sections, 1.1, 1.2, etc. for sections, and 1.1.1, 1.1.2, etc. for subsections. It is recommended that numbering of subsections should not go beyond three figures. Please note from this issue which headings are centred, and which start at the left margin, and which are in bold type.
Footnotes not Endnotes are required. These will be numbered automatically.
REFERENCES should be cited in the text, using the author, date and page system, e.g., (Green 1955a:8–9). A full alphabetical list of references used in the text should appear at the end of the article. The list of references should only contain works that are referred to in the body of the text. Please be sure to include and check page references.
NOTES TO CONTRIBUTORS (Revised May 2016 for on-line publishing)
Contributors are asked to submit their document in as nearly the same format as would appear on the on-line page. Formerly the final formatting had to fit the traditional page size of JWAL as printed. Now that articles will appear only on line they can be formatted to fit an A4 page. See below for details.
EDITORIAL PROCEDURE: When manuscripts are received, they will be acknowledged. Before a decision on publication is made, articles will be reviewed by the Editor, and when he is satisfied, he will pass them to a referee for evaluation. This process takes some time. Every effort will be made to give authors a decision regarding publication as soon as possible.
AUTHORS should give their names, separate from the article, in the form in which they wish them to appear under the title of the article and in the references. The author’s institution should also be given, as well as their full mailing address and any available e-mail address.
METHOD: Submission should no longer be in paper form but electronically by e-mail attachment, which has been the actual practice for some years.
LENGTH OF ARTICLE: Articles average 20 pages. Less or more pages may be acceptable depending on the content. Authors must ensure that their papers are read by a professional proof-reader before submission.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Style sheetWe do not supply a style sheet. Requirements are as below. The less automatic styling there is, the easier it is to edit and typeset.
Word Format: Word 2007 or later editions. Preferably an article should be readable in either format.
Font size Abstracts to be in 9 point, line spaced 9 point, References and Footnotes in 10 point, line spaced 10 point. 12 point for everything else. Data fonts to somehow match text in size.
Abstractsto be indented 1 cm each side. Allow space below for translation into French/English.
Margins Page size A4, margins Top 2.54 Bottom 2.54 Left 3.17 Right 3.17
Font type Language Data to be Bold, and to use Charis SIL, or SILIPA or similar font, but not Times New Roman. All other words, section numbers etc. to be Times New Roman. If an unusual font is used, this should be supplied to the Editors.
Line SpacingExactly 12 point (not single) for ordinary text, Exactly point 13 for data examples. Double spacing will no longer be acceptable.
Line spacing between text and example, between example and text, between Section heading and text to be one line (12 point). Between Section heading and text to be 6 point.
ParagraphsBeginning of a paragraph should be by tab indentation 0.9 cm. No line gap for a new paragraph.
Examples numberingAvoid automatic numbering for Section heading and examples as this causes problems.
Examples alignment All data examples should be aligned correctly with the literal gloss morpheme by morpheme, using tabs. Failure to do this causes hours of wasted time in correcting.
Examples numbering should be backspaced to the margin.
DiagramsThe greatest problem arises from reformatting diagrams. That is why we want the page width as submitted to be the same as the final output for printing.
Numbering system Linguistic examples, tables, figures, and rules should each have a separate numbering system. Do not use automatic numbering. Numbering should not be bold and should be in Times New Roman.
Section numbering should start with 0 for the Introduction (which preferably should not have subsections), proceed to 1, 2, etc. for main sections, 1.1, 1.2, etc. for sections, and 1.1.1, 1.1.2, etc. for subsections. It is recommended that numbering of subsections should not go beyond three figures. Please note from this issue which headings are centred, and which start at the left margin, and which are in bold type.
Footnotes not Endnotes are required. These will be numbered automatically.
REFERENCES should be cited in the text, using the author, date and page system, e.g., (Green 1955a:8–9). A full alphabetical list of references used in the text should appear at the end of the article. The list of references should only contain works that are referred to in the body of the text. Please be sure to include and check page references.
How to submit articles for publication
Articles:
JWAL is a rigorously peer-reviewed publication! Only papers that are reviewed anonymously by, at least, two EXTERNAL REFEREES who are known scholars in the field will be judged for publication or rejection. Articles should be submitted in accordance with the guidelines, entitled Notes to Contributors which also details out the editorial process of peer review. Note that the guidelines have been updated as from June 2021. The address for submission is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Book Reviews:
The Editor occasionally receives from publishers books for review, and selects someone to do a review.
Publication Ethics Statement
Contributors to the journal are advised to download and read JWAL's Publication Ethics Statement before submitting their manuscript.
Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site are exclusively used for the intended purposes of the journal and shall not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
Language of Submission
Articles may be submitted in English, French, or any African language.
