"A Roadmap to Sierra Leone English: a Sociohistorical and Ecological Perspective
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Departamento de Filología Moderna TESIS DOCTORAL A Roadmap to Sierra Leone English: A Sociohistorical and Ecological Perspective Saidu Bangura Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 2015 Departamento de Filología Moderna Programa de Doctorado Traducción, comunicación y cultura A Roadmap to Sierra Leone English: A Sociohistorical and Ecological Perspective TESIS DOCTORAL Dirigida por la Doctora: El Doctorando: Alicia Rodríguez Álvarez Saidu Bangura Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 2015 Dedication To my teachers, friends, students and family – For they have kept me in the walls of schools And in the pursuance of knowledge; For they have taught me to believe in myself, To make the impossible dream possible, The seemingly unreachable height reachable, To do those things I like my own way, And to be strong in the face of challenges; For they have given me the lenses and shoulders Through which and upon which I see the world; For without these four, my world Would have been monotonous and unchallenging; For with these four, we can be the stars That will change the lives of others; Through these four, we can do ‘n’ good things That will make the world a better place And life can be much more worth living – For whosoever has a teacher, a friend, a student, a family Has a guide, a hand, a follower and a life-partner. “You raise me up so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up to walk on stormy seas. And I am strong when I am on your shoulders. You raise me up to more than I can be” (Brendan Graham – song writer). A Roadmap to Sierra Leone English Acknowledgements Without exaggeration, I would not have pursued an academic life if the following people had not collaborated with me. Listing them all will do no justice to their generosity. These words of acknowledgements would not have been written if Fatu Kargbo (my late grandmother), Mr. Issah Sesay, Mr. Abu Kanu, Mr. Nathaniel A. Pearce, Rev. Olivia A. Wesley, Alhaji Alpha Sahid Sesay, Rev. Lawrence Lawson, Mr. Duramany K. Tarawally, Mr. O. H. B. Venn (late), Mr. Foday Habib Bangura (late), Mr. Abdul Hamid Ajami (late) and many other people, had not given me the encouragement, financial and moral support I needed while I was a student at the Roman Catholic Primary School, Pepel, at the St. Helena Secondary School, The Methodist Boys’ High School and at Fourah Bay College (USL) in Freetown, when the basics were just not there. Thank you so much for your generosity. I would not have been able to write a thesis on this subject-matter if Professor John Holm had not invited me to attend the ACBLPE conference organised at the University of Coimbra, Portugal, in June 2006. That conference changed my academic areas of interest. I am equally grateful to Michael Pye for the books he gave me and the letters he wrote on my behalf in 2007 to the diplomatic missions of Sierra Leone in Europe to help finance the studies of a Sierra Leonean interested in the linguistic situation of the country. Thank you Prof. John Holm and Michael Pye. On the Canary Islands, I am particularly grateful to the Sierra Leonean and Guinean (Conakry) community in Las Palmas, for their kind cooperation, sincere friendship and moral support to me and my family during our stay in Las Palmas between 2007 and 2009. While I was unemployed and without financial support in Las Palmas, some institutions and personalities came to my aid by giving me translation and teaching jobs without which I would not have been able to complete the first part of the PhD programme. They include José Blas Hernández (Talleres Atlántico), 1 Saidu Bangura Gabriel Martin (Singular Service), Rosa Martin (Rumardi), Departmento de Filológia Moderna (ULPGC) and Celestino Barrios (Nino). Back in Freetown, I am especially indebted to my mother, Marie Dumbuya, my sister, Isatu Bangura and my brother Minkailu Habib Bangura for their patience and understanding. Haja Kadiatu Bangura, my very special aunt, is sincerely thanked for her contributions. I sincerely thank all my professors including the director of the 2007-2009 doctoral programme, Dr. Gregorio Herrera, for the light and support they gave me. I am equally grateful to colleagues in the doctoral programme for the experiences and interests we shared in the 2007-2008 academic year. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Victoria Domínguez, Yvonne Quintana and Dr. Verónica Trujillo for helping me in various ways. In Cape Verde, Portugal, Germany, the United States of America and Brazil, I have been fortunate to meet and exchange emails with people whose help and encouragement in the linguistic and academic world is the best gift I have ever had. I will never forget Victor Semedo, Nicolau Carvalho, John Holm, Dominika Swolkien, Marlyse Baptista, Wlodzimierz Szymaniak, Liliana Inverno, Bart Jacobs, Jorge Sousa Brito, Hermengarda Brito, Maria Helena Morais, Jacinto Estrela, Joanita Cristina Rodrigues, Francisco Duarte, Marta Vasconcelos, Jairson Mendes, Emília Monteiro, Santa Pina, Arlinda Rodrigues, Rui Pereira, Carmita, Paulo Semedo (Vanny), Renato Felicidade, Maria Alexandra Dias, Isaías Barreto da Rosa, Tito Gonçalves, Odair Varela, Alfredo Pereira, Jair Delgado, Marlene Jesus, Carla Semedo, Maria Brito, Bruno Azevedo, Mª Antónia Cruz, Tina, Kofi Yakpo, Paulina Laura Alberto, Magnus Huber, Stephanie Hackert, Claudia Wanderley, Wilmar D’Angelis, Debora Mazza, Eldon Leocádio, Ismael da Rosa, Ibrantino Moreno, and many more. Thank you very much. To my former colleagues at Escola Secundária ‘Pedro Gomes’, and my current colleagues at Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde, “muitíssimo obrigado pela a amizade e colaboração”. To the current Reitoria team, Osvaldo Borges and Luis Teixeira, and Administration, Luis Filipe Tavares, Carlos Motta, Rosely Rocha, of the Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde, thank you so 2 A Roadmap to Sierra Leone English much for your moral support. To all my students, but more especially Gisele Andrade and Ariana Vaz, for their time in helping a teacher in need of an assistant. Thank you so much for lightening the work of a PhD student. To Sarjoh Aziz Kamara, Clifford Keddie Conteh, Kiki Aziz-Kamara (Kiki Ngombu), Philip A. Conteh, Alberta Patewa, Abdulai Walon-Jalloh, may our children and our children’s children continue the good relationship we have built and nursed for years. Thank you so much for your support. To my wife, Kadijatu Jalloh, my son, Alpha Sahid Habib Bangura, and the twins, Amina Fátima Bangura and Anne-Marie Kadija Bangura: thank you for allowing me to be absent when you needed me the most. I know I should not be thanking you, but your confidence in me always make things possible for me. I would not have been able to thank all these people without the enthusiastic and unwavering guidance and support of my supervisor, Dr. Alicia Rodriguez Álvarez. I am grateful indeed. Thank you ALL! Front page illustration from Thomas E. Poole (1850). Life, Scenery and Customs in Sierra Leone and The Gambia. London: Richard Bentley. Our gratitude to Google Books Project. 3 Saidu Bangura 4 A Roadmap to Sierra Leone English Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... 1 Table of Contents ............................................................................................... 5 List of maps ....................................................................................................... 9 List of tables ...................................................................................................... 9 List of diagrams ................................................................................................ 9 List of figures .................................................................................................... 9 Abbreviations .................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 1. Introduction 1.0. Background information .................................................................... 15 1.1. The history of Freetown .................................................................... 16 1.2. An overview of the sociolinguistic situation of Sierra Leone ............. 18 1.3. Scope and purpose of the research ..................................................... 18 1.4. The structure of the thesis .................................................................. 22 1.5. Data sources and data methodology ................................................... 23 Chapter 2. On English in West Africa: state of the art 2.0. Introduction ...................................................................................... 25 2.1. The English language in its global perspective .................................. 30 2.2. English as a Second Language (ESL) as opposed to English as a Native Language (ENL) ...................................................................................... 36 2.3. The Status of English as a Second Language (ESL) in West Africa ... 38 2.3.1. Nigeria ............................................................................. 44 2.3.2. Ghana ............................................................................... 67 2.3.3. The Gambia ...................................................................... 75 2.3.4. Liberia .............................................................................. 76 2.3.5. Cameroon ......................................................................... 77 2.3.6. Sierra Leone ..................................................................... 81 2.4. Conclusion