A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Tchumbuli Language Area

DigitalResources Electronic Survey Report 2017-010

Gabriele Faton and Katharina Tupper A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Tchumbuli Language Area

Gabriele Faton and Katharina Tupper

SIL International® 2017

Abstract

This paper presents a sociolinguistic survey conducted in the Tchumbuli [bqa] speech community of Benin. Given the relatively small size of the group and a reportedly high level of bilingualism in the neighboring languages, Cabe or Maxi, our main focus was on the question of language vitality. Through interviews with government officials, community leaders, and groups of the village population, we gathered information on dialect comprehension, language use patterns in various domains and age groups, as well as on language transmission between parents and children, intergenerational shift, and language attitudes. We also gathered general information concerning population, literacy, education, and community structures in the Tchumbuli language area. Another area of interest was the relationship between Tchumbuli and the Chumburung language of Ghana and whether there are contacts between these two speech communities. In this paper we give the results for each of the above mentioned categories and explain how they affect our conclusions. The interviews revealed indications for language shift, the extent of which differs from village to village. Generally, Cabe or Maxi is replacing Tchumbuli in a growing number of domains. This includes first language (L1) acquisition and communication between parents and children. Thus, Tchumbuli proficiency in the younger generations is declining. Only in the older generation (over 60 years) is Tchumbuli generally used among peers. So, in general, Tchumbuli in Benin is “endangered.” However, there is a strong sense of ethnic identity and indications of the desire to reverse or at least slow down the replacement process. Furthermore, the Tchumbuli language variety in Benin is closely related to the Chumburung language in Ghana, and Tchumbuli speakers in Ghana are reportedly able to use Chumburung written materials.

(This survey report written some time ago deserves to be made available even at this late date. Conditions were such that it was not published when originally written. The reader is cautioned that more recent research may be available. Historical data is quite valuable as it provides a basis for a longitudinal analysis and helps us understand both the trajectory and pace of change as compared with more recent studies—Editor.)

Contents

1 Introduction 1.1 Language name and name of the people group 1.2 Language classification 1.2.1 Tchumbuli and Chumburung 1.2.2 Nchumbulu 1.3 Previous sociolinguistic research 1.4 Language area 1.5 Population 1.6 History 2 Research questions 3 Methodology 3.1 Techniques 3.1.1 Correspondence 3.1.2 Preliminary interviews 3.1.3 Community questionnaires 3.1.4 Interviews with community leaders 3.1.5 Wordlists 3.1.6 Presentation of Chumburung written materials 3.1.7 Observation 3.2 Implementation 3.2.1 Community questionnaires 3.2.2 Interviews with community leaders 3.2.3 Wordlists 3.2.4 Presentation of Chumburung written materials 3.2.5 Observation 4 Results 4.1 Language name(s) 4.2 Lexical similarity 4.3 Dialect comprehension 4.4 Comprehension of Foodo 4.5 Language vitality 4.5.1 Bilingualism 4.5.2 Language use in domains 4.5.3 Language transmission from parents to children 4.5.4 Intergenerational shift 4.5.5 Language attitudes 4.5.6 Ethnic identity 4.5.7 The number of speakers in relation to the size of the ethnic group 4.5.8 Large-scale socioeconomic conditions that favor shift 4.5.9 Other factors related to language vitality 4.6 Religious situation 4.6.1 General information 4.6.2 Language use 4.6.3 Attitude of church leaders to use of Tchumbuli in the churches 4.7 Literacy 4.8 Attitudes towards development

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5 Summary and conclusion 5.1 General information 5.2 Language vitality 5.2.1 Factors relating to language maintenance or shift 5.2.2 Conclusions as to the stage of endangerment 5.3 Literacy and attitudes towards development 5.4 Religious situation 6 Recommendations 6.1 Literacy in Chumburung 6.2 Literacy in Yoruba, Fon, or Maxi Appendix A: Map Appendix B: Questionnaires Appendix C: Historical accounts Appendix D: Wordlist References

1 Introduction

This paper1 presents a sociolinguistic survey conducted in the Tchumbuli [bqa] speech community of central Benin, in the Département des Collines.2 The survey was conducted in August 2000 by Gabriele Faton (née Schoch) and Katharina Tupper (née Wolf) from SIL. The purpose of the survey was to gather information bearing on the vitality of the Tchumbuli language and the desire of the Tchumbuli people for development of their language. In preliminary research—e.g. personal correspondence with linguists who work in the North Guang language group—and literature research, the survey researchers collected data available about the Tchumbuli language, related languages in Ghana, and the history of the Tchumbuli people. The field survey reported on here involved the administration of individual and community interviews and the elicitation of two wordlists. The survey researchers collected data concerning bilingualism in Cabe and/or Maxi, varieties of Tchumbuli, ethnic identity, language vitality, language attitudes, language development, and the religious situation. In the following sections, general background information on the Tchumbuli area will be given, some of which was collected during the field research, followed by a presentation of the research questions and a description of the applied methodology. In a fourth section, the findings of the survey will be presented, followed by conclusions and recommendations.

1.1 Language name and name of the people group

Our main source for preliminary research was an article by A. F. Iroko (1995), an historian at the National University of Benin (Université Nationale du Bénin), as well as personal communication with the author. Iroko has done research in the Tchumbuli language area himself. He paints a detailed picture of the migration of the Edo people of Nigeria. Some of them were mercenaries and migrated from the town of Ibini to Ghana in the eighteenth century. There they lived amongst the Tchumbuli (‘Tchombolo’) in the Kété-Krachi (‘Kratye’) area and eventually adopted the Tchumbuli language. At some point then or later they started to call themselves Cobecha.3 It is unknown when and why exactly the Cobecha decided to go back to Nigeria. When they set out, they were accompanied by some of the Tchumbuli people. After having passed Kpétchi, Atakpamè (Togo), Agounan (Benin), Assanté (near Glazoue, Benin), and Gogoro (Benin) they were invited by the King of Kaboua4 to help him in his wars. The Cobecha agreed and founded the village of Okounfo nearby. The Tchumbuli (their “cousins”) founded a separate village in the neighborhood named Gbédé. When the Cobecha and Tchumbuli arrived in the Cabe- and Maxi- speaking area, they were named “Gbassen”5 by the Cabe and “Bassa” or “Bassen” by the Fon or Maxi. So, in essence, the Tchumbuli language community consists of two originally distinct ethnic groups, the Tchumbuli and the Cobecha (see also section 4.1 on language names).

1 We would like to thank Dr. Deborah Hatfield for her input and editing on this report. 2 At the time of the survey, Benin was divided into 12 governmental provinces called départements, each of which is composed of a varying number of sub-prefectures. They encompass various rural communes and urban circumscriptions. The départements were reorganized in 1999. Thus, the former Zou département is now divided into Zou, Collines, and Plateau. 3 The origin and meaning of this name have yet to be clarified. One of our language assistants stated that “cobecha” in Tchumbuli resembles “come and join me” « viens me joindre ». However, another assistant stated that it means “we are many” « nous sommes nombreux ». (See also Iroko 1995:108.) 4 A Nago king in the Savè area. 5 Reports on the etymology of the name “Gbassin” vary. According to people in Okounfo, “gbassin” means “take and wear the trousers”. This ressembles the explanation quoted by Iroko (Iroko 1995:113): “'Gba Issin' in Cabe means 'take and attach it' ('tiens et attache, enfile') referring to a piece of material with two strings which the Cabe asked the Cobecha and Tchumbuli immigrants to wear. In Gbédè they state it signifies 'take and eat' in Cabe and explain it with the story of the king of Kaboua who prepared yams for the Tchumbuli and Cobecha immigrants."

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There has been some confusion as to the name of this people group and their language, since different linguists and historians have called them differently. For example, Bertho (1952) refers to the Tchumbuli as “Tshummbuli” whereas Moulero (1964) mentions three different tribes who are immigrants from Ghana: “the Chounbouloun, the Awloukpoukpou and Chombecha.” In the remainder of this paper, we will refer to the ethnic (sub)group as “Tchumbuli” and to the language of the Tchumbuli and Cobecha as “Tchumbuli.” Another source of misunderstandings has been the persistent rumor that the Tchumbuli and Cobecha were Ashanti fugitives (Iroko 1995:109–111) which might even have resulted in erroneously classifying Tchumbuli as an Akan language (Grimes 2000a). Iroko tracks down the origins of this misunderstanding and states very clearly that “the Cobecha have nothing in common with the Ashanti” (Iroko 1995:109).

1.2 Language classification

Research in linguistic literature and correspondence with linguists working in North Guang languages revealed that Tchumbuli is closely related to Chumburung, a North Guang language of Ghana (Bertho 1952, Person 1956, Painter 1967, Hansford pers. comm, Snider pers. comm.).

1.2.1 Tchumbuli and Chumburung

Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Kwa, Nyo, Potou-Tano, Tano, Guang, North Guang. The North Guang group includes Gonja, Choruba, Ndmpo, Yeji, Prang, Nawuri, Gikyode, Ginyanga, Nchimburu (Chumburung), Nchumunu, Krachi, and Nkonya. Stewart quotes Snider as grouping together Tchumbuli, Yeji, Prang, Nchimburu, and Nchumunu (Stewart 1989). Snider (pers. comm.) classifies Tchumbuli and Chumburung as follows: Niger-Congo, Atlantic- Congo, Volta-Congo, Kwa, Nyo, Potou-Tano, Tano, Guang, North Guang, Oti Guang, River Guang, Chumburung including Tchumbuli. According to him, Tchumbuli definitely is a “dialect” of Chumburung. This evaluation is based on data collected from Tchumbuli speakers who had returned to Ghana in the 1950s. Alternative language names for Tchumbuli: Tshummbuli (Bertho 1952) Chombulon (Dolphyne and Kropp Dakubu 1988) Tchombolo (Iroko 1995) Basa (CENALA 1989, CNLB 1983:78, Grimes 2000a) Alternative language names for Chumburung: Tshimmboro (Bertho 1952) Nchumburu (Dolphyne and Kropp Dakubu 1988) Nchimburu (Painter 1967, Stewart 1989) Nchumburung, Nchimburu, Nchummuru, Kyongborong (Grimes 2000a) Tchumbuli (“Basa”) is classified as an Akan language by Grimes (2000a). The Atlas Sociolinguistique (CNLB 1983) lists Basa as a Gur language. However, it is not clear where this information has come from. As has been shown through linguistic analysis, Tchumbuli is a North Guang language within the Kwa family (Stewart 1989, Hansford pers. comm., Snider pers. comm.).

1.2.2 Nchumbulu

The following information is taken from the Ethnologue (Grimes 2000a). Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Kwa, Nyo, Potou-Tano, Tano, Guang, North Guang. Snider (pers. comm.) does not know in which way Nchumbulu is related to the other North Guang languages.

1.3 Previous sociolinguistic research

On the basis of comparative wordlists Bertho grouped together Gbanya, Nawuri, Chumburung, Atshodé, Kratchi, Basa, Nkogna, Logba, Agnaga (Ghana), Tshummbuli, and Bazantché (Benin), as Gonja languages (Bertho 1951, 1952). For Tchumbuli (Benin) he presents two wordlists which differ slightly from each other. After a comparison with the Chumburung wordlist he comes to the conclusion that Tchumbuli and Chumburung are very closely related (Bertho 1951:873). According to Painter (1967) Tchumbuli is 80 percent cognate with Chumburung. However, Gillian and Keir Hansford estimate that if synonyms and near synonyms are accounted for, Tchumbuli is even 99 percent cognate with Chumburung (Hansford pers. comm.). Keir and Gillian Hansford have been working on translations into the Chumburung language since 1976. A New Testament has been finished (International Bible Society and Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation [GILLBT] 1988) and several Chumburung primers have been published (Demuyakor, I. et al. 1980a, 1980b; Abresÿyii, I. et al. 1984). Snider, who worked in the North Guang languages, took a wordlist from the Benin Tchumbuli who resettled in the town of Anyinamae in the Chumburung area in Ghana. He states that though the Tchumbuli language has changed slightly from that of the other Chumburungs, it “is definitely a dialect of Chumburung.” He states that the Tchumbuli who have moved to Ghana from Benin have no difficulty using Chumburung literacy material (Snider 1989, pers. comm.). Ring, who surveyed the Chumburung language area, reported that he “would be surprised to find the Chumburung NT useable as it stands in its Ghana format and idioms among the Benin Basa” (Ring pers. comm.). So, it can be stated that Tchumbuli (Benin) is closely related to Chumburung (Ghana) in terms of lexical similarity. However, Bertho (1952) collected his wordlists almost fifty years ago. In the meantime, the variety of Tchumbuli in Benin should have undergone normal change. Snider, on the other hand, bases his evaluation on a wordlist taken about 1989 from Benin Tchumbuli who had returned to Ghana in the 1950s. Given their exposure to Chumburung and other related languages in the Volta region, it seems likely that the variety of Tchumbuli in Ghana has developed somewhat differently than that in Benin. Therefore, it still remains to be clarified to what extent the present day variety of Tchumbuli in Benin is similar to Chumburung in Ghana and whether Chumburung is intelligible to the Benin Tchumbuli speech community. Iroko is an historian who has also worked with CENALA (Centre Nationale de Linguistique Appliquée) on the linguistic map of Benin. In his paper on the migration history of the Tchumbuli and Cobecha he states that all members of this linguistic community are bilingual in Cabe, causing a shift from Tchumbuli towards Cabe in the younger generations (Iroko 1995:112).6

1.4 Language area

The language in question is spoken in the Département des Collines of Benin between Savè and Ouèssè, i.e., in the area of longitude 2°20'–2°40' east and latitude 8°20'–8°30' north (IGN 1992). The speakers of the language live in the villages listed in table 1:

6 « Cette communauté linguistique est sans doute la pierre d’achoppement…, ainsi que la source de multiples erreurs et de confusions de toutes sortes. La nécessité des contacts avec leurs hôtes a fait deux des bilingues: ils parlent tous le chabè, et souvent au détriment du Tchombolo chez les jeunes générations. » (Iroko 1995:112) « Toutefois, ils ont dû apprendre le Chabè, leur deuxième langue après le Chombolo; leurs jeunes parlent d’ailleurs de plus en plus fréquemment le Chabè, délaissant le Chombolo.» (Iroko 1995:116).

Table 1. Tchumbuli villages

Okounfo Gbédé Edaningbe sub-prefecture Savè Ouèssèa Ouèssè location approx. 37 km north of Savè approx. 52 km north of on the outskirts of Ouèssè, at the RNIE 2b Savè, 6 km dirt road off the approx. 5 km east of the RNIE 2 main market, part of the Lakoko quarter majority Cabe Cabe Maxi language in the area primary school 6 classes with a total of 278 built in 1973 by “World pupils, out of which 260 are Education”; 3 classes with a Cobecha. The scolarization total of 125 pupils rate boosted from 11% in 1987 to 57 or 67% in 2000 comments market with some the dirt road from the RNIE importance for the 2 to Ouèssè (20 km) is in a surrounding villages, new very bad state even when it stalls built by the NGO is dry “Picardie” in 1990 a According to the sub-prefects of Savé and Ouèssè (2000). The maps in the publications of the Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration Economique du Bénin, Institut National de la Statistique et de l’Analyse Economique (1994) show the situation before the restructuring of Benin’s administrative entities. b Route Nationale Inter-Etats.

The majority languages in the area, Cabe and Maxi, are not closely related to Tchumbuli, a North Guang language. Cabe is classified as follows: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Defoid, Yoruboid, Edekiri, Edè, South West Edè (Capo 1989). Maxi is classified as Niger-Congo, Atlantic- Congo, Volta-Congo, (New) Kwa, Left Bank, Gbe, Fon (Stewart 1989, Grimes 2000a). In the interviews, the names used for indicating a language varied. Cabe would also be referred to as Nago or Yoruba, and Maxi would be referred to as Fon. The following NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are working in the area: • GEFAD: literacy in Maxi and Cabe • la Picardie: community development, e. g., construction of the market stalls in Okounfo

1.5 Population

Mbessa, Benoît, a Cobecha geographer at the Université Nationale du Bénin, estimated in 1992 that there were 5,000 Tchumbuli speakers (Plunkett pers. comm.). Official population data were elicited during the Benin Census 1992 which gives population totals both by ethnic group as well as by political community (Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration Economique du Bénin 1994c). However, neither Basa nor Tchumbuli is listed. Based on the census data and information obtained in the survey, we estimate the following population figures:

Table 2. Estimated population figures by village

Village population estimated population estimated number Ethnic groups presenta (in 1992) (in 2000) of Tchumbuli and Cobecha (in 2000) Okounfo 122b 1,589c 1,160d Cobecha. Minorities of Yoruba, Nago, Fon, Hausa, Ditammari, Peulh Gbédé 809 1,047 764 Tchumbuli. Minorities of Cabe, Fon, Peulh Edaningbe 800e 583f Cobecha. Maxi minority, no Nago Total 3,436 2,507 a Information gathered in interviews with community leaders held in August 2000 in the area. b Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration Economique (1994c:20). c Estimate based on the estimated growth rates for the region, i. e. 3.2 percent (1992–1996) and 3.4 percent (1997– 1999) as given in Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration Economique (1994b:170). d This figure results from the assumption that 73 percent of the population is Cobecha or Tchumbuli. This proportion was obtained from the estimated figures for Edaningbe. e Estimate by F. A. G. at Ouèssè. f In Edaningbe, 300 adults are Cobecha (estimate given by our language assistants). The total of 583 results from the proportion of 48.5 percent under-15-year-olds in the Zou province (Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration Economique 1994a:23).

