bonny sands

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