“You’d be amazed at what is in the greater Boston area,” he says.

But in the likely circumstance that native speakers will not be found nearby, Mugane plans to use communications software that will allow students to converse with tutors across the country and overseas.

“There is lag time—it’s not as smooth—but [the technology is] coming,” he says.

According to Mugane, only four or five African languages are commonly taught in American universities. But he currently has about ten being developed for the self-instruction system, ranging from Somali to Sudanese Arabic.

“Right now, there are about 150 megabytes just for the Swahili class,” he says. “Server space will need to be big.”

Despite the enormity of his task, Mugane says it is imperative for Harvard to lead the instruction of never-before taught African languages.

“It’s an incredibly magical method of getting to talk to Africans,” he says. “Some languages are threatened by extinction, so the knowledge you’re getting is like no other. A student might be the only one who knows the language in America. National interests such as trying to fight communicable disease and bring about development cannot be done without considering language.”

—Staff writer Ryan J. Kuo can be reached at kuo@fas.harvard.edu.