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The Challenge(s) of Documenting Africa's Least Known Languages
Bonny Sands
Northern Arizona University
Bonny.Sands@nau.edu
ACAL 45
April 17-19, 2014, University of Kansas
Preliminaries
Why are languages endangered?
Continent-wide Surveys: Batibo (2005) & Brenzinger 1992, 1998a, Brenzinger et al. 1991, Brenzinger & Batibo 2010, Dimmendaal & Voeltz 2007, Mous 2003, Sommer 1992, Tamanji 2008, Tourneux et al. 2000.
Central Africa: Anchimbe 2013, Connell 1998, 2007, Idiata 2009
West Africa: Blench 2007, Childs 2006, Haruna 2012
Northern/Eastern Africa: Brenzinger 2007 a & b; Dimmendaal 1989. Mezhoud & El Allame 2010, Nyombe 1997, Sav & Tosco 2006, Zelealem Leyew 2004
What is language documentation?
EGIDS: Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale (Simons & Lewis 2013)
GIDS Level Label Description UNESCO
5 written The language is used orally by all generations and is effectively used in written f o r m i n p a r t s o f t h e community.
safe
6a vigorous The language is used orally by all generations and is being learned by children as their first language.
safe
6b threatened The language is used orally by all generations but only some of the child-bearing generation are transmitting it to their children.
vulnerable
7 shifting T h e c h i l d - b e a r i n g g e n e r a t i o n k n o w s t h e language well enough to use it among themselves but none are transmitting it to their children.
definitely endangered
8a moribund The only remaining active speakers of the language a r e m e m b e r s o f t h e grandparent generation.
severely endangered
8b nearly extinct The only remaining speakers o f t h e l a n g u a g e a r e m e m b e r s o f t h e grandparent generation or o l d e r w h o h a v e l i t t l e opportunity to use the language.
critically endangered
Numbers of African languages at different risk levels (Lewis et al. 2013)
Region # of living languages
Vital In trouble Dying
Middle Africa 677 555 77 45
Western Africa 889 794 49 46
Northern Africa 97 53 23 21
Eastern Africa 433 362 57 19
Southern Africa 50 41 3 6
total: 1805 209 137
Vigorous' vs. Shifting/Threatened'
Gky shifting or 'developing? (Orcutt-Gachiri 2013) says there is a shift to Kiswahili 7 million speakers
What percentage must be failing to acquire the language? Does the population size matter?
vigorous The language is used orally by all generations and is being learned by children as their first language.
threatened The language is used orally by all generations but only some of the child-bearing generation are transmitting it to their children.
shifting The child-bearing generation knows the language well enough to use it among themselves but none are transmitting it to their children.
Shifting' vs. Moribund
Hoan of Botswana
some middle-aged speakers
majority of speakers are between 60 and 70 years old (Gerlach & Berthold 2011)
Extinct' languages
N|uu once considered extinct (cf. Traill 1999)
Birgid few speakers over age 70 in 1974 (Bell 2006) 2 rememberers found in 2003 (Edenmyr et al. 2011)
Kwadi considered dead (Winter 1981) 2 rememberers found in 2014 (Anne-Maria Fehn,
personal communication)
How many languages in need of documentation?
346 in trouble?
Ethnologue tends to overcount languages (Maho 2004)
some have had documentation
What about:
Marginalized populations
Small populations
Languages belonging to under-documented families
Sign languages
Cross-Linguistic studies Other types of documentation
Marginalized populations G|ui [gwi] and G||ana [gnk] vigorous
2,500 and 2000 speakers (Ethnologue) 500 and 800 speakers (Batibo 2001: 315) eviction from CKGR
Naro [nhr] 'language of wider communication' (3 on GIDS scale) 14000 speakers (Ethnologue) RADs difficulty accessing education (Hays 2004, Sekere 2011) undocumented dialects
Tsaokhwe reportedly "prefer to see themselves as separate people from the Naro" (Barnard 1985: 2)
Marginalized populations hunter-gatherers
endangered dialects
special castes (blacksmiths, leatherworkers, potters, etc.) Somb [kgt] blacksmiths, 3 speakers (Connell 2010) Jeri leatherworkers, Ivory Coast, a few villages (Kastenholz 1998) Jg [lig] blacksmiths ~ 19,000 in Ghana (Lewis et al. 2013) but groups in
Ivory Coast have shifted languages (Kastenholz 1998)
refugee populations
Deaf
etc.