Based on estimates made by our language assistants, there are 3,436 inhabitants in the three villages, out of which about 73 percent (2,507) are ethnically Tchumbuli. It has to be borne in mind though that these figures are based on a set of assumptions and are only rough estimates. Vanderaa (1991) reports 1,000 speakers for Tchumbuli.

1.6 History

Moulero in his history of the Savè area mentions three “tribes” (“tribus”) to be fugitives from Assanté (Ashanti): the Chounbouloun, the Awloukpoukpou, and the Chombecha, the latter being originally from Ibini (Nigeria). To avoid a war with the kings of Kumasi (Ghana), the Chombecha left the area of Kumasi with the first two tribes, to go back to their original home country Nigeria. When they arrived in Kaboua (Benin), King Olodumaré granted them exile in his area (Moulero 1964:17f). Basically Iroko (1995) confirms this account. He describes the itinerary of the Cobecha from Nigeria to Ghana and then back to Benin in more detail. As to the reasons for the decision to return to Nigeria, Iroko states they are not clear (Iroko 1995:108). Snider (pers. comm.) states that the Tchumbuli “are Chumburung people who left Ghana on a warring expedition about 150 years ago. They ended up settling in Benin and intermarrying with other language groups. In the 1950s a number of them, led by their paramount chief Anyanami III returned to Ghana and settled in the Chumburung area south of Chindere,” i. e., in the town Anyinamae (K. Hansford pers. comm.). Other Tchumbuli families from Benin migrated back to Ghana and settled in the Zongo at Jasikan and at Nkwanta in the north of the Volta Region (Ring pers. comm.). For the oral accounts of Cobecha and Tchumbuli history given during community interviews in August 2000, see Appendix C.

2 Research questions

Criteria have been set for establishing the need for SIL involvement in language development among the language communities in Togo and Benin, and the priorities and strategies for such involvement. These

6 criteria are separated into two categories. The first includes factors for establishing need for involvement: dialect comprehension, bilingualism, language vitality, and language attitudes. The second category includes additional factors which influence language project priority and strategy: group cohesion/identity, existing internal structures or institutions, community expressed need/interest, group size, potential community support, religious situation, present or future church work, government programs and policies, relationship to other languages with already existing written materials, and available or potential resources (Marmor 1996:2). Therefore, the overall goal of this survey is to provide information about the language and the language area relating in general to the vitality status of the language. The specific goals of the survey were in regard to the following topics listed in table 3:

Table 3. Research questions

Survey Goal/Concept Research Questions Indicator

Language Area Where is Tchumbuli spoken? Dialect Comprehension within How many varieties of Tchumbuli reported differences Tchumbuli exist, if any? lexical similarity Dialect comprehension of Do Tchumbuli speakers understand reported comprehension Chumburung Chumburung? intelligibility (not tested) What is the relationship between lexical similarity Tchumbuli and Chumburung? Would the Tchumbuli speakers be able to use Chumburung written material? Bilingualism Which languages do the Tchumbuli and Cobecha understand? Which languages do the Tchumbuli language use in domains and age and Cobecha speak? groups Language Use Which languages do the Tchumbuli reported language use patterns and Cobecha use in various speech domains and functions of speech? Language Vitality Is Tchumbuli endangered, and if so, bilingualism to what degree? language use in domains and age groups language transmission from parents to children intergenerational shift language attitudes self-perception and identification with the dominating ethnic group number of speakers in relation to the size of the ethnic group Language Attitudes towards What are community attitudes reported attitudes language shift towards the maintenance of Tch in the community? Attitudes towards language What are community attitudes reported attitudes use towards the use of Tch, Nago, Cabe, Maxi, Fon, Yoruba, and other languages? Is one of these languages more prestigious than the others? Ethnic identity What do people call themselves? reported data What do others call them? What kind of contacts are there, if any, to the Guang unification movement in Ghana? What kind of contacts are there to Tchumbuli speakers in Ghana and elsewhere?

There are also some additional factors that are directly related to the priority and strategy criteria outlined above. These are listed in table 4.

Table 4. Additional research questions

Survey goal/Concepts Research question Indicator(s) Social cohesion How homogenous is the Tch. linguistic, cultural, geographical, language community as a group? political, economic and socio- religious homogeneity Middle-aged leadership What is the political structure in the village? To which age group do the leaders age of influential people in the belong? village population Existing structures What is the education situation and location of schools literacy rate in the area? origin of the pupils scolarization rate Do literacy programs exist? languages of literacy program If so, in which languages? Do they reach Tchumbuli and attendance of Tch speakers Cobecha? Which NGOs work in the area? Attitudes towards Are the Tch open to new ideas and evidence of new technology and development (including methods of doing things? Are they projects initiated and/or supported literacy) interested in community by Tch people development? Religious situation Which churches, if any, work in the area? Which other religions are practiced in the area? Which religion(s) do Tchumbuli and Cobecha adhere to?

3 Methodology

3.1 Techniques

In order to address the research questions mentioned above, the following techniques were used:

3.1.1 Correspondence

Correspondence with SIL linguists working in North Guang languages: • K. & G. Hansford • Keith Snider • Andy Ring

3.1.2 Preliminary interviews

Preliminary interviews to obtain background information were conducted with the following persons: • SIM team in Cabe: J. and M. V,. and S. N., Parakou. They are working with Yoruba speakers.

 Tchumbuli speaker who works at Cotonou, Benin.  Professor B. M., Cobecha, and professor of geography at the National University of Benin (Université Nationale du Bénin).  Professor A. Félix Iroko, professor of history at the National University of Benin (Université Nationale du Bénin), author of an article about the Cobecha (Iroko 1995).

3.1.3 Community questionnaires

Community questionnaires were used to investigate the following topics (see Appendix B for the questionnaire used):  Language name(s) and language area  Dialect comprehension  Language use  Language vitality  Intergenerational shift  Language attitudes  Ethnic identity  Religious situation

3.1.4 Interviews with community leaders

Interviews were held with the following community leaders:  Government officials, i.e., sub-prefects  Formal education officials, i.e., teachers  Literacy coordinators (see Appendix B for the questionnaire used )  Church leaders (see Appendix B for the questionnaire used )

3.1.5 Wordlists

In the course of previous linguistic research, wordlists were taken by Bertho (1951, 1952), Painter (1967) and Snider (1989), as explained in section1.3. Both Bertho and Painter actually elicited the wordlists in Benin. In order to examine the lexical similarity between the present variety of Tchumbuli in Benin and Chumburung, as well as between Tchumbuli varieties (if any), wordlists were taken in Gbédé and in Okounfo.

3.1.6 Presentation of Chumburung written materials

Since Tchumbuli is closely related to the Chumburung language in Ghana, primers (Demuyakor 1980a, b) and the New Testament in Chumburung (International Bible Society 1988) were shown to interested individuals to get a first impression whether they might be able to use this material.

3.1.7 Observation

Information about living conditions, language use, and evidence of traditional religious practices was at least partially collected by observation.

3.2 Implementation

The preliminary interviews with Tchumbuli speakers as well as with an academic and historian provided important information on the history and language of the Tchumbuli speech community. The correspondence with the linguists working in the Guang language group helped to clarify language names and their alternatives in the Chumburung area and the relationship between Chumburung and Tchumbuli. One of the people involved in the preliminary research was a Tchumbuli speaker who works in Cotonou. Not only did he give us important information before the survey trip, but he also accompanied us during our fieldwork in the language area including visits to the local government authorities (sub- prefectures). His introductions to relatives and friends facilitated the setting up of interviews and their administration. During the interviews, he translated our questions into Tchumbuli and then translated the answers back into French. In Okounfo, the delegate also helped with translation. In Gbédé, the king’s speaker and translator translated the answers from Tchumbuli into French. The trip to the language area was designed to gather reported data. It consisted of interviews with community leaders and individuals in order to gather data on language use, language vitality, attitudes towards language use and language shift, as well as information on literacy programs, education, and the religious situation. In addition, two wordlists were elicited.

3.2.1 Community questionnaires

The purpose of the community interviews was to obtain the views of native speakers on the name of their language and the geographical boundaries of the Tchumbuli language area, as well as their views on their relationship to Chumburung speakers in Ghana. Another area of special interest was the language use pattern of Tchumbuli and the role of other pertinent languages in the area, Cabe and Maxi in particular. The questionnaire also included questions aiming at attitudes towards language use and language shift (see Appendix B). In general, we made appointments or at least informed the village community the day prior to our coming. On our first visit to Okounfo, an appointment for the community interview was made for the following day. The people of Okounfo informed the people of Gbédé of our coming. We sent a message to Edaningbe, but unfortunately the messengers arrived after us. As the focus of the interview was on the vitality of the Tchumbuli language, we asked the village chief or delegate to invite people of all age groups, especially parents with young children, to participate in the interview. In Okounfo the questionnaire was administered in a classroom to approximately 40 men of all ages, including the delegate of the village, younger men with little children, but not the king. In Gbédé, the community questionnaire was administered to the king and his elders in the presence of about 60 men, women and children of different ages in the king’s chamber. The women did not participate actively in the interviews, but judging by their reactions they seemed to agree with what was being said. In Edaningbe, we spoke to four elders and the youngest son of one of the elders. This man (35 years) had started listening to the interview. In the course of the interview he became more and more intrigued until he participated actively and became one of the major respondents. The questionnaire items were used in their set order or, sometimes, following the topic of conversation. The responses were recorded either on the questionnaires or in note form. A map was used in conjunction with the questionnaire to help determine language boundaries and patterns of languages used in the area (see Appendix A).

3.2.2 Interviews with community leaders

3.2.2.1 Government officials

The sub-prefects of both Savè and Ouèssè were visited in order to introduce ourselves and to obtain data on the number of Tchumbuli in the area.

3.2.2.2 Education officials

Informal interviews were conducted with the headmasters of the local primary schools of Okounfo and Gbédé in order to obtain information on the number of pupils, their ethnic group, language use among pupils, school enrollment, and secondary schools in the area.

3.2.2.3 Literacy coordinators

The regional literacy coordinator of Ouèssè was interviewed in order to ascertain the number of literacy classes in the area, total class populations, and participation of Tchumbuli speakers. The literacy coordinator of Savè was not in the area at the time of the survey and could not be interviewed. (For the literacy questionnaire see Appendix B.)

3.2.2.4 Church leaders

Interviews were conducted • in Okounfo with the maître catholique (Tchumbuli speaker), the secretary of the Methodist church (Tchumbuli speaker), and the secretary of the Christianisme Céleste (Tchumbuli speaker, Nago mother) • in Gbédé with the catechist of the Catholic church (Nago, speaks Tchumbuli fluently) • in Edaningbe with the catechist of the Catholic church (Tchumbuli speaker) The questionnaire contained questions on the number of churches in the Tchumbuli speaking area, as well as language use and attitudes towards the use of Tchumbuli in the church context (see Appendix B).

3.2.3 Wordlists

The wordlist used is based on the CENALA Listes lexicales (no date). The corresponding Chumburung words elicited by Snider (1989) were also entered in the list, in order to be able to compare the elicited Tchumbuli lexical items with those of Chumburung. The wordlists were elicited in Okounfo and in Gbédé, both traditionally Tchumbuli-speaking villages. It had been planned to elicit wordlists in at least two different villages. Information obtained during the preliminary interviews suggested that the Tchumbuli language is undergoing advanced language shift in Edaningbe. In the course of the survey this impression was reinforced so that no wordlist was taken in Edaningbe. The group from which the lists were elicited consisted of three or more people, all born in the respective village. The elicitation in a group allowed for the discussion of variants, verb forms to be chosen, as well as near-synonyms and synonyms. In this manner, group decisions were made about which form to include in the wordlist. The Chumburung wordlist elicited by Snider (1989) was also used to make minor comparisons during the elicitation process in regard to word selection in cases of indecision, or if there was doubt as to the exact meaning of the Tchumbuli word. In Okounfo, our interpreter and the delegate chose three Cobecha men. All three were children of Cobecha parents. They were born and raised in the village. During the elicitation process, our interpreter translated the French word into Cabe since not all three informants understood French well enough. Then the word/term in Tchumbuli was chosen, sometimes after a discussion as to the exact meaning. Our interpreter also participated in these discussions at the beginning. After eliciting the wordlist, the words were then tape-recorded by one of our assistants. For this process, he used our filled-in list with the phonetic script. In some cases, he said a different word than the one that had been chosen. In addition, the verb forms are not consistent, which we only found out afterwards. In Gbédé, our interpreter and the group decided on two men as our main informants for the wordlist. During the elicitation process, the king and some of the Tchumbuli men present participated in the discussions as to meanings of words and verb forms. This time, we had planned to split up the list

into three parts and tape-record the elicited words in between to make it easier for the language assistant to remember the lexical items chosen. However, due to electricity installations during the process and the resulting noise, the list had to be split up into two parts only. We also made sure that the same verb form was chosen for all the verbs. We are not sure whether the pronunciation documented on the recording is representative. In the middle of the elicitation process, one of our informants was corrected with the remark that he had a French accent in his Tchumbuli. We do not know whether he was corrected every time he made a mistake.

3.2.4 Presentation of Chumburung written materials

In all three villages where interviews were conducted several individuals were shown the Chumburung written materials during or after the community interviews. Their reaction was observed and recorded.

3.2.5 Observation

Information about living conditions, language use, and evidence of traditional religious practices was at least partially collected by observation. It was used to confirm or to rectify reported information.

4 Results

In the following sections the results from the preliminary interviews, the community interviews, and the interviews with community leaders will be presented.

4.1 Language name(s)

In Okounfo and Edaningbe the respondents call their language “Cobecha”, whereas in Gbédé the language is called “Tchumbulu,” “Tchumbulin,” “Tchumbuli,” or “Tchombolo.”7 All agree that all these names refer to one and the same language. The same applies for the name of the people group: in Okounfo and Edaningbe, they call themselves “Cobecha” or “Obechapu”; in Gbédé, “Tchombulin” or “Tchombolun.” The people in Gbédé emphasize that there are no Cobecha in their village. Outsiders do not distinguish between Cobecha and Tchumbuli; they call both of them “Gbassin.” Neither do they make a distinction between the people and their language and call the language “Gbassen” as well. The dichotomy with Cobecha in Okounfo and Edaningbe on the one hand, and Tchumbuli in Gbédé on the other hand, can be explained historically. As mentioned earlier, the Cobecha originate from Nigeria. They are descendants of the Nigerian Edo people. When they settled in Ghana they gave up their own language and shifted to Tchumbuli. When the Cobecha had to leave Ghana the Tchumbuli accompanied them. All of them finally founded villages in the Savè area (see section 1.6). However, they still retain their separate ethnic identities in spite of speaking the same language. In the remainder of the paper we will refer to the language spoken by the Cobecha and the Tchombuli as “Tchumbuli” as this name is commonly mentioned in the literature and reflects the relation to the Ghanaian language Chumburung.

4.2 Lexical similarity

Wordlists were elicited in Gbédé and Okounfo. As they were taken under average survey conditions and not sufficiently double-checked, their reliability is not very high. To get a first impression of the extent of

7 “The word ‘Tchumbuli’ is pronounced ‘Tchombolo’ in the area” (Iroko 1995:110).

lexical similarity between Tchumbuli and Chumburung, we compared the elicited wordlists with the Chumburung wordlist published by Snider (1989). For this comparison, we applied the following criteria: • Same: two lexical items are the same, if they have been noted exactly identically, including tones. • Similar: two lexical items are similar, if they appear to have the same root. Similar are close to mid vowels at the various places of articulation, open-mid to open vowels at the various places of articulation, nasals and the alveolar approximant, trill and flap to the alveolar lateral approximant. Noun class prefixes and other prefixes were not taken into account, where they could be identified. • Different: two lexical items are different, if they do not appear to have the same root. In at least 15 out of the 70 cases of difference between lexical items we suspect that the differences could be explained with near synonyms or communication problems in the elicitation process. Accordingly, thorough double-checking might reveal that similar lexical pairs are actually the same. The comparison yielded the following results:

Table 5. Lexical comparison between Tchumbuli and Chumburung

Tchumbuli Tchumbuli Tchumbuli (Ok)– (Gb)– (Gb)– Chumburung Tchumbuli (Ok) Chumburung Same 18 9 10 Similar 112 92 84 Different 13 24 33 Total of lexical pairs 143 125 127 Lexically similar pairs 91% 81% 74%

4.3 Dialect comprehension

In spite of the apparent dissimilarities reflected in the wordlists, there are no reported differences between the varieties of Tchumbuli in Okounfo, Gbédé and Edaningbe. Everyone agreed that the variety spoken in Ghana (Chumburung) is exactly the same as Tchumbuli. An interviewee in Gbédé gave the following list of places in Ghana when we asked where else Tchumbuli was spoken: Ayngemela, Kété Krachi, Ohianmanshihin, Banda, Bouvayi No. 1 and No. 2, Gouvoubi, Chindere, Gadjamissi, Bafore, Okomondi, Nkonignang, Woledjan, Bankan, Aynininni Aye. Our language assistants in Edaningbe mentioned Nkougna, Bafole, and Badjamossi. There are family ties and regular visits from Benin to Ghana and vice-versa. According to our assistants, the contact to Ghana is particularly lively in Gbédé (« il y a le va-et-viens »).

