Introduction

This paper introduces the monographic issue of Linguistic Typology at the Crossroads entitled “Language contact and non-convergent change: cases from Africa”, edited by Pierpaolo Di Carlo and Pius W. Akumbu. After briefly outlining non-convergent change under contact with a special attention to African settings, it deals with the fact that the languages discussed in the monographic issue have been spoken for generations in contexts of small-scale multilingualism. This is a key aspect to consider since small-scale multilingualism is a type of multilingualism that is overall little known as to its possible effects at the level of language change. The paper then addresses methodological aspects related to the study of non-convergent change in contact situations and introduces the novel concept of “correlated dissimilarity”. A call for the collection of new and more comprehensive data in the field as the only possible way to test the hypotheses raised in this volume concludes this introduction.