The discipline of linguistics in general, and the field of African linguistics in particular, appear to be facing a paradigm shift. There is a strong movement away from established methodologies and theoretical approaches, especially structural linguistics and generativism, and a broad move towards critical linguistics, sociolinguistics, and linguistic anthropology. These developments have encouraged a greater awareness and careful discussion of basic problems of data production in linguistics, as well as the role played by the ideologies of researchers. The volume invites a critical engagement with the history of the discipline, taking into account its deep entanglements with colonial knowledge production. Colonial concepts about language have helped to implement Northern ideas of what counts as knowledge and truth; they have established institutions and rituals of education, and have led to the lasting marginalization of African ways of speaking, codes, and multilingualisms. This volume engages critically with the colonial history of our discipline and argues that many of the colonial paradigms of knowledge production are still with us, shaping linguistic practices in the here-and-now as well as non-specialist talk about language and culture. The contributors explore how metalinguistic concepts and ways of creating linguistic knowledge are grounded in colonial practice, and exist parallel to, and sometimes in dialogue with other knowledges about language.