Table 6. Relations between Ghana and Benin

Village to Reason From Reason Okounfo Yonkpontre, Kouami- family visits Gbidjamissi, family visits, yam feast in Dansou, Gbidjamissi, Ayiname Hai September N’Tumuda,a Ayiname Hai (Ghana) Gbédé Aynininni Aye (Ghana) emigration in towns in Ghana annual family visits 1953 triggered by not specified, reports of Séméré (Benin) two persons in 1984, to abundance, but gather information on the many returned to language Gbédéb Edaningbe Badjamossi (Ghana) one person for a Badjamossi family visit with intention family visit, in (Ghana) to settle in 1995. “But the 1994 big brother was tired of Edaningbe and did not want to stay.” a Awloukpoukpou village b Information given during the community interview in Gbédé in August 2000. Iroko (1995:116) also mentions people from Gbédé who decided to go back to Ghana in April 1951. This expedition was led by the paramount chief Anyanami III and the group resettled in the town Anyinamae in the Chumburung area (Hansford pers. comm., Snider pers. comm.).

At the community interview in Okounfo, several took the primers and those who could not read expressed the desire to be able to read them. Others started reading them with difficulty and understood. They started at the beginning where it is very easy so that we do not know about more difficult material such as texts and stories yet. When shown the written material in Chumburung, the younger men of Gbédé could read them fairly easily. One man used to travel to Ghana regularly. He reported that he brought Bible portions in “Cobecha” (probably Chumburung) from there, but gave them away. When shown the Chumburung New Testament, he said he had never seen it, but just booklets. At the community interview in Gbédé a blackboard was brought into the crowded room. A young man was in charge of the board to write down personal and place names for us to copy. Before the start of the interview he wrote “Chumburung” on the top of the board. When asked, he explained “That’s the name of our language.” In the course of the interview he went home and brought back volume two of the Chumburung primer (Demuyakor et al. 1980). In all three villages language assistants stated that the people in Ghana speak exactly like them, “it is the same thing” (« exactement comme nous, c’est la même chose »). It is not clear, though, whether they are referring to Chumburung or to members of the Tchumbuli speech community who went back to Ghana when they say this.

4.4 Comprehension of Foodo

Foodo is another North Guang language, spoken in Séméré, south of Djougou at the border of Togo. The perception of Foodo varies among the Tchumbuli and Cobecha. During the interviews before the actual trip to the language area our interpreter stated that Tchumbuli is also spoken in Séméré. According to him, the varieties of Okounfo and Séméré are mutually intelligible, differing only slightly in tone, and there are no significant lexical differences. In all three villages the Foodo are known, but not with the name “Foodo.” They are called “those of Séméré.” They are seen as “brothers” by the Tchumbuli and Cobecha in Okounfo and Gbédé, and at least as relatives in Edaningbe. The elders of Edaningbe thought that the language Foodo is “the same thing” (« la même chose ») as Tchumbuli. The king of Gbédé had heard about the Foodo and that they are said

to be “brothers,” but he did not know them himself. Others in Gbédé had met Foodo speakers and report to understand simple sentences in context, such as “Put the yam on the table.”

4.5 Language vitality

4.5.1 Bilingualism

Preliminary research suggested that the Tchumbuli and Cobecha are at least bilingual in Tchumbuli and Cabe (Iroko 1995:112, 116). Before the actual survey trip we had several interviews with our interpreter. On one of these occasions also a member of our interpreter’s extended family was present. When talking to each other they used a language that they admitted to be Cabe, when asked. The assumption that the Tchumbuli might be highly bilingual was supported by the sub-prefects of Savè and of Ouèssè who both said that the Tchumbuli and Cobecha speak Cabe so well that they cannot even be identified as non- Cabe. It was reported in Okounfo that children’s L1 (first language) most often is Cabe. An interviewee in Okounfo said that children already speak Cabe when they are 2 or 3 years old. Cabe was said to be the dominant language in the village. In Edaningbe, the question of bilingualism is more complex since for many Cobecha, Tchumbuli is not their L1 anymore. Little children, in general, learn Maxi (or rarely Cabe) instead of Tchumbuli as L1. However, no further research has been done to determine the level of bilingualism in Cabe and Maxi in the Tchumbuli language community. Apart from Tchumbuli, the languages used most are Cabe in Gbédé and Maxi and Cabe (“Nago”) in Edaningbe. The respondents in Gbédé added that in Okounfo they speak more Cabe than they do in Gbédé. No answer was recorded during the community interview for the dominant language in Okounfo, but other information indicates that it is Cabe.

4.5.2 Language use in domains

(x) denotes little or exceptional use of the language in question. Tch = Tchumbuli (for all tables)

Table 7. Language use by domains

Domain Village Tch Cabe Maxi Comments Announcements in the Okounfo (x) x Tchumbuli only for secrets village Gbédé x x Cabe for those who don’t understand Tchumbuli Edaningbe x Ceremonies Okounfo x Gbédé x exclusively Edaningbe (x) x Maxi dominates, “only a little Tchumbuli” Judgments in the family Okounfo x x Gbédé x Edaningbe (x) possibly not generally truea Judgments in the village Okounfo x x Tch in the presence of the king, otherwise Cabe Gbédé x x Cabe because of foreigners Edaningbe (x) x after the council in Tchumbuli Council of elders Okounfo x Gbédé x Edaningbe x (x) proclamation in Maxi Regional meetings of the Okounfo x x Tch with those of Gbédé, Cabe on the traditional council(s) level of the sub-prefecture Gbédé x (x) Cabe (“Nago”) only if non-Tch speakers are present Edaningbe no answer recorded a Two of our respondents in Edaningbe belong to the village founder’s family. We had the impression that they are some of the last few who speak Tchumbuli with their children. Therefore, their answer concerning the use of Tchumbuli in the home domain might not be representative for an average family in Edaningbe. This does not impair the reliability of the other answers on language use.

Cabe or Maxi has permeated into all domains mentioned above except for the council of elders which is held solely in Tchumbuli in all three villages. Ceremonies are another domain consecrated to the sole use of Tchumbuli in Okounfo and in Gbédé, whereas in Edaningbe they seem to be conducted exclusively in Maxi. Another stronghold for the use of Tchumbuli seems to be the family judgments. In the following tables the information is rearranged by village:

Table 8. Language use in Okounfo

Okounfo Tch Cabe Maxi Comments announcements in the village (x) x Tch only for secrets ceremonies x judgments in the family x x judgments in the village x x Tch in the presence of the king, otherwise Cabe council of elders x regional meetings of the x x Tch with those of Gbédé, Cabe on the level of traditional council(s) the sub-prefecture

In Okounfo, ceremonies and the council of elders are domains that still seem to be consecrated exclusively to the use of Tchumbuli. Otherwise, Tchumbuli and Cabe are used alongside each other. Cabe appears to be the default language as soon as non-Tchumbuli speakers are present. In the case of announcements in the village, Cabe dominates, Tchumbuli only being used for secrets that are to be kept from non-Tchumbuli speakers.

Table 9. Language use in Gbédé

Gbédé Tch Cabe Maxi Comments announcements in the village x x Cabe for those who don’t understand Tch ceremonies x exclusively judgments in the family x judgments in the village x x Cabe because of the foreigners council of elders x regional meetings of the x (x) Cabe (“Nago”) only if non-Tchumbuli traditional council(s) speakers present

In Gbédé, ceremonies are restricted to the use of Tchumbuli. Also decisions in the family and the council of elders seem to be conducted exclusively in Tchumbuli. On the village level both Tchumbuli and Cabe are used for announcements and judgments. At meetings of the traditional councils of the sub- prefecture, Tchumbuli is spoken with those of Okounfo, and Cabe (“Nago”) with others. Generally, it can be said that Tchumbuli dominates in all domains. Cabe is used when non-Tchumbuli speakers are concerned.

Table 10. Language use in Edaningbe

Edaningbe Tch Cabe Maxi Comments announcements in the village x ceremonies (x) x Maxi dominates, “only a little Tchumbuli” judgments in the family x judgments in the village x after the council in Tchumbuli council of elders x proclamation in Maxi regional meetings of the no answer recorded traditional council(s)

In Edaningbe, Maxi dominates in most of the domains in question. Even ceremonies, which are a stronghold of Tchumbuli in Okounfo and Gbédé, are conducted predominantly in Maxi, with “only a little Tchumbuli.” Decisions in the family are said to be made in Tchumbuli, but we suspect that this answer is not representative for Edaningbe. Only the council of elders is still held in Tchumbuli. So, all in all, ceremonies and the council of elders are the domains least affected by the use of Cabe or Maxi. In the other domains in question Tchumbuli and Cabe or Maxi are used alongside each other. However, in Okounfo Cabe has taken over the dominating role in village announcements. Likewise, in Edaningbe Maxi dominates in ceremonies. It has replaced Tchumbuli completely in announcements and judgments on the village level. Generally, it can be said that Tchumbuli is used most in Gbédé and least in Edaningbe.

4.5.2.2 Language use at home according to age-groups

Table 11. Language use at home according to age-groups

Age group Village Tch Cabe Maxi Comments > 60 years Okounfo x Gbédé x Edaningbe x 40–60 years Okounfo no answer recorded Gbédé no answer recorded Edaningbe no answer recorded 20–40 years Okounfo no answer recorded Gbédé no answer recorded Edaningbe no answer recorded 10–20 years Okounfo x Gbédé no answer recordeda Edaningbe xb 6–10 years Okounfo x Gbédé no answer recorded Edaningbe x < 6 years Okounfo x Gbédé no answer recorded Edaningbe x a Some elderly people in Gbédé state they would send young people away if they spoke Cabe at home. This remark indicates that Tchumbuli is still used in Gbédé homes (see section 4.5.5.2 below). b This information is based on the comment “The children under 15 or 20 years do not speak the language any longer” (community interview at Edaningbe, August 2000).

As for language use at home, all old people over sixty use Tchumbuli. There are no data available for the group of the 20–40-year-olds. The young generation under 20 (“children”) does not speak Tchumbuli in Okounfo and Edaningbe, but Cabe or Maxi, respectively. It would be interesting to know whether they still speak Tchumbuli in Gbédé or have switched over to speaking Cabe at home.8 The situation in Okounfo is supported by our observations in the extended family of our interpreter. To us it seemed that they were often speaking Cabe, and not Tchumbuli. When asked, they explained that they had given up Tchumbuli and spoke Cabe at home. They added, “The children mock the language of their parents.”

4.5.2.3 Language use in and between age groups

The following tables depict reported data on which languages are used among peers and between age groups. Use of parentheses ( ) denotes little or exceptional use of the language in question.

8 We suppose that the majority speak Tchumbuli, as it is L1 in Gbédé (see section 4.5.3), and the young generation speak Tchumbuli as well as Cabe among peers (see section 4.5.2,3).

Table 12. Language use in Okounfo in and between age groups

Okounfo: < 6 years 6–10 years 10–20 years Comments < 6 years Cabe “Nago” 6–10 years (Tchumbuli), out of 260 Cobecha primary Cabe school children about 25 speak Tchumbuli during breaksa 10–20 years Cabe 20–40 years no answer recorded 40–60 years no answer recorded > 60 no answer recorded

20–40 years 40–60 years > 60 years Comments < 6 years no answer recorded 6–10 years no answer recorded 10–20 years no answer recorded 20–40 years Tchumbuli, Cabe Among themselves, they speak Tchumbuli, with foreigners Cabe. 40–60 years Cabe “Some understand Tchumbuli perfectly, others do not, so Cabe is used.” > 60 years Tchumbuli a “The majority of pupils in Okounfo are Cobecha, that is 260 out of 278. The others are Cabe, Fon, and Peulh. During breaks the pupils speak Cabe, only about 25 pupils speak Tchumbuli. The non-Cobecha do not understand Tchumbuli” (headmaster of the Okounfo primary school, pers. comm.).

In Okounfo, the younger generation (under 20 years) almost exclusively speak Cabe among themselves. The 20–40 year-old Cobecha reportedly speak Tchumbuli among themselves and Cabe with non-Cobecha. The age group of the 40–60 year-olds seems to use more Cabe than Tchumbuli. This was also confirmed by our observations. The older generation uses Tchumbuli with each other. It would be interesting to know whether the 20–40 year-olds really use more Tchumbuli than the next elder age group and why.

Table 13. Language use in Gbédé in and between age groups

< 6 years 6–10 years 10–20 years Comments < 6 years (Tchumbuli), The influence of Ghanaian Cabe immigrants encourages the use of Tchumbulia 6–10 years Tchumbuli,b Cabe “Nago” 10–20 years Tchumbuli according to the headmaster of Gbédé primary schoolc 20–40 years no answer recorded 40–60 years no answer recorded > 60 no answer recorded a In the 1950s a group of Tchumbuli resettled in the Chumburung area in Ghana, but some of these emigrants later came back (see page 12). “The little children speak Cabe, but this changes a bit. The Ghanaians teach us Tchumbuli songs and dances.” The “Ghanaians” in this case means the group that has returned to Benin. b The use of Tchumbuli among primary school children at Gbédé is confirmed by the testimony of the school’s headmaster. He is Maxi and understands only very little Tchumbuli and a little Cabe. The primary school in Gbédé has 125 pupils and all of them speak Tchumbuli except for the 8 children of the headmaster. The environment is bilingual with Cabe. During breaks the children very often have the tendency to speak Tchumbuli, even if they are asked to speak French. His own children have picked up enough Tchumbuli from their schoolmates to speak it when they want to keep secrets from their father. (headmaster of the primary school in Gbédé, pers. comm.). c “They go to the school of the 3rd cycle at Parakou, where they speak Tchumbuli among themselves. They do not hide.” (headmaster of a primary school, pers comm.).

20–40 years 40–60 years > 60 years Comments < 6 years no answer recorded 6–10 years no answer recorded 10–20 years no answer recorded 20–40 years no answer recorded 40–60 years no answer recorded > 60 years Tchumbuli “even at Cotonou”a a the economic capital of Benin

At Gbédé, the younger generations (under 20 years) speak Tchumbuli among themselves to a certain extent. Among little children Cabe seems to be used fairly frequently, whereas the children at primary school use enough Tchumbuli for the headmaster’s children to pick up that language. The Tchumbuli secondary school students at Parakou also speak Tchumbuli among themselves though we are not sure about the reliability of this information. Unfortunately, no answers have been recorded for the middle generation (20–40 years). The older generation speaks Tchumbuli.

Table 14. Language use in Edaningbe in and between age groups

< 6 years 6–10 years 10–20 years Comments < 6 years Maxi no Tchumbuli at all 6–10 years no answer recorded 10–20 years Maxi 20–40 years (Tchumbuli),a see also section 4.5.3 Maxi 40–60 years no answers recorded > 60 no answers recorded

20–40 years 40–60 years > 60 years Comments < 6 years no answers recorded 6–10 years no answers recorded 10–20 years no answers recorded 20–40 years (Tchumbuli),b Maxi 40–60 years no answers recorded > 60 years Cabe, Maxic Tchumbuli Tchumbuli “We have to speak Tchumbuli in order not to become Nago.” (laughter) a “Sometimes they speak Tchumbuli, but that’s fairly rare” (YK, pers. comm.). See also 4.5.3 “Language transmission from parents to children.” b There are Cobecha who do not understand Tchumbuli. “We only speak Tchumbuli when everybody present understands it.” c “We talk to the young people in their mother tongue” (« la langue de leurs mamans »).

In Edaningbe the younger generation under 20 years seems to have completely shifted to Maxi. But also among the 20–40-year-olds a certain number do not master Tchumbuli any longer. They tend to speak Maxi with each other and the older generation communicates with members of this age group in Cabe or Maxi. We do not know the language preferences of the 40–60-year-olds, but the elder generation, which communicates with them in Tchumbuli, also uses Tchumbuli among themselves.