Small populations
Downward population pressures: disease, climate change armed conflict genocide
100,000 is not too large to be threatened (in other parts of the world) Navajo: 171,000 speakers
17 Vigorous Northern African lgs. 100,000 speakers
Tulishi [tey] 2500 (2007) Siwi [siz] 30,000 (2006)
Ganza [gza] 3,000 Tegali [ras] 35,700 (1984)
Tocho [taz] 3,800 (1989) Dagik [dec]/ Ngile [jle] 38,000 (1982)
Kanga [kcp] 8,000 (1989) Senhaja Berber [sjs] 40,000 (2011)
Wali [wll] 9,000 (2007) Midob [mei] 50,000 (1993)
Ghomara [gho] 10,000 (2008) Daju, Dar Sila [dau] 63,100 (2000)
Komo [xom] 18,530 Gaam [tbi] 67,200 (2000)
Jumjum [jum] 25,000 (1987) Daju, Dar Fur [daj] 80,000 (1983)
North African lgs. 100,000 speakers
Developing Educational
Acheron [acz] 9,830 (2006) Ethnic population: 20,000
Lumun [lmd] 30,000 (2012) Home area population 19,000 (2011 census)
Otoro [otr] 10,000 (2001)
Burun [bdi] 18,000 (1977) Gbaya [krs] 16,000 (1987) Moro [mor] 30,000 (1982) Krongo [kgo] 21,700 (1984) Tira [tic] 40,000 (1982) Uduk [udu] 22,000 Laro [lro] 40,000 (1998) Ama [nyi] 70,000 (1982) Koalib [kib] 44,300 (1984) Katcha-Kadugli-Miri [xtc] 75,000 (2004)
Vigorous endangered languages
Qimant [ahg] (Zelealem Leyew 1998) ~1,650 (1994)
Iko [iki] (Urua 2004) ~5000 (1988)
Oko [oks] (Adegbija 2001) ~10,000 (1989)
Vute [vut] (Mutaka 2008) ~21,000 (1997)
Tanzania, Cameroon and Nigeria
Tanzania has 39 languages 'in trouble'
Cameroon, Nigeria > 60 each
26 safe lgs. 100,000 Language name & Ethnologue code
Population estimate & year of estimate (from Ethnologue 17 (Lewis et al. 2013)
% Change from Ethnologue 13 to 17 (1996-2013)
Language name & Ethnologue code
Population estimate & year of estimate (from Ethnologue 17 (Lewis et al. 2013)
% Change from Ethnologue 13 to 17 (1996-2013)
Bende [bdp] 27,000 (1999) +35% Ndendeule [dne] 100,000 (2000) +27%
Bungu [wun] 36,000 (1987) -- Ngoreme [ngq] 55,000 (2005) +72%
Burunge [bds] 13,000 (2002) -58% Nyika [nkt] 25,000 (2007) n/a
C u t c h i - S w a h i l i [ccl]
45,000 (2002) n/a Pangwa [pbr] 95,000 (2002 -46%
Gorowa [gow] 50,000 (1999) +67% Pimbwe [piw] 29,000 (1987) --
Ikizu [ikz] 55,000 (2005) +96% Rwa [rwk] 90,000 (1987) --
Kerewe [ked] 100,000 (1987) -- Sandawe [sad] 40,000 (2000) -43%
Konongo [kcz] 51,000 (1987) -- Temi [soz] 30,000 (2002) +50%
Machinga [mvw] 36,000 (1987) -- Tongwe [tny] 13,000 (2001) -41%
Malila [mgq] 65,000 (2003) +25% Vinza [vin] 10,000 (1987) --
Manda [mgs] 22,000 (2002) +22% Zanaki [zak] 100,000 (2005) +61%
Matumbi [mgw] 72,000 (1978) -- D a t o o g a [ t c c ] (Developing)
87,800 (2000) -41% to -56%
Mpoto [mpa] 80,000 (1977) -- V w a n j i [ w b i ] (Developing)
28,000 (2003) -53%
Grammar sketches for < 1/3rd Language name & Ethnologue code
Year of most recent g r a m m a r o r grammar sketch
Language name & Ethnologue code
Year of most recent g r a m m a r o r grammar sketch
Bende [bdp] 2006 Ndendeule [dne] 1999 sketch
Bungu [wun] -- Ngoreme [ngq] --
Burunge [bds] 1994 Nyika [nkt] --
Cutchi-Swahili [ccl] -- Pangwa [pbr] 1983
Gorowa [gow] -- Pimbwe [piw] --
Ikizu [ikz] -- Rwa [rwk] 2009 sketch
Kerewe [ked] 1909 sketch Sandawe [sad] 2012
Konongo [kcz] 1905 sketch Temi [soz] 1991/92
Machinga [mvw] 1876 sketch Tongwe [tny] --
Malila [mgq] -- Vinza [vin] --
Manda [mgs] -- Zanaki [zak] --
Matumbi [mgw] 1912 sketch Datooga [tcc] 1983 sketch
Mpoto [mpa] -- Vwanji [wbi] --
Get ready for Cameroon
Cameroon (36 safe 5,000), pt. 1 Language name & Ethnologue code
Status Population estimate & year of estimate (from Ethnologue 17 (Lewis et al. 2013)
G r a m m a r (Nordhoff et al. 2014)
Bible portions
Jukun Takum [jbu] Wider communication
2,440 in Cameroon (2000) 1980
Cuvok [cuv] Developing 5,000 (1983), increasing 2003 phonology
Duupa [dae] Developing 5,000 (1991) --
Jimi [jim] Developing 3,500 (1982) --
Kolbila [klc] Developing 2,500 (1997) --
Yambeta [yat] Developing 3,700 (1982) --
Yasa [yko] Developing 2,400 (2000) 2004 sketch --
Akum [aku] Vigorous 1,400 in Cameroon (2002) -- --
Ambele [ael] Vigorous 2,600 (2000) 2001 phonology --
Bamenyam [bce] Vigorous 4,000 (1994) 2003 sketch --
Bassossi [bsi] Vigorous 5,000 (2004) -- --
Bati [btc] Vigorous 800 (1975) -- --
Befang [bby] Vigorous 2,980 (2000) 2004 sketch