Languages represent many significant truths about our culture, as do the idioms, dialects, slang and speech patterns of a society. Class, status, gender or race are also constantly expressed through what we say and how we say it. The implications of language are one of the elements presented in the work of the four writers highlighted in this section. The work of Lucy Eyre, Lisa Fugard, Nii Ayikwei Parkes and M. R. Peacocke varies in focus, genre and theme, but these writers share a fascination with and enthusiasm for the words that we use.

In the essay 'Brand Ethiopia' Lucy Eyre brings to bear her vast knowledge of the country in an account of globalisation, branding and politics in the African nation. It is an absorbing portrait of a changing country and the impact of this transformation upon its people, economy and environment. With clarity and intelligence, Eyre's vision is penetrating and at times chilling.

Lisa Fugard uses language to create a political context which reveals huge amounts about the characters and the places featured in her brooding short story, 'Shangri-La'. Language also reflects the distance between the characters: the servants and the tourists, the tourists and the narrator, the narrator and her mother. Ominous and affecting, Fugard's story skillfully captures the tensions and dramas at the heart of the narrative.

The extract from Nii Ayikwei Parkes' novel 'Afterbirth' is filled with the sounds of Africa - the language of the animals, the forest and the birds as well as the language of the people. Parkes' enthralling piece also explores the taboos and superstition which surround the words we use.

Taking the idea of the simile as its starting point, M. R. Peacocke's poem of love and loss is also an homage to both the power of language and its inadequacies. Sensual, evocative and filled with longing, 'Simile' is a tender reflection on love and loss.

Lucy Eyre

Lucy Eyre grew up in London and currently lives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Her first book, If Minds Had Toes, published in January 2007, is a philosophical romp. She is currently working on her second novel, about foreigners in Ethiopia.

Photograph - Clive Coote

Lisa Fugard

Lisa Fugard grew up in South Africa. She is the author of the novel Skinner's Drift. Her many travel articles and essays have been published in the New York Times.

Photograph - Lisa Fugard

Nii Ayikwei Parkes

Nii Ayikwei Parkes is a writer, socio-cultural commentator and advocate for African writing. He was a 2005 Associate Writer-in-Residence on BBC Radio 3 and is the author of three poetry pamphlets and several short stories. Currently he is working on two novels and a collection of poetry.

Photograph - Diana Matar

M. R. Peacocke

M. R. Peacocke lives on a small farm in Cumbria and is working on a fourth collection of poetry which will be published by Peterloo Poets in 2008.

Illustration © Maurizio Marmorato