4.5.3 Language transmission from parents to children

Table 15. Language transmission from parents to children

Village Tch Cabe Maxi Fon Comments a child’s first language Okounfo x Gbédé x Edaningbe (x) x sometimes Cabe language parents speak Okounfo (x) x some speak Cabe, others Tchumbuli to their little children Gbédé x Edaningbe x “because the children no longer understand Tchumbuli” languages other than Okounfo x (x) (x) Fon and Maxi only if one of the parents Tchumbuli a child (6 is Fon or Maxi years) understands Gbédé x no answer for Maxi and Fon Edaningbe x at which age do they Okounfo no answers recorded understand… Gbédé There are only very few Fon in the village - no other answers recorded Edaningbe 8 2 – 3 Answer for Fon probably refers to Maxi

In the case of mixed marriages, we asked for the children’s first language if the father is Tchumbuli and the mother is not or if the mother is Tchumbuli and the father is not. In Okounfo and Gbédé, the majority of mixed marriages are with Cabe.9. In Okounfo, the language of the non-Tchumbuli-speaking parent determines the language children learn first regardless of who is the Tchumbuli speaker in the family. In Gbédé, however, the mother’s language dominates. If she is Cabe, she talks Cabe with the child, if she does not understand Tchumbuli. If she is Tchumbuli, she talks Tchumbuli with the child. So in Gbédé children in mixed marriages will still learn Tchumbuli as L1 if the mother is Tchumbuli or knows Tchumbuli well enough. In Okounfo mixed marriages extinguish the acquisition of Tchumbuli as L1. In Edaningbe the majority of mixed marriages are with Maxi women, and some Cabe. The Maxi women speak Maxi with their children. Only in Gbédé do children learn Tchumbuli as their first language and Tchumbuli is used in the family context. In Okounfo the situation is not very clear. Children reportedly learn Cabe as their first language. In mixed marriages they acquire the language of the non-Cobecha parent first. Apparently this does not imply that they learn Tchumbuli first if both parents are Cobecha. Parents speak with their children either in Cabe or in Tchumbuli. In Edaningbe Tchumbuli does not play any role at all in L1 acquisition and communication between parents and children, except in the case of the family of the son of the village founder.

9 Our language assistants usually referred to the variety spoken around Savè as Cabè, sometimes as Nago, and rarely as Yoruba.

4.5.4 Intergenerational shift

One indicator of language shift can be the diminishing language proficiency of the younger generation in the endangered language. When asked if the young children (under 6 years) and the young people (10– 20 years) speak Tchumbuli correctly («comme il faut»), the respondents in the different villages evaluated their children’s proficiency quite differently. In Okounfo there are some children under 6 and also certain youths between 10 and 20 who are said to speak Tchumbuli (“Cobecha”) correctly. However, the respondents in Gbédé mentioned that the younger generation in Okounfo don’t speak “Tchumbuli like adults, they don’t speak it fluently.” In Gbédé the little children (under 6 years) are said to “speak better Tchumbuli than their fathers, and they even speak more than the elders.” As children under 6 years are still in the process of L1 acquisition this statement hardly reflects a realistic assessment of the little children’s language proficiency. Furthermore, in section 4.5.2.3 on language use in and between age groups it was stated that children under 6 speak Cabe to each other. However, the above statement seems to indicate a strong pride in their children as well as in their language. Concerning the youths between 10 and 20 years, they are said to “speak Tchumbuli well.” This is due to the exchange with those of Ghana.10 “The Ghanaians have brought the Tchumbuli songs and dances. Before that we sang Cabe songs. Now the children sing in Tchumbuli.” It has to be kept in mind, though, that the ability to sing songs in a certain language does not necessarily imply a high level of proficiency in that language. Overall, this statement seems to hint that the youths do not speak Tchumbuli all that well and would need more input to improve their proficiency. In Edaningbe the little children are said not to speak Tchumbuli at all, nor do the teenagers seem to speak Tchumbuli correctly. In answer to a question on language use in age groups, it was stated that the “children under 15 or 20 years of age do not speak the language any longer.” There were two young men present (22 years, 26 years) who reportedly speak Tchumbuli properly. They belonged to the family of the founder of the village. Overall, proficiency in Tchumbuli of the younger generation appears to be declining. In Edaningbe, they do not speak Tchumbuli at all. In Okounfo there are said to be “some children” and “certain youths” who speak it correctly, which implies that most young people do not speak it correctly any longer. Only in Gbédé does the young generation still seem to use Tchumbuli actively. However, the way the influence of the Chumburung songs from Ghana is described there suggests that the teenagers may not speak Tchumbuli all that well.

4.5.5 Language attitudes

4.5.5.1 Attitudes towards speakers of other languages

Remarks on mixed marriages during the community interviews revealed attitudes of the villagers towards Cabe, Fon, and Peulh. In Gbédé, the majority of mixed marriages are with Cabe. With the Fon, even though they are reportedly not well liked, intermarriages started recently. There are definitely no mixed marriages with the Peulh. In Okounfo, most of the mixed marriages are with Cabe. However, the Tchumbuli of Okounfo reportedly intermarry with all other ethnic groups as well. In Edaningbe, many Cobecha men marry Maxi women. However, the historical accounts reflect a slightly negative attitude towards the Maxi who got the surnames “pig” or “slave” from the Cobecha. We did not find any evidence that any of these languages are more prestigious than the others.

10 “Those of Ghana” and “the Ghanaians” refers to those who have come from Ghana to settle in Gbédé.

4.5.5.2 Attitudes towards language use

The attitude towards the use of Tchumbuli throughout the Tchumbuli and Cobecha communities is ambiguous. Both in Okounfo and Gbédé, the young people are said to be proud of their language. However, in Okounfo it is added that one is often ashamed of speaking Tchumbuli, “but we cannot leave it.” A former literacy worker of the village claims that Tchumbuli is nothing to be ashamed of. In Gbédé there are admittedly some villagers who understand Tchumbuli but do not want to speak it. They are said to have an inferiority complex because the language is not as developed as neighboring languages, such as Cabe, are. However, this attitude is rather rare. An inferiority complex was also mentioned in Edaningbe where “the young people don’t want to learn Tchumbuli any longer because they are mocked. It is not an ‘official’ language, and they are mocked. If they speak Tchumbuli in the presence of non- Tchumbuli speakers the others think they are talking about them. To avoid this, the Cobecha speak a language the others can understand.” The older generation throughout the three villages is not satisfied with this development. In Okounfo, if the young people speak a language other than Tchumbuli at home, old people think that this is bad and they are not content. They also claim that “it is not good that the children learn Cabe as their first language.” In Gbédé, our elderly assistants state that they would send the young people away if they spoke Cabe at home. In Edaningbe the elders disapprove of the fact that they themselves speak to the generation of the 20–40 year-olds in the language of their (non-Cobecha) mothers.

4.5.5.3 Attitudes towards language shift

To the question whether our language assistants think that their children’s children will still speak Tchumbuli, we got different answers. In Gbédé, the interviewees maintained that their children’s children will still speak Tchumbuli and that they wish it to be so. In Okounfo, the interviewees stated that without a Tchumbuli literacy program, their language would die out within several years. Our language assistants disapproved of this fact. In Edaningbe, the children do not speak Tchumbuli anymore. However, some effort is being made to maintain the Tchumbuli language within the community. The son of one of the elders has started to teach Tchumbuli to some of his peers. All the elders in the three interviewed villages deplore the fact that Tchumbuli is spoken less and less.

4.5.6 Ethnic identity

Traditionally, every village of the Tchumbuli language community has a king. The king of Okounfo is approximately 60 years old. He is 100 percent Cobecha and he speaks nothing but Tchumbuli. Tchumbuli is more widely used in the king’s neighborhood than in other areas of the village. People from Ghana enthroned him in 1998. The crown, a gold-colored hat, was also brought from Ghana for this occasion. (For more information on connections to Ghana see section 4.2). The king of Gbédé is about 50 years old. He took lively interest in the community interview that was conducted in his own house, and he also participated in the elicitation of the wordlist. The king of Edaningbe is said to be very old (« totalement vieux ») and does not seem to participate in village activities anymore. The Tchumbuli and Cobecha have kept their ethnic identity, although the neighboring ethnic groups have had a strong impact on them. The sub-prefect of Savè stated that the Tchumbuli and Cobecha11 have kept their ethnic integrity even though they are totally mixed (« métissés ») with the Cabe and speak Cabe like mother tongue speakers. He said, “It is not likely that they will disappear because they are attached to their origins.” One of our informants in Edaningbe maintained that the Cobecha had to speak Tchumbuli in order not to become “Nago.” One man in Ouèssè complained about the fact that the Tchumbuli and Cobecha are grouped together with the Cabe by the government.

11 He referred to them as “Gbassin” and does not perceive them as two different ethnic groups.

We have conflicting information as to the extent to which the Tchumbuli and Cobecha feel ethnically attached to one another. Iroko, who focuses on the Cobecha, states that the Cobecha have always stayed apart from others, even from their relatives in Gbédé (Iroko 1995:116f). This consciousness of being different was confirmed during the community interview in Edaningbe: “There are Tchumbuli in Edaningbe, but that is also a custom. We have the same language, but we do not have the same customs.”

4.5.7 The number of speakers in relation to the size of the ethnic group

There is no data available as to population numbers of Tchumbuli and Cobecha in the three interviewed villages other than the 1992 census data (Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration Economique du Bénin et al. 1994). However, in these statistics, the Tchumbuli and Cobecha are not considered as a separate ethnic group, but they are grouped together with the Cabe or Maxi respectively.

Table 16. Tchumbuli speakers by village

Village Populationa Ethnic Cobecha or Estimated percentage Estimated number of Tchumbulib of Tchumbuli speakers Tchumbuli speakers Okounfo 1,589 1,160 70 812 Gbédé 1,047 764 95 726 Edaningbe 800 583c 51.5 300 Total 3,436 2,507 73.3 1,838 a See section 1.5 for further details. b Estimates based on the estimated figures for Edaningbe. c In Edaningbe, 300 adults are Cobecha (estimate given by our informants). The total of 583 results from the proportion of 48.5 percent under-15- year-olds in the Zou province (Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration economique 1994a:23).

The estimated overall population of the three villages Okounfo, Gbédé and Edaningbe amounts to 3,436 inhabitants. In Edaningbe, 73 percent of the population were said to be Cobecha (see section 1.5 for further details). If we assume that this proportion is generally true it follows that there are about 2,507 Tchumbuli and Cobecha in the area. This number does not include those who live outside the traditional language area, such as secondary school and university students and those who live in urban areas. Our assistants in Okounfo maintained that almost all Cobecha in the village understand Tchumbuli. However, the results on language use in section 4.5.2 reveal that Tchumbuli is not used widely among the younger generations under 20 years. In Gbédé, it was stated that only those who leave the village do not speak Tchumbuli anymore and that the little children even speak it better than the adults do. In Edaningbe, the language situation is extremely different from that in Gbédé, as reportedly only people older than 20 years still speak Tchumbuli. Thus, we estimate the percentages of Tchumbuli speakers at 95 percent in Gbédé, at 51.5 percent in Edaningbe,12 and somewhere in between for Okounfo. This results in 1,838 Tchumbuli speakers or 73.3 percent of the Tchumbuli and Cobecha population. It has to be kept in mind, though, that this estimate is based on a number of assumptions.

12 The proportion of under-15-year-olds in the Zou province amounts to 48.5 percent (Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration economique 1994a:23.).

4.5.8 Large-scale socioeconomic conditions that favor shift

Fasold (1984:213–245) mentions the following large-scale socioeconomic conditions that favor shift: • urbanization, living in industrial or commercial centers • improved means of transportation and communication • influx of people from the majority group • the replacing language is the language of education The majority of the Tchumbuli and Cobecha live in a rural area. However, we do not have any data on the rural exodus and on the Cobecha and Tchumbuli communities in Cotonou and Porto-Novo. The village of Okounfo used to be at a different location but at a given point of time the community decided to move to the main road RNIE 2 that connects the south of Benin with Burkina Faso in the north. This has probably helped to make Okounfo a market place of some importance for the neighboring (Cabe) villages, resulting in increased contacts with Cabe speakers. The language of formal education in Benin is French. Thus, the replacing language is not the language of education. However, Maxi and Cabe are languages of wider communication in the area.

4.5.9 Other factors related to language vitality

For the research and documentation of endangered languages the following additional factors ought to be considered (Grimes 2000b): • scientific importance of the language for documentation • Has any related language been documented? • current status of documentation • accessibility of the speech community • conditions for carrying out research (fighting, disease) • proficient speakers willing to work on their language for documentation Tchumbuli is closely related to the Chumburung language of Ghana (Snider pers. comm.). In Chumburung a number of books have been produced since 1976, including the New Testament. The translation of the Old Testament is under way (K. Hansford pers. comm.). For the current stage of documentation see section 1.3 on previous linguistic research. The speech community is easily accessible: Okounfo lies directly at the RNIE 2. Gbédé is 6 km off the same road. Edaningbe is a quartier (‘quarter’) of Ouèssè, which is seat of the sub-prefecture. The conditions for carrying out research are favorable.

4.6 Religious situation

4.6.1 General information

4.6.1.1 Okounfo:

There are a Catholic Church, a Methodist Church, a Christianisme Céleste church and approximately 50 Muslims. The Christianisme Céleste has 439 members and the Catholic Church has 225. We do not know the number of Methodists. The majority in the village, and thus in the churches and the mosque, are Cobecha. There are said to be no animists. However, we found some evidence of the presence of

animistic beliefs in the village.13 As to Cobecha leaders in the churches, the president of the Methodist church is a Cobecha, as well as the president and the vice-president of the Christianisme Céleste. A new mosque is being built. Preaching is in Arabic; the explanation of the reading is in Yoruba.

4.6.1.2 Gbédé:

The Catholic Church is the only church in Gbédé and the majority of the inhabitants belong to it. Most of them are Tchumbuli. The catechist is Nago but speaks Tchumbuli fluently. There are very few Muslims in the village, but a new mosque is being built. Preaching at the mosque is in Yoruba, with annotations in Tchumbuli. Animism is not mentioned as a religion, but we found evidence of animistic belief during our stay there.14

4.6.1.3 Edaningbe:

The majority of the inhabitants of Edaningbe are Catholic Christians. Out of the 60 members of the Catholic Church, 25 are Cobecha. Both catechists of the Catholic Church are Cobecha, but one of them does not understand Tchumbuli. There are no Muslims.

4.6.2 Language use

The following data were collected from the church leaders regarding language usage. In the interviews, the names used for indicating a language varied. Cabe would also be referred to as Nago or Yoruba, and Maxi would be referred to as Fon. The Fon Scriptures could be either the Fon New Testament or the Gun Bible. The following abbreviations are used in the tables below: Cb: Cabe F: Fon Fr: French Ma: Maxi Tch: Tchumbuli Yor: Yoruba E: Edaningbe G: Gbédé O: Okounfo

13 Our translator stated that pigs are not reared in Okounfo (contrary to Gbédé) “because the spirit of the earth does not allow it.” 14 After the community interview, the king of Gbédé prayed invoking the Almighty, all the fetishes and the spirits of the dead and the positive forces to help us in our mission.

Table 17. Language use in the Methodist church of Okounfo

O: Methodist Church Tch Cb F Fr Ma Yor Comments Preaching x x Announcements x x Reading of the Scriptures x x Holy Communion x Liturgy no answer recorded Prayers x x Songs/Worship x x Women’s group (x) x French, if strangers present Youth group x x Testimonies x x Bible studies x x Sunday school x Catechism not applicable Bible used at Church x x less than 30 own a Bible

In the Methodist Church of Okounfo, Yoruba and French are both used for all church domains, except for Holy Communion, which is done in Yoruba, and the Sunday school, which is done in French. Testimonies are not in French, but are in Fon as well as Yoruba.

Table 18. Language use in the Christianisme Celeste church of Okounfo

O: Christianisme Celeste Tch Cb F Fr Ma Yor Comments Preaching x x x x Announcements x x x x Reading of the Scriptures x x x no answer recorded Holy Communion x x x Liturgy x x x Prayers x x x Songs/Worship x x x Women’s group x x x no answer recorded Youth group x x x Testimonies x x Bible studies x Sunday school x Catechism not applicable Bible used at Church x x x approx. 20 own a Bible

In the Christianisme Céleste church of Okounfo, Yoruba is used in all the domains. In addition, French and Fon are used in most domains except Bible studies and Sunday school which are held exclusively in Yoruba, and testimonies which are in Yoruba or Fon, not in French. The sermon and announcements are also given in Cabe. Scripture readings are in Gun. In addition to that, French and Yoruba Bibles are used.

