For the Bwamu Language

SOCIOLINGUISTIC SURVEY REPORT FOR THE BWAMU LANGUAGE WRITTEN BY: JOHN AND CAROL BERTHELETTE SIL International 2001 2 Contents 0 Introduction and Goals of the Survey 1 General Information 1.1 Language Name and Classification 1.2 Language Location 1.3 Population 1.4 Accessibility and Transport 1.4.1 Roads: Quality and Availability 1.4.2 Public Transport Systems 1.4.3 Trails 1.5 Religious Adherence 1.5.1 Spiritual Life 1.5.2 Christian Work in the Area 1.5.3 Language Use Parameters within Church Services 1.6 Schools/Education. 1.6.1 Types, Sites, and Size of Schools 1.6.2 Literacy Activities 1.6.3 Attitude toward the Vernacular 1.7 Facilities and Economics 1.7.1 Supply Needs 1.7.2 Medical Needs 1.7.3 Governmental Facilities in the Area 1.8 Traditional Culture 1.8.1 History 1.8.2 Attitude toward Culture 1.8.3 Contact with Other Cultures 1.9 Linguistic Work in the Language Area 1.9.1 Work Accomplished in the Past 1.9.2 Present Work 1.9.3 Materials Published in the Language 2 Methodology 2.1 Sampling on the Macro Level 2.2 Lexicostatistic Survey 2.3 Dialect Intelligibility Survey 2.4 Questionnaires 2.5 Bilingualism Testing in Jula 3 Comprehension and Lexicostatistical Data (between villages) 3.1 Reported Dialect Groupings 3.2 Results of the Recorded Text Tests 3.3 Percentage Chart of Apparent Cognates 3.4 Areas for Further Study 3 4 Multilingual Issues 4.1 Language Use Description 4.1.1 Children’s Language Use 4.1.2 Adult Language Use 4.2 Results of the Jula Bilingualism Test 4.3 Language Attitudes 4.4 Summary 5 Recommendations Appendix 1 Population Statistics 2 A Word List of Dialects in the Southern Bwamu Region (section 3.3) Bibliographical Resources 1 References 2 Other Materials about Bwamu 3 Materials Published in the Language 4 Contacts for Further Information 4 Bwamu Survey Report 0 Introduction and Goals of the Survey This paper concerns the results of a sociolinguistic survey conducted by John and Carol Berthelette, Béatrice Tiendrebeogo, Dieudonné Zawa, Assounan Ouattara, and Soungalo Coulibaly. The survey was conducted between March 20 and May 8, 1995. The survey was necessary due to a lack of data concerning the degree of intelligibility between Bwamu speakers in the southern language area and those of the northern area. Linguists such as L. Tauxier and G. Manessey have written of the presence of different dialects in the southern Bwamu region. Manessey for example writes that the Bwaba in these areas speak the dialects of Bondoukuy, Ouakara, and Houndé-Kari (Manessey 1961:126). Nevertheless, to the present time, various sociolinguistic questions have remained unresolved. Since a project for the development of Bwamu has already been started in the Ouarkoye region (see map in figure 1.2.1), and since its literacy program is quickly spreading into areas that have not before been studied, it is important to determine the degree of its comprehension throughout the language area. So, in short, the four goals of the survey were: 1. to gather basic demographic and dialectal information about the Bwaba in the southern Bwamu-speaking region (especially in the area to the south and east of Pâ, very little was known); 2. to determine attitudes of those in the southern region toward both Bwamu and Jula, and to determine their level of competence in Jula; 3. to test for both the lexical similarity and the degree of comprehension between speakers in the south and the north; 4. in the event of insufficient comprehension between speakers of the southern dialect and those of the northern; in the event of very positive attitudes toward the vernacular; and in the event of an insufficient ability to communicate in Jula, the goal was to determine a possible second site for a language development project. 1 General Information 1.1 Language Name and Classification The Ethnologue, a classification of the world’s languages published by the Summer Institute of Linguistics, classifies the Bwamu language (code “BOX”) in the following manner: “Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, North, Gur, Central, Northern, Bwamu” (Grimes 1992:168). J. H. Greenberg, while also classifying Bwamu as a Gur language, places it under the Lobi-dogon subgroup (Greenberg 1963:8). The language most closely related is Bomu (or Boré) (Naden 1989:147), found predominantly in Mali and northwestern Burkina Faso. In the Dédougou area, the speakers of Bwamu call themselves “Bwaba” (Grimes 1992:168). In this paper, we shall use the term “Bwaba” throughout to avoid confusion. 