Congo: A Story in 26 Words

by John Stedman

Overview

Congo. One name. One mighty river. Two countries. A combined surface area greater than that of the whole of Western Europe. 250 languages. Infinite complexity.

In the 2011 edition of the Human Development Index, the Republic of Congo was listed in 137th place. Its neighbour and near namesake, the Democratic Republic of Congo, was last of all: 187th, behind such bywords for chaos and conflict as Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen.

What is it like to live in these countries? How to make sense of their complex history, language, society and culture? This book attempts to do just that through the eyes of an English couple who were living in Congo at that time, using 26 words taken from the languages spoken there to examine the realities of life in places that rarely impinge on Western consciousness.

Memoir, sociological study, travelogue, meditation, paean of praise to the resilience and resourcefulness of the Congolese on both sides of the river. A Story of Congo in 26 Words is all those things and more: a detailed examination of themes as diverse as climate, colonialism, cuisine, culture, education, economy, ethnic makeup, family, fashion, infrastructure, music, natural resources, politics and racism.

A unique blend of anecdote and analysis, personal experience and lexicographical research, A Story of Congo in 26 Words is an indispensable guide to the two countries that take their name from one of the mightiest rivers on Earth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798317661694
Publisher:	Barnes & Noble Press
Publication date:	04/30/2025
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

In 1993, John Stedman, a monolingual Englishman, volunteered for humanitarian work. Much to his surprise, he and his wife, Sharon, were assigned to Côte d’Ivoire, in West Africa, a country they had never heard of on a continent about which they knew almost nothing. What they learned there – and later in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa) and the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) – changed their lives forever, and sparked a lifelong love of the people, languages and culture of the continent.

Like most English schoolchildren, John never learned the grammar of his own language. In fact, he was not absolutely sure what grammar was. Even though he attended a grammar school. The concept of multilingualism was totally alien to him, but over the twenty-five years spent as a linguist and lexicographer in various African countries and among the African diaspora in Europe, he became fascinated with the relationships between language, culture, history and ethnicity.

His books explore some of the languages spoken in Congo, the interface between the colonial and vernacular languages, the dangerous concept of linguistic superiority and the connections between the languages we speak and our view of the world.

Now living in Germany, John and his wife, Sharon, specialise in teaching accelerated language-learning techniques.