Table 19. Language use in the Catholic church of Okounfo

O: Roman Catholic Church Tch Cb F Fr Ma Yor Comments Preaching x x Announcements x x Reading of the Scriptures x Holy Communion x Liturgy x x Prayers x Songs/Worship x x Women’s group (x) x Fr if strangers are present Youth group x x Testimonies depends on the ethnicity of the witness Bible studies x x Sunday school x Catechism x Bible used at Church x approx. 10 have their own Bible

In the Catholic Church in Okounfo, the main language is Yoruba, which is used in all domains. Sermons and announcements are also made in Cabe. French is used for the liturgy, songs and worship, the youth group, and Bible studies. If strangers are present it is also used in the women’s meeting. Tchumbuli is never used except maybe for testimonies.15

Table 20. Language use in the Catholic church of Gbédé

G: Roman Catholic Church Tch Cb F Fr Ma Yor Comments Preaching x Announcements x Reading of the Scriptures x Holy Communion x Liturgy x Prayers (x) x prayers rarely in Tch. Songs/Worship x Women’s group x x x Youth group x children at church speak Tchumbuli Testimonies x Bible studies x Sunday school not applicable Catechism x Bible used at Church x x very few own a Bible

15 Bearing in mind that Cobecha tend to speak Cabe as soon as non-Tchumbuli speakers are present this seems improbable, though.

In the Catholic Church in Gbédé: the language used most often is Yoruba. It is used in all domains except for sermons and announcements and in the youth group. Some believers pray in Tchumbuli and the women’s group as well as the youth group are held in Tchumbuli. Cabe is used for the sermon and announcements and in the women’s group. Apart from the French Bible, French is not used at all.

Table 21. Language use in the Catholic church of Edaningbe

E: Roman Catholic Church Tch Cb F Fr Ma Yor Comments Preaching x x Tchumbuli is not used at all during mass Announcements x x Reading of the Scriptures x x Holy Communion x x x Liturgy x x x Prayers x x x Songs/Worship x x x Women’s group x x x x Youth group (x) x x x Tchumbuli if “illiterates” are present Testimonies (x) x x Bible studies no answers recorded Sunday school no answers recorded Catechism x x Bible used at Church x x approx. 30 own a Bible

In the Catholic Church of Edaningbe, with a few exceptions, Cabe, Fon, and French are equally used in all domains except for the catechism, which is in Fon or Maxi. The Scriptures are not available in Cabe and French is not used for the sermon, announcements, or testimonies. In addition to that, the women’s group is sometimes held in Yoruba. Very rarely, Tchumbuli is used for testimonies and during youth meetings, even if some people do not understand it. Scripture readings are from the Fon New Testament or the French Bible. In none of the churches are parts of the service or mass translated into Tchumbuli, neither planned nor spontaneously, because it is reported that everyone understands at least one of the other languages in use. In all churches, there are believers in leading positions (e.g. catechists) who are Tchumbuli or Cobecha. However, in Okounfo and Gbédé, they use Cabe or Yoruba and in Edaningbe they use Fon for their work. Tchumbuli only seems to be spoken in the women’s group as well as in the youth group in Gbédé.

4.6.3 Attitude of church leaders to use of Tchumbuli in the churches

Tchumbuli is not used in the church context except sometimes for prayers in the Gbédé Catholic church where it is encouraged.16 In Edaningbe, they have tried to use Tchumbuli in the church, but have not succeeded. They even tried to write something in Tchumbuli. Some Tchumbuli secondary school students also expressed their interest in Tchumbuli religious materials, but they could not find any. The Christianisme Céleste church and the Methodist Church in Okounfo do not encourage the use of Tchumbuli in church.

16 The catechist at Gbédé is “Nago” but speaks Tchumbuli fluently.

The representatives of the three Catholic churches stated that it is not inappropriate to use Tchumbuli at church: “It is good to use Tchumbuli, because we are Cobecha (Okounfo).” The catechist of Edaningbe stated: “We, the Cobecha, attend mass. For everyone the Bible is read in his own language. It would be easier to understand—it would reach the heart directly—if it were read in Cobecha. But for us, we cannot read (the Bible) in our own language.”

4.7 Literacy

Literacy classes in the sub-prefecture of Ouèssè are either in Cabe or in Maxi as languages of instruction. They use the Yoruba primer (new orthography) or a Fon primer. However, there are no official literacy classes in Okounfo, Gbédé, and Edaningbe at present. In Okounfo, there used to be a literacy worker for Cabe. Classes were not continued, though, “because they did not have a meeting room.” In Gbédé, literacy classes reportedly failed due to lack of interest. The literacy coordinator of the sub-prefecture of Ouèssè had tried to motivate the Tchumbuli and Cobecha in Gbédé and Edaningbe and confirmed this statement. According to him, there are never any Tchumbuli or Cobecha participants in the literacy classes. He said, “They don’t have the will.” However, there is an interest in literacy as reported to us. One man who was born in Okounfo spent some time in Ghana and in Badjamosso before he came back to Okounfo. He has seen the Chumburung primers before and can read them, though with difficulties. He stumbles over letters and does not seem to understand what he is reading. But he has his own system of writing Tchumbuli and had started literacy classes for children in 1999 on Mondays and Saturdays. Unfortunately, the children do not show very much interest. An experiment shows that others can read and understand his orthography. Another man also reportedly knows how to write Tchumbuli and helps in classes. He was not present at the interview. In Gbédé no one is known to write Tchumbuli, but when asked whether they had ever seen anything written in Tchumbuli, one man brought out volume 2 of the Chumburung primers of the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation (GILLBT). Also in Gbédé, the Catholic Church teaches literacy in Yoruba (“Nago”) and a few believers can read. If a literacy program were started, people in Okounfo reportedly would enlist in Yoruba classes because there are already some (Catholics) who read the New Testament in Yoruba. An elder in Gbédé says it would be great if it were in Tchumbuli because the children already learn “Nago” at school. The king added that Cabe would be good, too, but the emphasis should be on Tchumbuli.

4.8 Attitudes towards development

According to the sub-prefect of Savè, who has visited the Tchumbuli language area several times, the Tchumbuli and Cobecha are not interested in development activities. He said, “They let themselves be neglected and they neglect themselves.” In Okounfo, the village pays an assistant teacher because there are not enough teachers in the primary school. The same is true for the Gbédé primary school. Thus, a Tchumbuli man has been recruited and is paid by the village. On the other hand, the headmaster of the primary school in Gbédé states that one of the school’s problems is the low scolarization rate and the lacking motivation of parents to send their children to school. In Okounfo, some villagers have founded the NGO “Association du Développement Socio- economique et Culturel des Enfants d’Okounfo” (“Association for the socio-economic and cultural development of the children of Okounfo”), also called GNANBESSI (« Soyons unis » “let us be one”). The NGO Picardie, which works in the area, has built a market place in Okounfo.

5 Summary and conclusion

As we stated at the beginning of the report, the purpose of the Tchumbuli sociolinguistic survey was to provide the Togo-Benin SIL administrators with information about the Tchumbuli language and the language area. Following is a summary of what we found.

5.1 General information

The Tchumbuli language community of Benin is a group of 2,500–3,000 people whose ancestors immigrated from Ghana around 150 years ago and settled in three villages between Savè and Ouèssè. They have kept their ethnic identity although they are presently mixed with surrounding people groups, the majority being Cabe or Maxi. The Tchumbuli of Gbédé call their language and people group “Tchumbuli,” whereas those in Edaningbe and in Okounfo refer to their language and people group as “Cobecha.” The Tchumbuli language community is not noted as a separate ethnic grouping in the census data. Their Cabe and Maxi neighbors perceive them as a homogenous group called “Gbassen.” From within, the picture of ethnic diversity is ambiguous. On the one hand, members of the group distinguish clearly between Tchumbuli and Cobecha.17 On the other hand, they perceive themselves as one group having the same language and sharing at least some traditions and customs. There are no perceived regional dialects of the Tchumbuli language. However, the Tchumbuli and Cobecha say that in Gbédé Tchumbuli is spoken most and best. All agree that the Chumburung language in Ghana is the same as Tchumbuli and in order to learn Tchumbuli properly it would be best to go there. Snider, a linguist working in the North Guang languages, confirms that Tchumbuli definitely is a “dialect” of the Ghanaian Chumburung language (Snider pers. comm.). He states that the Tchumbuli who have moved to Ghana from Benin have no difficulty using Chumburung literacy material. However, concerning the Tchumbuli speech community in Benin, Ring, who surveyed the Chumburung language area, reported that he “would be surprised to find the Chumburung NT useable as it stands in its Ghana format and idioms among the Benin Basa” (Ring pers. comm.).

5.2 Language vitality

5.2.1 Factors relating to language maintenance or shift

The following factors relate to language maintenance or shift (Fasold 1984:213–245, Brenzinger 1997:274–276, Grimes 2000b): • bilingualism • language use in domains and age-groups • language transmission from parents to children • intergenerational shift • language attitudes • self-perception and identification with the dominating ethnic group • the number of speakers in relation to the size of the ethnic group There is reportedly a high level of bilingualism with Cabe in Okounfo and Gbédé, and Maxi in Edaningbe. The level has yet to be determined more precisely. The use of Cabe or Maxi has permeated into all domains investigated except for the council of elders. The extent differs from village to village. Generally, it can be said that Tchumbuli dominates in Gbédé. On the other hand, in Okounfo, Tchumbuli and Cabe are used alongside each other with a slight predominance of Cabe. In Edaningbe, the use of Maxi dominates. Concerning the use of Tchumbuli by age groups, the older generation (over 60 years) uses Tchumbuli at home and within their age group in all three villages. The younger generation (under 20 years) uses Cabe or Maxi at home and among their peers in Okounfo and Edaningbe. In Gbédé they use

17 In this context our language assistants also mentioned the Awloukpoukpou. We could not determine whether this is a subgroup of one of the two or a separate group.

Tchumbuli and Cabe alongside each other for communication within the younger age groups. For the middle generation (20–60 years) we have too little data to draw any clear-cut conclusions. It seems that Tchumbuli and Cabe or Maxi are both used with Cabe or Maxi as the default language as soon as non- Tchumbuli speakers are present. In Gbédé the first language (L1) that children learn is Tchumbuli, whereas in Okounfo and Edaningbe, the L1 generally seems to be Cabe or Maxi, respectively. In mixed marriages the language of the mother is the children’s L1 in Gbédé, meaning that Tchumbuli is an option. In Okounfo, however, the language of the non-Tchumbuli speaker dominates, so that Tchumbuli is no longer L1 in the family. Parents in Gbédé speak Tchumbuli with their children. In Okounfo and Edaningbe they generally speak Cabe or Maxi. Only some still use Tchumbuli. Thus it is not surprising if the Tchumbuli proficiency of the younger generations is declining. Only in Gbédé are children and teenagers said to speak Tchumbuli correctly, whereas in Edaningbe they reportedly do not speak it at all. Based on the data collected we conclude that language shift is taking place in social domains as well as between generations. The use of Tchumbuli is still intact in the older generation (over 60 years). In the younger generation (under 20 years) Cabe or Maxi is replacing Tchumbuli. This process is at different stages in the three villages: it appears to be starting in Gbédé and to be well on its way in Okounfo. In Edaningbe, it seems to be more advanced than in Okounfo, with Maxi probably having replaced the use of Tchumbuli completely in the younger generation (under 20 years). This generation represents approximately 50 percent of the population. For the middle generation (40–60 years) nothing definite can be said. In the church domain, Tchumbuli is hardly used at all. During the service or mass it does not play any active role at all, though it is encouraged for prayers in Gbédé. In Edaningbe the church leaders have tried to encourage the use of Tchumbuli but did not succeed. In other church activities, Tchumbuli only seems to be used in the women’s group and the youth group in Gbédé. The Tchumbuli and Cobecha appear to have an ambiguous attitude towards their language. On the one hand, they are very conscious of their ethnic identity, and are proud of their language as part of this identity. On the other hand, they have adopted the surrounding languages Cabe and Maxi out of need. Some mention an inferiority complex that results in the use of Cabe or Maxi as soon as a non-Tchumbuli speaker is present. This psychological state also decreases the motivation of the younger generations to learn and use Tchumbuli. The size of the ethnic group and the number of Tchumbuli speakers can only be estimated very roughly. Based on the 1992 census data and assumptions derived from information gathered during the survey in August 2000 we estimate that there are 2,500–3000 Cobecha and Tchumbuli in the area. About 73 percent still speak Tchumbuli to some extent.

5.2.2 Conclusions as to the stage of endangerment

For the definition of stages of language endangerment reports the following criteria were developed in a colloquium entitled “Language Endangerment, Research and Documentation: Setting Priorities for the 21st Century” (Grimes 2000b).

Table 22. Stages of endangerment

Stage of endangerment Age of speakers Numbers of speakers Extinct critically endangered only 70+ very few severely endangered only 40+ endangered only 20+ eroding only some children, all children in places, older people stable but threatened all children, older people few safe, not endangered expected to be learned by all children

In the case of Tchumbuli it is difficult to determine the overall stage of endangerment as the situation of the language differs from village to village. In Edaningbe the younger generation under 20 appears not to speak the language any longer. Furthermore, in the generation of 20–40 year-olds there are Cobecha who do not understand Tchumbuli. Members of the old generation address them in the language of their non-Cobecha mothers. Thus, Tchumbuli is somewhere between “endangered” and “severely endangered” in Edaningbe, according to the criteria mentioned above. In Gbédé apparently all children acquire Tchumbuli as their first language except those with non- Tchumbuli mothers who do not speak Tchumbuli. Little children (under 6) reportedly speak Cabe to each other, which indicates that Tchumbuli is possibly “eroding” in Gbédé. In Okounfo children generally do not seem to learn Tchumbuli as their first language. As to language use, for everyday communication Cabe seems to dominate in all age groups except the old generation. Apparently even among the 40–60 year olds there are some who do not understand Tchumbuli. It is not clear though whether this refers to ethnic Cobecha. Generally, there are at least some in all generations who speak Tchumbuli. Thus the language is eroding over the various age groups. In sum, the stage of Tchumbuli is somewhere between that in Gbédé and that in Edaningbe, i.e., it is “endangered.”

5.3 Literacy and attitudes towards development

Efforts to establish literacy programs in Cabe (Yoruba materials) or Maxi (Fon materials) in the Tchumbuli language area have not been successful. It seems that the Tchumbuli and Cobecha are not very eager to read and write in the surrounding regional languages, their second languages, or even first languages for some of the younger generations. Nonetheless, there is a certain extent of literacy in Yoruba in the Catholic Church: in Okounfo some people can read the Yoruba New Testament, and in Gbédé children get literacy classes in order to learn the catechism. In all three villages we met people interested in literacy, some of them being trained literacy workers. There is some interest in literacy in Tchumbuli combined with the hope to slow down the process of language shift. In Okounfo, one person developed his own orthography of Tchumbuli and tried to start literacy classes for children. If literacy classes were started in general, people in Gbédé would reportedly prefer Tchumbuli to any other language. Indication that there is a certain effort towards development is shown in two villages hiring an assistant teacher to supplement the staff at the local primary schools, and the existence of the association for development in Okounfo.

5.4 Religious situation

In the Tchumbuli language area there are Catholic churches in all the three villages in question. Furthermore, there is a Methodist church and Christianisme Celeste church in Okounfo. The Christianisme Celeste church is the biggest denomination in Okounfo. Although there are reportedly few

Muslims, new mosques are being built in Okounfo and Gbédé. There are Tchumbuli and Cobecha members in all religious groups. Though traditional African religion is not mentioned explicitly, there is evidence of animistic practices in everyday life. Tchumbuli hardly plays any role in church and mosque life. However, the representatives of the three Catholic churches stated that it is not inappropriate to use Tchumbuli at church. In Gbédé, the use of Tchumbuli for prayers is encouraged. In Edaningbe, they have tried to use Tchumbuli at church but have not succeeded. The catechist of Edaningbe stated, “We, the Cobecha, attend mass. For everyone the Bible is read in his own language. It would be easier to understand—it would reach the heart directly—if it were read in Cobecha. But for us, we cannot read (the Bible) in our own language.”

6 Recommendations

The Tchumbuli language community in Benin is undergoing a language shift process. According to the criteria developed in a colloquium on language endangerment (Grimes 2000b), the extent of the shift differs from village to village. The Tchumbuli language is “eroding” in the one village, “endangered” in the second, and probably “severely endangered” in the third village. At this point we find it difficult to discern which course of action would serve the Tchumbuli and Cobecha best to meet their literacy needs. We see two possibilities: 1) literacy in Chumburung or 2) literacy in Yoruba, Fon, or Maxi.

6.1 Literacy in Chumburung

Tchumbuli is very closely related to Chumburung. Tchumbuli speakers from Okounfo and Gbédé have family ties and, therefore, contacts with Chumburung speakers in Ghana. Chumburung is reported to be the correct way of speaking Tchumbuli. There is definitely a positive overtly expressed attitude towards literacy in Tchumbuli or Chumburung. Thus, one suggestion would be to make Chumburung literacy materials accessible to Tchumbuli speakers. This could be achieved by promoting Chumburung literacy classes in Okounfo and Gbédé. However, Edaningbe would not lend itself to these because there the language shift process appears to be well advanced, except for among the oldest age groups. It would have to be assessed whether the Ghanaian orthography could be used as it is or whether the Chumburung material would have to be adapted according to orthography regulations in Benin. Another open question is how well the Tchumbuli and Cobecha in Benin really understand Chumburung. Instead of conducting a second survey to determine the level of comprehension of Chumburung in the Tchumbuli language community in Benin, we would suggest ongoing assessment through a literacy initiative. At this stage it is not clear how well Chumburung written materials would be accepted due to comprehension and orthography.

