A Welcome Note from the Centre Coordinator
Welcome to the Centre for African Languages and Cultural Heritage (CALCH) at Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), University of Dar es Salaam.
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to a Centre dedicated to the study, preservation, promotion, and advancement of African languages and the rich cultural heritage. African languages transcend mere communication; they serve as invaluable repositories of our histories, identities, indigenous knowledge, values, traditions, and ways of understanding the world.
At CALCH, we firmly believe that the safeguarding of African languages must be intrinsically linked to fostering opportunities for their sustained use and development across education, research, technology, governance, creative industries, and other facets of contemporary life. Our task is thus to integrate linguistic research, cultural heritage studies, education, translation and interpretation, digital innovation, and meaningful engagement with language communities.
The Centre leverages the strong academic and research foundations of the Department of Languages and Literature at DUCE. It aims to establish a dynamic platform for researchers, students, language professionals, communities, cultural practitioners, and partners from Tanzania, Africa, and globally. Through collaborative research, language documentation, capacity building, publications, digital resources, and community-based initiatives, we endeavour to contribute to the sustainable development of African languages and cultural heritage.
e particularly encourage collaboration with institutions, researchers, communities, government agencies, cultural organisations, language practitioners, technology partners, and other stakeholders who share our dedication to ensuring African languages remain vibrant, relevant, and accessible for current and future generations.
AWhile positioning Kiswahili as a trans-border language of unity, thereby promoting the diversity of other African languages, CALCH aspires to cultivate a stronger sense of African identity and contribute to the continent's educational, cultural, intellectual, and technological advancement.
Welcome to CALCH—where African languages, knowledge, and heritage meet research, innovation, and community.
Dr Saul S. Bichwa
Centre Coordinator
Centre for African Languages and Cultural Heritage (CALCH)
Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE)
About the Centre
The Centre for African Languages and Cultural Heritage (CALCH) is a proposed interdisciplinary centre at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE), University of Dar es Salaam. Its purpose is to advance the research, documentation, preservation, promotion, and revitalisation of African languages and their associated cultural heritage.
The Centre leverages the expertise and research experience of the Department of Languages and Literature, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, in the fields of African languages, linguistics, literature, translation and interpretation, cultural heritage, language technology, and community engagement. It addresses the increasing imperative to safeguard Africa's linguistic diversity and the indigenous knowledge, histories, identities, and cultural practices embedded within African languages.
CALCH will establish a platform where research, education, cultural heritage, technology, innovation, and community engagement converge. Through interdisciplinary, collaborative approaches, the Centre will contribute to the strengthening of African languages in education, research, governance, technology, creative industries, and other domains of contemporary society.
Vision
To become a leading Centre in Tanzania and the region, where African languages and heritage are harnessed as dynamic drivers of education, innovation, and a unified African identity.
Mission
The Centre is dedicated to preserving and promoting African linguistic diversity through interdisciplinary research, curriculum innovation, and community engagement, positioning Kiswahili and other trans-border languages as catalysts for continental development.
Key Objectives
CALCH seeks to:
Promote research and scholarship pertaining to African languages and cultural heritage.
Document and preserve endangered and under-resourced African languages.
Record and safeguard oral traditions, indigenous knowledge systems, folklore, proverbs, rituals, songs, and other forms of indigenous verbal art.
Develop dictionaries, glossaries, grammars, terminologies, and other linguistic resources.
Support multilingual education and curriculum development.
Promote translation, interpretation, and professional language services.
Develop digital resources, corpora, language technologies, and Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools for African languages.
Support postgraduate research and training in African languages and related fields.
Strengthen collaboration among universities, research institutions, government agencies, communities, cultural organisations, and international partners.
Promote African languages and cultural heritage through publications, exhibitions, festivals, creative industries, and public engagement initiatives.
Areas of Focus
1. African Languages Research and Documentation
The Centre will undertake linguistic, sociolinguistic, comparative, descriptive, historical, and anthropological research on African languages, with particular emphasis on endangered and under-resourced languages. Modern documentation technologies, including audio-visual recording and linguistic annotation tools, will be employed to establish sustainable digital records.
2. Cultural Heritage and Oral Traditions
CALCH will document and preserve oral histories, storytelling, proverbs, riddles, songs, poems, folklore, rituals, and indigenous knowledge systems. The Centre will also explore the relationships between language, history, identity, traditional ecological knowledge, medicine, agriculture, and other cultural practices.