5 Other ethnic groups often refer to them as “Bobo-wule” (or “Bobo-oule”), a name coming from Jula. In the southern Bwamu region, they are often simply called “Bobo”. Manessy, in his 1961 paper, identified 17 dialects of Bwamu. In Mali, he recognized 5: Koniko, Togo, Wahu, San, and Mazã’wi. In Burkina Faso, he identified 12: in the northwest area, Bo’wi, Sanaba-Bourasso, and Solenso, while to the south (and east), Massala, Dédougou, Bondoukuy, Ouakara, Sara, Houndé-Kari, Yaho, Mamou, Bagassi. (Manessy 1961:122–126). Regarding the Bwamu area south of the Bagassi dialect region, he concludes that the Bwamu spoken here is closely related to that in other dialect regions (Manessey 1961:126). He concludes that there are 4 zones of intelligibility. Concerning the southern Bwamu dialects covered by this survey, the dialects of Bagassi, Vi, and Boni are grouped under the name =NCC NCC?. Other Bwaba refer to them as =!MCFGPC? (Yé 1981:5) or =!['4'?. Jula speakers refer to them as “Bobo Niéniégué”, or “Bobo of the facial scarifications”, in reference to their custom of complex facial scarring (Voltz 1979:12). In the area to the east of Founzan, a small group of villages make up the dialect known as =E9¿? or =EQQ?. Scattered to the south of Founzan, stretching from east of the Mouhoun river to 100 km east of Bob-Dioulasso, are villages which speak a dialect called =FCM9K? or =FCMQQ?1 The speakers of the latter two dialects are intermingled. In some areas, =E9¿? and =FCM9K? villages are interspersed. In other instances, =E9¿? and =FCM9K? speakers live in different parts of the same village: each learns to understand the other’s dialect, always speaking his own. 1.2 Language Location The Bwamu-speaking territory in Burkina Faso lies within the following provinces: Kossi, Banwa, Mouhoun, Houet, Balé, Tuy, Bougouriba, and Sissili (see map in figure 1.2.1). To state it more precisely, in Burkina Faso the Bwamu region extends from the general Nouna area2 of northwestern Burkina Faso (Kossi province) south to the general Houndé region (Houet province) and east to the area of Fara (Sissili province). It is a vast territory, in Burkina Faso covering around 18,000 km2. The target region of this survey was the area to the south of the Houndé and Bagassi regions, itself approximately 5,000 km2, with an east-west expanse of 130 km. The area has many geographic “obstructions”: chains of hills, small rivers, and swamps. Considering the rugged terrain and the possibility of isolation that it causes, lack of linguistic diversity would be the biggest surprise. 1Not all villages refer to themselves in this manner. Intelligibility figures and responses to our questionnaires permit this grouping. 2North and west of the Nouna area are the Boré, or Bomu. Boré is a language closely related to Bwamu, but the intelligibility between the two is somewhat limited. 6 The Bwaba have various neighbors, including the Puguli, Dagara, Nuna, Yari (or Dagaari-Jula), Mossi, Marka, and Bobo-Madaré. Neighboring language/ethnic groups can be seen on the map in figure 1.2.1. Figure 1.2.1 Map of Bwamu Language Area3 3Adapted from CNRST/INSS 1988. 7 1.3 Population The estimated population, according to the 1985 national census, numbers the entire ethnic group at 170,000 (INSD 1985:I,7). Assuming that the population has increased since the census was taken, the Ethnologue puts the figure at between 200,000 and 250,000 (Grimes 1992:168). Basing estimates again on the 1985 national census, population figures for the dialects covered by this study are as follows: Table 1.3.1 Estimated Population Figures for the Southern Bwamu Dialects4 Dialect Region Population Population (with a growth rate of 2.68% per year)5 Laa laa Bagassi / Pâ / Boni 45,812 62,923 Cwi (coo) Koti / Kabourou 17,988 24,707 Dakwi (dakoo) Kongolikan / Koumbia (Tuy 18,574 25,512 Province) / Lollio/Koumbia (Balé Province) Unidentified 4,277 5,874 1.4 Accessibility and Transport 1.4.1 Roads: Quality and Availability Several major, well-maintained routes pass through the southern Bwamu- speaking area. East to west runs the paved N1, the major road linking Ouagadougou, Boromo, and Bobo, as well as unpaved D29, connecting Ouahabou with the Ouarkoye region. Running north to south are unpaved N12, connecting Pâ with Dano, and R17, a route passing through Poura and Fara. These routes are a great economic help to the area, an important agricultural region. They also allow for a degree of contact between some Bwamu dialect groups. Another result of good roads is relative ease of contact with neighboring ethnic groups, due to increased commercial activity. While some Bwamu villages are rather isolated— perhaps even cut off from motor vehicle traffic during the rainy season—this area by and large offers easy access to most villages. In spite of the modern presence of a good road system, the hilly terrain and the large geographic area have undoubtably hindered travel in the past, contributing to the creation of the linguistic mixture that is the southern Bwamu region.

Load more