6.2 Literacy in Yoruba, Fon, or Maxi

The Tchumbuli and Cobecha are reportedly bilingual in Tchumbuli and Cabe or Maxi. The indications of a more or less advanced shift process towards Cabe or Maxi suggest that these two languages are taking over the role of L1 in places. In this situation, comprehension testing would not be sufficient for language assessment. Instead, proficiency testing would be needed, which would require a considerably higher amount of preparatory as well as analytical work than the comprehension testing. Alternatively, we propose ongoing language assessment in a literacy initiative. The idea would be to promote literacy in either Yoruba (with Cabe as means of instruction) for Okounfo, and Gbédé or Fon or Maxi (with Maxi as means of instruction) for Edaningbe. It has to be pointed out, though, that Maxi has not yet been developed very much and the majority of literacy classes in the Maxi-speaking area are in Fon, with Maxi as means of instruction. In the classes it would probably become clear to what extent the participating Tchumbuli and Cobecha attain L1 proficiency in Cabe or Maxi. Before starting such an initiative the reasons for the failure of past literacy efforts in the Tchumbuli language area would need to be analyzed. The reasons given were lack of financial means and location. Apart from that, there is a

negative overt attitude towards language shift, and possibly a negative attitude towards Fon and Maxi, particularly in the older generation. During a sociolinguistic survey among the Cabe communities, data on dialect comprehension and language attitudes were collected. The results seemed to indicate that the Cabe communities could be linked to existing literacy efforts in Yoruba (Kluge 1999:27ff). Comprehension testing showed average scores of 98 percent for a Yoruba narrative and of 90 percent for a Bible passage in modern Yoruba. Language attitudes appeared to be positive. Therefore, it was recommended for the Cabe communities to promote literacy in Yoruba and the use of the 1987 version of the New Testament in Yoruba in the churches. So if the Tchumbuli and Cobecha of Okounfo and Gbédé turn out to have a high level of proficiency in Cabe they could also have access to language materials in Yoruba. For the Maxi communities, the situation regarding dialect comprehension and language attitudes has yet to be clarified.

Appendix A: Map

Map 1. Map of the language area

Appendix B : Questionnaires

Community questionnaire

Questionnaire Communautaire – Enquete sur le Gbasan

(rév 08/00, SIL Togo/Benin) Effectué le ______à ______par ______enquêteur(s) présent(s) ______langue d’enquête : ______traducteur(s) : ______domicile : ______Identité ethnique du chef : ______; des vieux : ______

Abréviations : Ba = Gbasan, Cb = Cabe (Nago), Ch = Chumburung, M = Maxi, F = Fon, Fd = Foodo, Fr = Français O = oui, N = non

La Langue de l’Enquete et les Langues Voisines Comment appelez-vous votre propre langue ? ______Comment appelez-vous vous-mêmes en tant qu’ethnie ? ______Comment les autres appellent-ils votre langue ? ______Comment les autres vous appellent-ils en tant qu’ethnie ? ______D’où sont venus les fondateurs de ce village ? ______Est-ce qu’ils ont tous la même histoire ? [Chounbouloun, Awloukpoukpou, Chombecha] La majorité de la population ici sont de quelle ethnie ? ______Les minorités ? ______Parmi les (Gbasan), combien parlent le (Gbasan) ? [majorité, moitié,…] Parmi les (Gbasan), est-ce qu’il y a des mariages mixtes ? O N La plupart des mariages mixtes sont avec des locuteurs de quelle langue (cabe/fon) ? ______

Pour trouver l’étendue de la région où la langue est parlée, montrez une photocopie d’une carte de la région, et posez les questions suivantes. Dans quels villages est votre langue (gbasan) parlée ? [Okounfo, Gbédé, Edanigbe/Ouéssé] (Encerclez les villages où la langue se parle; mettez des parenthèses autour des noms des villages où il n'est pas certain que la langue se parle.) Est-ce qu’il y a des villages où plusieurs langues sont parlées ? ______(Encadrez les villages où des locuteurs de plusieurs langues différentes se trouvent.) Dans quels villages parle-t-on une langue différente que la vôtre ? ______Quel est le nom de cette langue / ces langues ? ______(Soulignez les villages où il est certain qu’on parle une langue différente que celle en question, et écrivez le nom de celle-ci à côté du village - ceci pour déterminer les frontières de la langue étudiée.) A part votre langue, quelle langue est utilisée le plus souvent ici dans votre village ? ______et dans les villages près d’ici ? ______Est-ce qu’il y a d’autres endroits où on parle votre langue (gbasan) ? ______[Togo, au sud de Chindere (Ghana), Séméré (Benin)] Est-ce qu’il y a quelques-uns parmi vous qui ont l’habitude d’aller à ? Pour quelles raisons ? (a) ______(b) ______(c) ______Est-ce que les gens de [Togo, au sud de Chindere (Ghana), Séméré (Benin)] ont l’habitude de venir ici ? ______Pour quelles raisons ? ______

Variantes de la Langue Enquetee et Intercomprehension entre les variantes.

38 39

Parmi les villages où votre langue (gbasan) est parlée, comment est-ce qu’on parle :

exactement comme vous ? un peu différemment ? très différemment ? Okounfo Gbédé Edanigbe/Ouéssé Séméré

Comment appelle-t-on les gens (gbasan) de…

Okounfo Gbédé Edanigbe/Ouéssé Séméré

Quelles sortes de différences existent entre votre variante de (gbasan) et les autres (prononciation, vocabulaire emprunté) ? Variante (a) ______Variante (b) ______Variante (c) ______Variante (d) ______Quelle variante avez-vous le plus de difficulté à comprendre ? ______Laquelle comprenez-vous la plus facilement ? ______Est-ce que vous avez tous les mêmes origines ? ______Est-ce que vous les considérez comme des étrangers ou comme vos frères ? ______Si quelqu’un veut apprendre votre langue, où est-ce qu’il devrait s’installer ? ______

L’Usage de la Langue/Variante Parmi les (Gbasan), quelle est la première langue que les enfants apprennent dans ce village? ______En quelle langue les parents (Gbasan) parlent-ils avec leurs petits enfants (< 6 ans) ? ______Dans les mariages mixtes au village, quelle langue est-ce que les enfants apprennent premièrement, si le père est gbasan et la mère est (cabe/fon/_____) ? si la mère est gbasan et le père est (cabe/fon/_____) ? Est-ce que les jeunes enfants (< 6 ans) parlent votre langue (gbasan) comme il faut (corrèctement) ? O N Est-ce qu’un enfant de six ans de ce village (nommez le nom du village) peut comprendre le cabe ? O N le fon ? O N le maxi ? O N Si non, quand il grandit, à quel âge comprendrait-t-il le cabe ? ____ le fon ? ____ le maxi ? ____ le français ? ____ Et les jeunes gens (10–20 ans), est-ce qu’ils parlent votre langue (gbasan) comme il faut ? O N Ici à (x), quelle langue est-ce qu’utilise normalement :

à la maison Aux champs un vieux/une vieille (> 60 ans) une personne de 40–60 ans une personne de 20–40 ans un/e jeune de 10–20 ans un enfant (6–10 ans) un petit enfant (< 6 ans)

Ici à (x), quelle langue utilise la personne A normalement en parlant à

un petit un enfant un garcon/ une personne une personne un vieux enfant (6–10 ans) une jeune fille de 20–40 ans de 40–60 ans /une vieille (< 6 ans) (10–20 ans) un petit enfant (< 6 ans) un enfant (6–10 ans) un garcon/ une jeune fille (10–20 ans) une personne de 20–40 ans une personne de 40–60 ans un vieux/ une vieille

Quelle langue est-ce que vous utilisez pour : Annonces dans le village Ba Cb M F ____ Rites de coutumes Ba Cb M F ____ Jugements dans la famille Ba Cb M F ____ Jugements au village Ba Cb M F ____ Conseils d’anciens (au village) Ba Cb M F ____ Réunions du conseil traditionnel (régionales) Ba Cb M F ____ Connaissez-vous des Gbasan qui ne savent plus parler le gbasan ? ______Est-ce qu’il y en a beaucoup ? ______Où est-ce qu’ils habitent ? ______Si les jeunes gens parlent (cabe/fon/____) à la maison, qu’est-ce qu’un vieux en penserait ? ______Les jeunes gens, sont ils fiers de votre langue ? ______Quand les enfants de ce village auront d’enfants eux-mêmes, pensez-vous que leurs enfants parleront votre langue (gbasan) ? Est-ce que c’est bon ou mauvais ? ______Est-ce que c’est bon de parler votre langue (gbasan) ? Pourquoi ? ______

Alphabetisation Est-ce qu’il y a des classes d’alphabétisation au village ? O N Dans quelle(s) langue(s) ? ______Ça se passe combien de fois par an ? ______Est-ce qu’il y a des classes d’alphabétisation dans un village proche d’ici ? O N Organiséés par qui ? ______Dans quelle(s) langue(s) ? ______

Ça se passe combien de fois par an ? ______Est-ce que vous avez jamais vu quelque chose écrit en gbasan ? O N ______Est-ce que vous connaissez quelqu’un qui écrit en gbasan ? O N ______

Si on commençait un programme d’alphabétisation est-ce que les gens d’ici vont-ils s'intéresser et s'inscrire pour la classe : si c’était en gbasan ? O N ______et si c’était en fon ? O N ______et si c’était en yoruba ? O N ______et si c’était en maxi ? O N ______et si c’était en cabe ? O N ______Est-ce qu’il y a des ONG qui travaillent dans la région dans l’alphabétisation/agriculture/santé/autres domains ? ______

Information Generale Sur La Communaute Est-ce qu’il y a des églises ici ? O N ______Si oui, quelle langue est utilisée pour : la prédication/l’homélie ? Ba Cb M F ____ pour les chants ? Ba Cb M F ____ les prières ? Ba Cb M F ____ les annonces ? Ba Cb M F ____ les réunions de prière ou d’autres rendez-vous ? Ba Cb M F ____ Les gens qui se rendent au culte, ils sont de quel ethnie ? ______Est-ce qu’il y a des mosquées ici ? O N ______Si oui, quelle langue est utilisée pour : la prédication/l’enseignement ? Ba Cb M F ___ l’interprétation de la lecture du Coran ? Ba Cb M F ___

Literacy questionnaire

Questionnaire pour les Responsables d’Education Non-Formelle

Enquete sur le gbasan (rév. 08/00, SIL Togo/Benin) Effectué le ______à ______par ______Enquêteurs présents : Presentation de l’Enquete Nom et fonction : Langue maternelle : Parlez-vous gbasan ? non oui un peu bien très bien cabe ? non oui un peu bien très bien Informations Demographiques Alphabétisation Les classes d’alphabétisation dans la région sont organisées en quelles langues ? (Distribution de langues par région/sous-préfecture/commune/organisation/église)

Nombre de classes et le total des étudiants

Endroit Organisateur Total d’étudiants Ethnies des étudiants Langue 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Est-ce que vous avez des projets pour l’avenir en ce qui concerne l’utilisation du gbasan pour l’alphabétisation ? ______

Post-Alphabétisation Existe-t-il des classes de post-alphabétisation dans la région ? O N Si oui, depuis quand ? ______Elles existent en quelle(s) langue(s) ? ______

Nombre des classes et le total des étudiants

Endroit Organisateur Total des étudiants Ethnies des étudiants Langue

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Quelle sorte de programme ? ______

La Langue Utilisée pour l’Alphabétisation Quels syllabaires sont utilisés pour les classes ? ______Développés par qui ? (gouvernement/DNA/ONG/églises) Quelle orthographe ? ______Quelle langue est utilisée pour les classes d’alphabétisation ? ______

Véhicule d’instruction :

Langue écrite :

Existe-t-il des problèmes de compréhension de cette langue parmi les étudiants ? O N Si oui, lesquels ? ______Selon vous, est-ce que le choix de cette langue est capable de servir les locuteurs gbasan le mieux ? O N

Si non, quelle variante devrait être choisie pour l’alphabétisation ? Existe-t-il des problèmes de lecture avec cette orthographe ? O N Si oui, lesquels ? ______Quelle orthographe est la meilleure ? Pourquoi ?

Church questionnaire

Questionnaire Ecclesiastique - Enquete sur le gbasan

(rév. 08/00, SIL Togo/Benin) Date : ______Place : ______Interviewer : ______Surveyors present : ______Lanuage spoken during interview : ______If any translation, in which language ? ______Denomination/Name of the Church : ______

Abréviations : Ba = gbasan, Cb = cabe (nago), F = fon, Fr français, M = maxi, O = oui, N = non

Presentation de l’informeur nom et fonction dans l’église______ethnie______langue maternelle : ______parle la langue locale ? non un peu bien couramment parle le cabe ? non un peu bien couramment nom et fonction dans l’église______ethnie______langue maternelle : ______parle la langue locale ? non un peu bien couramment parle le cabe ? non un peu bien couramment

Information Generale La majorité des Gbasan au village est de quelle religion ? musulmane chrétienne animiste autre ______Cabe______? musulmane chrétienne animiste autre Il y a quelles églises au village ? ______Quelles églises sont les plus grandes ? ______Parmi les Gbasan, il y a combien de chrétiens : la majorité/ la plupart/ la moitié/ une petite partie ? ______musulmans : la majorité/ la plupart/ la moitié/ une petite partie ? ______animistes : la majorité/ la plupart/ la moitié/ une petite partie ? Les Gbasan sont membres de quelles églises ? ______Combien d’entre eux sont des croyants/chrétiens pratiquants : la majorité/ la plupart/ la moitié/ une petite partie ? Est-ce qu’il y a des responsables de l’église qui sont des locuteurs gbasan (catechistes/pasteurs/ evangélistes) ? ______Si oui, qui ? ______Ils utilisent quelle langue pour leur travail ? ______Les enfants gbasan, parlent-ils le gbasan ? O N Ils parlent quelle(s) autre(s) langue(s) ? Les jeunes gbasan, ______O N ______?

L’Usage de la Langue a l’Eglise

Dans votre église, il y a combien de Gbasan ? la majorité/ la plupart/ la moitié/ une petite partie ? Quelles langues sont-elles utilisées pendant le culte/la messe pour :

44 la prédication/homélie Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ - la liturgie Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ les annonces Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ - prières (des Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ dirigeants) la lecture des Ecritures Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ - prières (des Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ paroissiens) l’eucharistie/la sainte cène Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ - les chants/la louange Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___

Quelle(s) langue(s) est(sont) utilisée(s) pour : les réunions des femmes Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ le groupe de jeunesse Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ les témoignages Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ les études bibliques Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ l’école de dimanche Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ (les catholiques) : le catechisme Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ Quelle Bible est utilisée à l’église ? F Fr Y___ Dans votre congrégation combien de personnes possèdent leurs propres Bibles ? très peu | plusieurs | moitié | majorité Est-ce qu’il existe du matériel religieux en gbasan ? O N Si oui, lequel ? ______Est-ce qu’il y a des responsables gbasan dans cette église ? O N Ils prêchent dans quelle langue ? Ba Cb F Fr M Y ___ Est-ce que quelqu’un donne parfois une traduction préparée ou spontanée en gbasan : O N Pourquoi ? ______

Engagement Potentiel de L’eglise

Est-ce que l’utilisation du gbasan est encouragée par les responsables de cette église : pour le culte/la messe ? O N pour les réunions différentes ? O N Lesquelles ? ______Si non, est-ce que vous croyez que l’utilisation du gbasan serait inappropriée pour le culte/la messe ? O N ; pour quelle(s) raison(s) ? Est-ce que les membres de votre église ont exprimé leur intérêt à lire et écrire en gbasan ? O N à avoir du matériel religieux en gbasan ? O N Est-ce qu’il y a quelqu’un qui travaille dans un projet ou programme de développement, dans l’alphabétisation par exemple ? O N Si oui, qui/quel programme ?

Missions et usage de langues

Est-ce qu’il y a des missions chrétiennes au village/ dans la région ? O N Si oui, lesquelles/où ? Ils travaillent dans quel domaine ? Il y a combien de collaborateurs de cette mission au village/dans la région ? Ils sont des locuteurs de quelle langue ? En dehors de cela, ils parlent quelle(s) autre(s) langue(s) ?