3. Linguistic Resources and Lexicography
The Centre will develop dictionaries, glossaries, terminologies, grammars, annotated collections, and other resources to support the study, teaching, standardisation, and modernisation of African languages.
4. Language, Education and Curriculum Development
CALCH will contribute to curriculum innovation and multilingual education by developing educational resources and supporting the integration of African languages into formal and informal education.
5. Translation, Interpretation and Language Practice
The Centre will advance translation and interpretation through research, professional training, consultancy, and certification pathways aligned with relevant national standards.
6. Language Technology and Digital Innovation
The Centre will promote the digital development of African languages through open-access corpora, digital repositories, terminology tools, translation technologies, applications, and Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence solutions.
7. Community Engagement and Capacity Building
CALCH will collaborate closely with language communities, schools, educators, researchers, translators, interpreters, cultural organisations, and other stakeholders. Training programmes, workshops, outreach activities, language clubs, and collaborative community projects will foster sustainable language development and cultural transmission.
8. Creative Industries and African Cultural Expression
The Centre will promote the use of African languages in literature, theatre, film, music, performance, digital content, exhibitions, and other creative industries, recognising their potential to strengthen cultural identity and contribute to social and economic development.
Research and Collaboration
CALCH builds upon an established record of research projects and international collaboration by members of the Department of Languages and Literature. Existing and recent initiatives include research on Datooga lexicogrammar, language and food production, medicinal plants, Hadzabe ethnolinguistics and culture, Bantu syntax and information structure, and language contact in Tanzania.
The Centre will further strengthen national, continental, and international partnerships. Existing academic collaborations include institutions such as the University of Hamburg, Ghent University, and the University of Warsaw.
Academic and Research Strength
The Centre draws on a multidisciplinary team of researchers with expertise spanning African linguistics, Bantu linguistics, morphology, syntax, phonology, sociolinguistics, ethnolinguistics, language documentation, lexicography, translation and interpretation, African literature, oral literature, cultural studies, history, ethnography, and language technology.
The Department of Languages and Literature also offers an established PhD programme in African Languages and is currently developing an MA programme in African Languages. CALCH will provide a platform for postgraduate research, scholarly publications, research projects, capacity building, and international collaboration.
Digital Repository and Archives
A significant component of CALCH will involve developing a searchable digital repository and physical archive for linguistic and cultural heritage materials. The repository will preserve recordings, oral narratives, linguistic data, dictionaries, manuscripts, and other resources for researchers, educators, students, and communities.
Why CALCH Matters
Africa possesses exceptional linguistic and cultural diversity; however, many African languages face pressures arising from globalisation, urbanisation, evolving language practices, and limited representation in education, technology, and public life. The loss of a language can also entail the loss of indigenous knowledge, oral histories, cultural practices, and distinctive ways of understanding the world.
CALCH responds to this challenge by connecting language preservation with education, research, cultural heritage, technology, innovation, and community development. Its work aligns with national priorities on language and intangible cultural heritage, continental aspirations to promote African languages, and international efforts to safeguard linguistic and cultural diversity.
Strategic Contribution
CALCH will contribute to:
Preserving Africa’s linguistic diversity
Strengthening African language scholarship
Supporting multilingual education
Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage
Advancing digital inclusion of African languages
Developing language professionals and researchers
Promoting African languages in creative industries
Strengthening community participation in heritage preservation
Facilitating national and international research collaboration
Positioning African languages at the centre of education, innovation, identity, and development
Our Approach
CALCH adopts an interdisciplinary, collaborative, community-centred, and technology-enabled approach. We will integrate linguistic research with history, anthropology, literature, education, cultural studies, translation, and digital technologies to ensure African languages are studied not merely as systems of communication but as repositories of knowledge, identity, history, and cultural heritage.
Looking Ahead
The Centre is envisioned to grow progressively through research, publications, language documentation, community engagement, postgraduate support, professional training, international partnerships, cultural programmes, and digital innovation. Its five-year implementation framework envisages the gradual expansion of research projects, documentation of endangered languages, community outreach, professional training, international collaboration, creative-industry activities, and language technology initiatives.
CALCH is committed to ensuring that African languages are not only preserved for future generations but are also developed and empowered to participate fully in contemporary education, scholarship, technology, culture, and development.