The linguistic situation in Sub-Saharan Africa in the postcolonial period and the problems of linguistic decolonization

The present research into the linguistic situation in the most multilingual region of the world, the Sub-Saharan Africa, pursues the goal to clear up the peculiarities of interrelations between the indigenous and European languages in this region as well as to provide a theoretical substantiation of the linguistic policies directed at ousting the European languages of the former metropoles from the most important spheres of life in the countries that achieved independence in the course of the 20th century. The relevance of the research is determined, first of all, by the fact that there is a growing threat of a loss of linguistic and cultural heritage of the planet in the period of globalization. At the same time, the factors determining the loss of linguistic and cultural diversity of the world remain insufficiently researched. In accordance with the goal of the given work, the authors have sought answers to a number of questions connected with the functioning of multilingualism in the countries to the south of the Sahara. The most important of these questions are the following: 1) what are the main reasons for the failures of the policy of linguistic radicalism directed at ousting European languages from all main spheres of activities?; 2) how important is the role of European languages in the loss of linguistic and cultural diversity in the period of the acceleration of globalization processes?; 3) why is the concept of regarding languages as means of domination and suppression by the former colonial powers erroneous in the conditions of the countries of the Sub-Saharan Africa that becam