Appendix C: Historical accounts

Okounfo:

Our ancestors made war, that was their food. They would go from village to village and when they found a pretty village, they would conquer it. In Kumasi (Ghana), a dispute arose between the Cobecha and the inhabitants of Kumasi. The Cobecha left Kumasi. The Tchumbuli, who stayed at Gbadjamossi at that time, left their place to join the Cobecha. The two groups speak the same language. (The Tchumbuli are not Ashanti.) The two tribes now started to conquer the following villages together: Agbandji (Togo), Bassila (Benin), Kpedji (Togo). At Kpante (Benin), they settled down, but then they left again with Bakere (Nigeria) as their destination. However, the people of Bakere started to fight against the Tchumbuli and Cobecha, and the two had to flee from Bakere. They went to Etouaga, in the bush of Nigeria. From there, they went to Tcheni (Benin) which does not exist anymore. When Oludumare, the king of Kaboua, heard about the presence of the Tchumbuli and Cobecha and their force as warriors, he invited them to build a village close to his own and to help him in his wars. The Tchumbuli and Cobecha agreed and settled down in the area. Then a war started between the Yoruba and the Awloukpoukpou, another Cobecha tribe who stayed at Etagou. The Cobecha of Kaboua came to help them fight against the Yoruba and together they killed all the Yoruba. The Cobecha left Kaboua and settled at Yawomi together with the Awloukpoukpou. “Yawomi” is a Nago word and means, “come to see me” (Tchumbuli equivalent: “Chowifunkimou”). This village does not exist anymore. Later, they founded the village of Okounfo two kilometers away, which is closer to the road and to civilization. Nowadays, there are Cobecha, Tchumbuli, and Awloukpoukpou at Okounfo.

Les ancêtres faisaient la guerre, c’était leur nourriture. Ils cherchaient un joli village pour le vaincre. (La guerre continuait jusqu’à Savè). Il y avait eu une querelle entre les gens de Kumasi et les Cobecha. Les Cobecha ont quitté Kumasi. Les autres restent. Les Tchumbuli quittent Gbadjamossi pour joindre les Cobecha. Ils parlent la même langue. Les Tchumbuli ne sont pas des Ashanti. Les deux arrachent des villages : Agbandji (Togo), Bassila (Bénin), Kpedji (Togo). A Kpante (Bénin) ils s’installent, et après quelque temps ils quittent pour Bakere (Nigeria). Mais les gens là-bas se levent contre eux. Une guerre commence et les Cobecha/Tchumbuli quittent, poursuivis par les Nigérians. Autres étapes du voyage sont Etouaga (Nigéria), en pleine brousse, et Tcheni (Bénin) qui n’existe plus. Oloudoumare, le roi de Kaboua, apprend que les Cobecha/Tchumbuli sont très fort. Il envoie une commission pour les inviter à batir un village proche de lui. Il veut qu’ils l’aident contre ses ennemis. Installé à Kaboua, une guerre commence entre les Yoruba et les Awloukpou qui habitent à Etagou. Les Awloukpou sont aussi des Cobecha, ce sont des fréres. Alors les Cobecha de Kaboua vont aider les Awloukpou et les deux tribus tuent tous les Yorubas. Après ça, ils ne restent plus à Kaboua, mais ils fondent le village Yawomi, en Cobecha « Chowifunkimou ». Yawomi est un mot Nago (Cabe) et signifie «passe me voir». Ce village n’existe plus. De 2 km distance, on fonde Okounfou, parce que c’est plus proche de la route et de la civilisation. Aujourd’hui, il y a Cobecha, Tchumbuli et Awloukpou à Okounfou.

Gbédé:

The Cobecha left Ibini in Nigeria, and went to Agnanami Ayi near Kété-Krachi in Ghana. There, the Cobecha stayed with the Tchumbuli who had asked them to join them (“cobecha” sounds like “come, join me” in Tchumbuli). They stayed together for a long time, and intermarried. One day, the Cobecha took a daughter (or daughter-in-law) of the king of the Ashanti at Kumasi, Perempeh. The latter said to the Tchumbuli, “One of my shoes has been taken. The strangers have offended me.” That’s how a war broke out between the king of Kumasi and the Cobecha. The Cobecha decided to leave the place and go back to Nigeria, and the Tchumbuli accompanied them. When they arrived at Montewo (Benin) a hunter of Kaboua saw them and realized that they were strong warriors. He went back to inform the king of Kaboua, Oludumare, of the presence of the foreign warriors. Oludumare wondered how he could meet these strong warriors. He wanted them to stay and help him in his wars. He prepared yam for them so that they could eat. (That’s how they got their name from the people of Savè: “gbassen” means “take and eat” in Cabe.) The Tchumbuli and the Cobecha stayed in Montewo. They started to cultivate the land in

45 46 order to be able to eat. Because of the ongoing wars in the area, the two tribes decided to stay separately in order not to be an easy target, but they stayed close to one another. (The Tchumbuli dominate the Cobecha.) The Tchumbuli founded a village named Lamahou (“I did all I could, but I did not find enough to eat”). The king at that time was Nana Owouche (name in Nago). Some time later, they left Lamahou and settled in Gbédé (a Nago name). The Nago did not understand the Tchumbuli language. However, they would go to the Tchumbuli to buy things. When they came back home their brothers would ask them, “Did you understand those people? How can you buy things from them if you do not understand what they say?” (“Gbédé” means “language” in Nago.) At that time Nana Yangban was the king of the Tchumbuli. The Tchumbuli left Gbédé to go to Tcheni when the Cobecha stayed at Okoungbe, near Tcheni. The Tchumbuli left Tcheni to go to Ansèkè whereas the Cobecha settled in Okounfo. The Nago menaced the Tchumbuli at Ansèkè so that they returned to Gbédé. The Cobecha learned to speak Tchumbuli, which resembles Ashanti. However, the Ashanti don’t understand Tchumbuli. The Awloukpoukpou are a tribe of the Tchumbuli people, they also left Ghana. Their origin is Nkougnan near Kété-Krachi.

Les Cobecha avaient quitté Ibini au Nigéria pour aller au Ghana. Ils sont arrivés à Agnanami Ayi prés de Kété Krachi. Là-bas, les Tchumbuli sont de 100 percent ghanaéen. Ils sont de la même famille que les Ashanti. Ils ont demandé aux Cobecha de rester avec eux. «Viens me rejoindre» en tchumbuli ressemble «cobecha» Ils sont restés ensemble longtemps avec des intermarriages. Le roi ashanti de Kumasi s’appelle Perempeh. Il a la même langue que les Tchumbuli. Les Cobecha prennent une fille du Perempeh de Kumasi, c’est-à-dire, ils arrachent une femme du roi ou d’un prince de Kumasi. Alors le roi dit au Tchumbuli : «Un pied de ses chaussures était égaré. Les étrangers m’ont offendé.» C’est comment la guerre commence entre le roi de Kumasi et les Cobecha. «L’enfant sait d’où il a quitté.» Alors les Cobecha font demi-tour pour revenir au Nigéria. Les Tchumbuli les accompagnent. Arrivé à Montewo, un chasseur de Kaboua les voit. Il voit que ce sont de guerriers forts. Il fait demi-tour pour avertir le roi Oludumaré de Kaboua. «Qu’est-ce qu’il faut faire pour les rencontrer ?» il se demande. Il veut que les Cobecha et Tchumbuli l’aide contre ses ennemis. Les deux tribus restent à Montewo. Ils cherchent quoi faire pour se nourrir. Dès là il commencent à cultiver. À cause de la la guerre dahoméenne :les deux tribus se dispersent. Ils habitent séparément pour ne pas être un but trop facile pour des ennemis. Mais quand même ils restent côte à côte, assez proche. Les Cobecha et les Tchumbuli s’aiment mais restent à part. Les Tchumbuli dominent les Cobecha. Les Tchumbuli ont fondé un village du nom Lamahou (= j’ai tout fait mais je n’ai pas trouvé à manger). Là-bas, ils ont eu un roi nommé Nana Owoutche (nom Nago). Après quelque temps ils ont quitté Lamahou pour Gbédé (nom Nago). Les Tchumbuli et les Nago ne se comprennent pas. Les Nago achètent des choses des Tchumbuli sans parler leur langue. À leur retour on leur pose la question : «Est-ce que vous comprenez leur langue ? Comment est-ce qu’on peut acheter sans comprendre la langue ?» Gbéde signifie «langue» en Nago. Le roi de ce temps là s’ appelle Nana Yangban. Aprés ça, les Tchumbuli quittent Gbédé pour Tcheni pendant que les Cobecha habitent á Odoungbe près de Tcheni. Les Tchumbuli vont encore à Anseke, les Cobecha à Okounfou. Les Nago menacent les Tchumbuli à Anseke et ils reviennent à Gbédé. Les Cobecha ont appris le tchumbuli ce qui ressemble l’ashanti. (Mais les Ashanti ne comprennent pas le tchumbuli). Les Awloukpou sont un tribu tchumbuli, ils ont aussi quitté le Ghana. Leur origin est la ville ghanaéen de Nkougnan près de Kété Krachi.

Edaningbe:

Our ancestors left Sowayi near Gbadjamossi in Ghana because of a quarrel between a man and his little brother, both Cobecha. A Cobecha sent his wife to another Cobecha village. She was pregnant. The little and the big brother were sitting outside their house. The little brother says, “This lady will have a boy.” The big brother says, “No, she’ll have a girl.” They killed the lady to investigate the sex of the baby. It was a girl, the big brother had been right. That’s how the war started. The big brother chased the little brother and his whole family from the village. They arrived at Asanti-Ogbani and continued their journey to found the village Asante. But the big brother followed them to Asante. The little brother flees and arrives at Kaboua, which had been taken by the Yoruba. The king of Kaboua had sent to the Cobecha, because he had heard that they were strong warriors. They agreed and helped the king of Kaboua to kill the Yoruba. After that, the Nago asked them to stay. Kaboua was surrounded by bushland,

47 and that’s where the Cobecha settled and built apatams to live in. They were warriors, and they all had guns. The people of Kaboua were afraid of the Cobecha. So they came to set the Cobecha villages on fire. When the Cobecha saw the fire closing in from the right and from the left, they gathered with their guns and shot at the fire. The fire was extinguished and all of them escaped. They left for Awonda. The hunters were roaming in the bush in the area of Ouèssè-Ogbanlin. There, the Yoruba attacked the Maxi and the Maxi asked the Cobecha to help them fight against their enemies. The Cobecha (“Ashanti”) agreed and helped the Maxi in their war. The Cobecha took some Yoruba as slaves and gave them to the Maxi. The latter took the slaves and sold them elsewhere. The Cobecha rose against the Maxi because they felt insulted. They didn’t kill them, but they had another idea. One night they organized a ceremony. The people of Ogbanlin came to watch and to join the dancing. During the ceremony, the Cobecha took some Maxi as slaves and took them to their king, Yaou Ogbegbe. The Maxi who had remained free asked the Cobecha to set their brothers free. The Cobecha told them that they would do the same as the Maxi had done with the Yoruba slaves. Then the Maxi and the Cobecha made peace, however. Since that day, the people of Edaningbe call the Maxi “slaves.” Until today the Cobecha prohibit Maxi ceremonies during the night (because they want to prevent revenge). Leaving Ogbanlin they first founded Kpasa, then Edaningbe. They had left Awonda (see above) to go to Anséké. After Anséké they arrived at the main road (Edokemi) where they stayed at Sinsamawo (“There are always quarrels”). There, the grandfather of Yaou Comlan became very sick. When the king of Ouèssè heard this he consulted a fetish priest. “You have to move the papa. Otherwise he will die.” So the father of Yaou Comlan built an apatam and they put the sick inside. The grandfather recovered and they called the place Keklaba (= ‘good fortune’ (Cobecha), ‘edaningbe’ (Nago)). The people of Nkougna (=Awloukpoukpou) are at Gbédé and in Ghana, probably also in Okounfo. There are no Awloukpoukpou in Edaningbe. That’s not a village, it is a custom. There are Tchumbuli in Edaningbe, but that is also a custom. We have the same language, but we do not have the same customs. The Awloukpoukpou and the Tchumbuli, they are all Cobecha. (The first king of Séméré (the Foodo town) was a Cobecha. His name was Ayjangoulou.)

Les vieux ont quitté Ghana, exactement Sowayi près Gbadjamossi à cause d’une querelle entre un petit frère et un grand frère, tous les deux Cobecha. Il y a un type Cobecha qui a envoyé sa femme dans un autre village cobecha. Elle était en état (enceinte). Le petit et le grand frére étaient assis devant la maison. Le petit frére dit : « la dame enceinte va avoir un garçon. » L’autre dit : « non, c’est une fille. » Ils ont tué la femme pour voir le sexe de l’enfant. C’était une fille, alors le grand frére avait raison et la guerre a commencé entre les deux frères. Le grand frère a renvoyé le petit frère du village avec toute sa famille. Ils sont arrivé à Asanti-Ogbani, ils ont continué leur voyage et ils ont fondé le village Asante. Mais le grand frére arrive à Asante. Ils fuirent et arrivent à Kaboua. Ils n’ont pas quitté Asante volontairement. – Kaboua était pris par les Yoruba. Le roi de Kaboua a envoyé une commission à Asante pour appeler le petit frère. Il avait entendu que ce sont des guerriers. Lorsqu’ils sont arrivés à Kaboua ils ont aidé à tuer les Yoruba. Les nago les ont retenu. Il y avait une grande brousse à côté de Kaboua. Ils s’y sont installés et bati des apatames pour rester dedans. C’étaient des guerriers, ils ont tous eu des fusils. Les gens de Kaboua ont peur des Cobecha. Ils sont venus pour mettre feu au village des Cobecha. Lorsque les cobecha ont vu le feu arriver de gauche et de droite, ils se sont regroupés avec leurs fusils. Ils ont fusillé le feu, et le feu s’est éteint. Ils ont tous fuit le feu. Ils quittent et s’installent à Awonda. Des chasseurs se promènent dans la brousse jusqu’à Ouèssè-Ogbanlin. Là-bas, les Yoruba sont venu contre les Maxi à Ogbanlin. Les gens d’Ogbanlin ont sollicité l’aide des Cobecha, des vrais guerriers. Les Asanti ont pris des esclaves des Yoruba et ils les ont donné aux Maxi. Les Maxi ont vendu les esclaves Yoruba ailleurs [on rit et s’amuse]. Les Asanti se sont levé contre les Maxi parce que c’était un insulte. Ils ne les ont pas tué, mais ils ont eu une idée : Ils ont organisé une céremonie, une soirée avec les danses. Les gens d’Ogbanlin sont venu pour regarder la danse et pour danser. Les Asanti prennent les Oligbani comme esclaves et les amènent à leur roi (Asanti) nommé Yaou Ogbegbe. Les Maxi qui restaient demandaient de libérer leurs gens. Les cobecha ont dit qu’ils allaient faire la même chose avec les Maxi qu’ils avaient fait avec les esclaves Yoruba. Mais les Maxi et les Asanti ce sont réuni pour terminer la querelle. Depuis ce jour les gens d’Edaningbe appellent les Maxi « esclaves », kINa. Jusqu’à aujourd’hui les Cobecha interdisent aux Maxi d’avoir des cérémonies pendant la nuit. De Ogbanlin ils ont fondé Kpasa, après ça, Edaningbe. Ils avaient quitté Awonda (voir plus haut) pour aller à Anseke. D’Anseke ils sont arrivés au bord de la voie (Edokemi) où ils sont restés à Sinsamawo (= tout le temps c’est la querelle). Là-bas, le grandpapa de YAOU Comlan était très malade. Le roi de Ouèssè a appris cela et il a consulté le fétisheur. « Il

48 faut l’évacuer. Si non, le papa va mourir. » Alors le pére de YAOU Comlan a fait un apatame et on a mis le malade dedans. Le grandpapa a été guéri et on a nommé l’endroit Keklaba (= chance, cobecha, en nago : Edaningbe) - Les gens de Nkougna sont à Gbédé et au Ghana, probablement aussi à Okounfo. Il n’y a pas d’ Awloukpou à Edaningbe, mais ce n’est pas un village,c’est une coutume. Tchumbuli, il y en a à Edaningbe, mais c’est aussi un coutume. On parle la même langue, mais on a pas les mêmes coutumes. Les Awloukpou et les Tchumbuli, ce sont tous des Cobecha. (Le premier roi de Séméré était un Cobecha. Il s’appelait Ayjangoulou.)

Appendix D: Wordlist

1. Tchumbuli, Gbédé reliability: average survey situation, not satisfactorily double checked collected by G. Schoch on a survey in the language area Gbédé, sub-prefecture Ouèssè, Benin 16.08.2000 main language assistant: YP, m, ca. 30 years electrical installation and noise during the elicitation process

2. Chumburung reliability: high Snider, Keith L. 1989 North Guang Comparative Wordlist Ghana, Legon: Institute of African Studies

3. Tchumbuli (Cobecha), Okounfo reliability: average survey situation, not satisfactorily double checked collected by G. Schoch on a survey to the language area Okounfo, sub-prefecture of Savè, Benin main language assistant: KA, m, ca. 40 years 15.08.2000

Notation: IPA, unless otherwise stated.

