Why Liberia Speaks English: the Surprising American Origin Behind West Africa’s Oldest Republic
By James H. Sterling
The viral exchange involving President Joseph Boakai was more than a momentary political headline. It laid bare a historical amnesia that obscures the deep institutional relationship between West Africa and the United States.
Liberia stands as a distinct cultural synthesis. Its official English carries the legal architecture, religious history, and structural weight of the 19th-century American resettlement. At the same time, the daily rhythm of the nation belongs to its vibrant indigenous languages and the rapid-fire cadence of Liberian Kreyol. Rather than a curiosity to be questioned, Liberia's language is the living record of an extraordinary, difficult trans-Atlantic history, one that continues to define its national identity on the world stage.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
