Abstract:
Drawing from Game Theory, the article conceptualises language practice as games, that
is convergences of strategic interaction, and explores the implications of such a conceptualisation
for sociology of translation (la sociologie de la traduction – Michel Callon) in development contexts
in Africa. The discussion posits that a conceptualisation of language practice as games further
enriches research into the sociology of translation in development contexts in Africa in several
ways. First, it enables the delineation and specification of language permutations that characterise
the hybridity of networks, which in turn defines sociology of translation in development contexts,
which are defined and populated by a multiplicity of entities. Second, it allows for a conceptualisation, interrogation and exploration of optimal strategies for network establishment, sustenance
and reproduction in the course of development processes, and of the role of language in these
processes. Third, it locates sociology of translation at the core of the development process by
highlighting its strategic value in the production of socially acceptable language goods and services.