Vowels: Snider distinguishes between advanced and unadvanced tongue root, but only the back rounded high vowel occurs with both tongue root positions. u back rounded vowel, high, advanced tongue root u˦ back rounded vowel, high, unadvanced tongue root

Tones: low tone, falling high tone, falling low tone, rising

Nasalisation: Vowels following a nasal consonant are systematically nasalized.

1. bouche Tchumbuli, Gbédé kánó Chumburung kánɔ ́ kanɔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kánɔ ́ kánɔ ́

2. tête Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùŋú Chumburung kùŋú Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kùŋú

49 50

3. griffe (ongle) Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùkótɔ ̄ Chumburung kù˦kù˦tɔ˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kʊ̀kɔːtɔ́ ́

4. dent Tchumbuli, Gbédé mbʷano Chumburung kɨbʷànɔ˨̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) mʼbānɔ ̄

5. langue Tchumbuli, Gbédé ɟ͡ʝōpù Chumburung ɟ͡ʝépu˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɟ͡ʝōːkpù

6. nez Tchumbuli, Gbédé ŋūnɔbɔ́ ́ Chumburung mú˦rɔbɔ́ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) nnɔbɔ́ ́

7. oreille Tchumbuli, Gbédé kusuɡbɔ Chumburung kɨsɨ̀ bɔ́ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔasúɡ͡bɔ ́

8. oeil Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨkātɔ ̀ Chumburung kɨkàtɔ˨̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔaɲésí ʔākɔtɔ̄ ̄

9. yeux Tchumbuli, Gbédé àkɔtɔ̄ ̄ Chumburung àkàtɔ˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔaɲó

10. sein Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊ̀ɲɔpʊ́ ̀ Chumburung kɪɲápu˦˦˦́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔaɲɔk͡pʊ ̀

11. jambe Tchumbuli, Gbédé Chumburung kɪjáʔ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kələ̀ ŋ̄

12. cuisse Tchumbuli, Gbédé ɟ͡ʝaŋ Chumburung ɟ͡ʝaŋ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɟ͡ʝaŋ

13. pied Tchumbuli, Gbédé kíjà Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kīja

14. ventre (non organ) Tchumbuli, Gbédé kamɪ Chumburung kámé Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kámɛ ́

15. main Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨsálɪ̄ ̄ Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kɨsálì̄

16. poil Tchumbuli, Gbédé ifʷi Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔipuːlà

17. cheveux (tête) Tchumbuli, Gbédé ípúlà Chumburung ípʷíʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔipula

18. sang Tchumbuli, Gbédé mbūɟ͡ʝà Chumburung mbù˦ɟ͡ʝa˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) mbūɟ͡ʝà

19. os Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊ̀bòwí Chumburung kɨbòwi˨ʔ̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kʊ̄bōwi

20. peau (homme en general) Tchumbuli, Gbédé wɔlːɪ́ Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) wɪli wʊlɪ

21. corne Tchumbuli, Gbédékəlāŋ̄ Chumburung kù˦c͡çʷɔrɪ̀ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kəlāŋ̄

22. queue Tchumbuli, Gbédé kàté Chumburung kàté Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kàté

23. plume Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨtépù̄ Chumburung kɨtéʔ̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔāˈté

24. être humain Tchumbuli, Gbédé sɨsɛ̄ ̄ Chumburung ɲɨŋmk̀ pàsɛ˨͡ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) sɨsɛ̄ ́

25. homme Tchumbuli, Gbédé ɔɲɛlí́ Chumburung ɔɲárɪ̀ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔɔɲɛ̀ lɪ́ ́

26. femme Tchumbuli, Gbédé ɔ̄c͡çí Chumburung ɔ̀c͡çɪʔ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔɔ̀c͡çī

27. mari Tchumbuli, Gbédé ókúlì Chumburung kúri| Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔōkùlì

28. épouse Tchumbuli, Gbédé ɔka Chumburung ká Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔɔká́

29. père Tchumbuli, Gbédé ɔsí́ Chumburung sɪ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔɔsɪ

30. mère Tchumbuli, Gbédé óɲí Chumburung ɲí Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔóɲí

31. enfant Tchumbuli, Gbédé óɟ͡ʝí Chumburung kàjàɟ͡ʝí Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔoɟ͡ʝi

32. nom (prenom) Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨtí̄ Chumburung kɪɲárɪ̀ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) keˈti

33. nuit Tchumbuli, Gbédé káɲé Chumburung káɲé Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kāɲɪ

34. lune Tchumbuli, Gbédé ʔōfélí Chumburung kɨfə̀ rí́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔōfélí

35. soleil Tchumbuli, Gbédé c͡çɔwi Chumburung c͡çɔwɪ̀ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) c͡çɔwɪ̄ ́

36. nuage Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊ̄bāːwɔlɪ́ ̀ Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔāwʊ̂lɨ ̀

37. pluie Tchumbuli, Gbédé ɲɛŋpʊŋ Chumburung bʷàre˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɲɛmpʊ̄ ̀ŋ

38. saison des pluies Tchumbuli, Gbédé kíc͡çé Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kíc͡çé

39. saison seche Tchumbuli, Gbédé kìɟ͡ʝélé Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kɪ ̀ɟ͡ʝélé

40. an, année Tchumbuli, Gbédé kāsū Chumburung kású Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kású

41. terre (sol) Tchumbuli, Gbédé sōlˠè Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) sôlè

42. sable Tchumbuli, Gbédé èîsɪ ́ Chumburung kɨsípú̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kūmékɪ ̀

43. pierre Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùbú Chumburung kɨbú̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kʊ̄bú

44. montagne Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊfolˠe Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kʊ̄fūlè

45. chemin, sentier Tchumbuli, Gbédé ɔkpá̄ Chumburung kpá Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔɔkpa

46. eau Tchumbuli, Gbédé ŋ̀c͡çú Chumburung ɲ̀c͡çú Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɲ̄c͡çú

47. feu Tchumbuli, Gbédé lòkpà͡ Chumburung dɪ ̀k͡pa˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) lūkpā͡

48. cendre Tchumbuli, Gbédé ŋ́sɔ ́ Chumburung ńsɔ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ŋ̄sɔ ̄

49. case, habitation Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɪ̀c͡ça˨n Chumburung kɪ ̀ɟ͡ʝa˨ŋ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kɪ ̄c͡çāŋ

50. village Tchumbuli, Gbédé ma˨ŋ kākùlé Chumburung kàkùréʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ma˨ŋ

51. couteau Tchumbuli, Gbédé kāpaŋ Chumburung sɨka|ŋ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kāpāŋ

52. corde Tchumbuli, Gbédé ífé Chumburung fé Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔife

53. guerre (combat) Tchumbuli, Gbédé adʊŋ Chumburung kɨnáʔ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔāduŋ

54. pagne Tchumbuli, Gbédé kìc͡çìfɛ ̂ Chumburung c͡çòɲc͡çúro˦ŋ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kic͡çifɛ

55. animal Tchumbuli, Gbédé kàbú Chumburung kàbú˦ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kāːbú

56. viande (animal) Tchumbuli, Gbédé kìjê Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kīje˨

57. chien Tchumbuli, Gbédé ɟ͡ʝōnò Chumburung ɟ͡ʝòno˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɟ͡ʝōnɔ ̄

58. éléphant Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊ̀nní Chumburung kù˦nnɪ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kʊnnɪ

59. chevre Tchumbuli, Gbédé tèlé Chumburung tɪːrɪ̀ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) tɪːlɪ̀ ́

60. mouton Tchumbuli, Gbédé sànì Chumburung sànni˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) sànì

61. oiseau Tchumbuli, Gbédé kàbúɟ͡ʝì Chumburung kàbóɟ͡ʝíʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kàbúɟ͡ʝì

62. serpent Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùwɔ ́ Chumburung kù˦wɔ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kʊwɔ

63. poisson Tchumbuli, Gbédé kàkɪnɟ̀ ͡ʝí Chumburung kàkɨɲɟ̀ ͡ʝí Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kàkɪnɟ̀ ͡ʝí

64. vache Tchumbuli, Gbédé naːtĩ́ ̃́ Chumburung náːtɪ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) nātī

65. oeuf Tchumbuli, Gbédé kukʷɔti àkʷɔtì̀ Chumburung kù˦kʷɔtìʔ̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔakɔːti

66. arbre Tchumbuli, Gbédé íjí Chumburung kíjíʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔijɪ

67. bâton Tchumbuli, Gbédé óɟ͡ʝí Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔoɟ͡ʝi

68. feuille (arbre) Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùfəlà̄ Chumburung kɨfɪ̀ ráʔ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔafʊla

69. racine Tchumbuli, Gbédé ʔilɪŋ Chumburung lə˦ŋ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔilɪŋ

70. herbe Tchumbuli, Gbédé ífá Chumburung ífá Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔífá

71. graisse Tchumbuli, Gbédé ɱ̩̀ fɔ ́ Chumburung ɱ̩̀ fɔ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ŋ̩fɔ ́

72. huile Tchumbuli, Gbédé ǹfɔkɔ́ ̀ Chumburung ɱ̩̀ fɔ ́ pɨpe˨́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ŋfɔkɔ́ ̀

73. maïs Tchumbuli, Gbédé bʊ̀ló Chumburung kɨbʷaɪ˨̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) bʊ̀ló

74. bois Tchumbuli, Gbédé Chumburung ŋ́ɟ͡ʝá Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɲ̩́ɟ͡ʝá

75. faim Tchumbuli, Gbédé akʊ̀ŋ Chumburung áku˦˦˦ŋ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔākũ̀ŋ

76. soif Tchumbuli, Gbédé bʊ̄lʊ̀fɔ ̀ Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) bólʊfɔ̀ ̀

77. froid (frais) Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùjúlí Chumburung kaǃːjúrí Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔafui

78. chaud Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨkəlaɟ͡ʝa Chumburung bùɟ͡ʝá Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔɔkláɟ͡ʝá

79. noir Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊ̀ɟ͡ʝɔɱbó̀ Chumburung kǎːbírí ɟ͡ʝìɟ͡ʝìʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔɔ̄ɟ͡ʝɔmbʊ̄ ́

80. blanc Tchumbuli, Gbédé kúfúfùlì Chumburung fùfùri˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kufufūlì

81. rouge Tchumbuli, Gbédé kūpūpè Chumburung kǎpé pɨpèʔ̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔōpūpè

82. un Tchumbuli, Gbédé ìkó Chumburung kù˦kú˦ŋkú˦ʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ìkó

83. deux Tchumbuli, Gbédé àɲó Chumburung àɲɔ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔaɲɔ

84. trois Tchumbuli, Gbédé àsá Chumburung àsá Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔàsá

85. quatre Tchumbuli, Gbédé àná Chumburung àná Tchumbuli (Cobecha) àná

86. cinq Tchumbuli, Gbédé ànu˨ Chumburung ànúʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) anu

87. six Tchumbuli, Gbédé àsɪjḗ Chumburung àsíjé Tchumbuli (Cobecha) asije

88. sept Tchumbuli, Gbédé àsúnò Chumburung àsúnóʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) àsúnō

89. huit Tchumbuli, Gbédé àtʷê Chumburung àbûrùwá Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ac͡çwe

90. neuf Tchumbuli, Gbédé āk͡pɔnɔ́ ̄ Chumburung àk͡pɔnɔ́ ʔ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) āk͡pɔnɔ́ ̄

91. dix Tchumbuli, Gbédé kúdú Chumburung kúdú Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kúdú

92. vingt Tchumbuli, Gbédé àdìɲɔ ́ Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ādiɲó̄́

93. venir Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊ̀ba Chumburung ba˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) bà

94. envoyer (une personne) Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùsúŋ Chumburung su˨ŋ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) tàbà

95. marcher Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨnálˠɪ̀ ́ Chumburung nàrɪ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) nālé

96. courir Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨsɨ̀ lˠé́ Chumburung ŋʷɛnáŋ̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) sɪlé̄

97. tomber Tchumbuli, Gbédé kìidá Chumburung lɪdàrɔ̀ ́ lìda˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) īdā

98. partir Tchumbuli, Gbédé kujɔ Chumburung lɪʔ̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) nālé

99. arriver Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊba Chumburung fu˨˦ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) bà

100. voler (oiseau),s'envoler Tchumbuli, Gbédé kūfúwí Chumburung fùwí Tchumbuli (Cobecha) fūwí

101. frapper Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨdá̄ Chumburung da˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) dà

102. mordre Tchumbuli, Gbédé kudʊŋ Chumburung du˨ŋ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) dʊ̄mù

103. laver Tchumbuli, Gbédé kōfʷi˨ Chumburung fʷɪʔ̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɟ͡ʝe

104. se laver Tchumbuli, Gbédé kīɟ͡ʝe˨ Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɟ͡ʝe muɟ͡ʝe

105. couper Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨtɨ̄ ŋ̄ Chumburung tɨ˨ŋ tɨŋɪ̀ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) tɨmʊ

106. fendre Tchumbuli, Gbédé kok͡paî Chumburung pǎɪ ̂ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) bǎɪ ̂

107. lier, attacher Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùŋúné Chumburung c͡çàsɪ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) wūnémū

108. prendre Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨtā Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) tà

109. donner Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨsá̀ Chumburung sa˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) tàsàmú

110. chercher Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨdélé̀ Chumburung dɪːrɨ̀ ́ kpa| Tchumbuli (Cobecha) dɪlɪ̀ ́

111. trouver Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊ̀ŋú Chumburung bùwú ŋu| Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kəɲa

112. voler (derober) Tchumbuli, Gbédé kujʷi Chumburung jʷǐː Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ʔojʷi

113. chasser (le gibier) Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨɟ͡ʝa Chumburung fɨnɪ˨̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɔtɔ̀ pū̄

114. cultiver Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊ̄dɔ ̄ Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) dɔ

115. planter Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùdʷí Chumburung dʷìʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) dʷì

116. enterrer Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùpúlé Chumburung pùré Tchumbuli (Cobecha) pūlé

117. préparer (la nourriture) Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨdɨ̀ ŋá́ Chumburung dɨŋá̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) dɪŋá̄

118. bruler Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùc͡çʷɛ˨ Chumburung c͡çʷɛʔ̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) tɔ

119. manger Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨɟ͡ʝi Chumburung ɟ͡ʝi˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɟ͡ʝi˨

120. boire Tchumbuli, Gbédé kunu Chumburung nùʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) nu

121. sucer Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨɲɛni Chumburung ɲàpú˦ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɲɛní̀

122. cracher Tchumbuli, Gbédé kūtwɪàc̄ ͡çɔní́ Chumburung tʷɪkù˦c̀ ͡çɔnɪ́ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) tʷīlac͡çɔní́

123. souffler Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùfúŋé Chumburung fʷìŋé Tchumbuli (Cobecha) fūŋɛ ́

124. accoucher Tchumbuli, Gbédé kòkówɪ ́ Chumburung kù˦wɪ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kʊwɪ

125. engendrer, élever enfant Tchumbuli, Gbédé kòbəlˠá́ Chumburung bɪrá̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) pɔwi

126. s'asseoir Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨ̀c͡çɪná́ Chumburung c͡çɪná̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) c͡çɪná̀

127. être assis Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨ̀c͡çɨnálò́ Chumburung c͡çɪná̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) c͡çɪná̀

128. se lever Tchumbuli, Gbédé kòkósʊ́ Chumburung kù˦sú˦ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kōsʊ́

129. être debout Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨɟ͡ʝélélɔ ̀ Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ɔɟ͡ʝele

130. se coucher Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨdí̀ Chumburung c͡çùndi˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) odidi

131. dormir Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨdìdí̄ Chumburung dìdí Tchumbuli (Cobecha) idi

132. mourir Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùwú Chumburung wu˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) ōwú

133. tuer Tchumbuli, Gbédé kumɔ Chumburung mɔʔ̀ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) mɔ

134. lancer Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊtʷɪ Chumburung tʷìʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) tʷimù

135. pousser Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨnɪ˨ŋ̄ Chumburung nə˨ŋ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) nɛŋ

136. chanter Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùbe ʔìlɨŋ́ Chumburung wìjélɨŋ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) īlɨŋ́

137. danser Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨ̄c͡çà Chumburung c͡çàʔ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) c͡ça

138. jouer Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùsólí Chumburung sòːrí Tchumbuli (Cobecha) isoːli

139. rire Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùmɔsí́ Chumburung mɔsɪ̀ ́ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) mɔsí̀

140. pleurer Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùsú Chumburung su˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) sù

141. vouloir (desirer) Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùkpá Chumburung k͡pa˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) k͡pā

142. aimer Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùfʊ́ŋ Chumburung k͡pa˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) k͡pa fuŋ

143. dire Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊtɔwɪ Chumburung Tchumbuli (Cobecha) tɔwɪ̀ ́

144. voir Tchumbuli, Gbédé kʊ̀ŋú Chumburung ŋu˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) keî

145. montrer Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùbúsúné Chumburung kàːpú˦ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) sūnɛ

146. entendre Tchumbuli, Gbédé kùnú Chumburung nu˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) nù

147. savoir Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨɟ͡ʝi Chumburung ɲi˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) bāɟ͡ʝìmù

148. compter Tchumbuli, Gbédé kɨkalˠɪ Chumburung kàrɪ˨ Tchumbuli (Cobecha) kàlɪ ́

References

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