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Prospects for the language development in Thionck-Essyl, Casamance region of Elena Yashina ©2012, SIL International

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Prospects for the language development in Thionck-Essyl, Casamance region of Senegal

ELENA YASHINA

03.05.2012

(2686 words) Table of Contents Introduction...... 3 1 Background information on Gusiilaay...... 3 1.1 Geography and statistics...... 3 1.2 Overview of the history of Gusiilaay contact with other ...... 5 1.3 Geography of Thionck-Essyl...... 5 2 Language use and motivations...... 7 2.1 An overview of language motivations in Senegal...... 7 2.2 Language use in Thionck-Essyl...... 7 2.2.1 French...... 7 2.2.2 Wolof...... 8 2.2.3 Diola-Fogny...... 8 2.2.4 Arabic...... 8 2.2.5 Mandinka...... 8 2.2.6 Gusiilaay...... 8 3 Prospects of language development...... 9 3.1 Motivation as a key for Gusiilaay development...... 9 3.2 Prospects for Gusiilaay...... 11 3.2.1 Language documentation...... 11 3.2.2 Orthography development / codification...... 11 3.2.3 Literature production...... 12 3.2.4 Development of the sustainable programme...... 12 3.2.5 Maintaining the motivation...... 12 Conclusion...... 12 Bibliography...... 13 INTRODUCTION Language development is a complicated process. It should address all domains of language use. The key factor in this process is the motivation of the local population. If the people are not interested in revitalisation of their language, then there is little can be done.

The population of Thionck-Essyl, Casamance region of Senegal is highly motivated to keep their language alive. There are various reasons for that which will be described later in the paper.

Before talking about motivations it is very important to understand some background information.

Quite often the history could explain a lot about people's attitudes.

We will also analyse motivations as a key for the language development in Thionck-Essyl and take a look at some prospects for the development of Gusiilaay.

1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON GUSIILAAY

1.1 Geography and statistics

Gusiilaay home land is the small town of Thionck-Essyl in the Buluf region of Casamance, south of Senegal. On the Etnologue map below the Gusiilaay is under the number 10. In 2006

15,400 speakers of Gusiilaay were recorded (Lewis 2009), however this number does not included those living in big cities like: Bignona, Ziguinchor and and those immigrated the Gambia and some European countries and US. Illustration 1: Language map of Senegal and the Gambia from

In 1987-1989 a Buluf sociolinguistic research produced a detailed description of the linguistic situation in the area (Carlton & Rand 1993). It shows various percentages of intelligibility between the villages in Buluf region. The Bandial, Gusiilaay and the language of Affiniame were identified as closely-related. Unfortunately, it was the only one sociolinguistic research like that for that region. However, there were more linguistic papers on specific Diola languages written by SIL and Dakar University (UCAD) linguists. So the following classification was proposed (also see

Lewis 2009):

1. Jola Proper a. Jola Central - Gusilay: Bandial, Gusilay - Her-Ejamat: Jola-Felupe, Kerak - Jola-Fonyi - Jola-Kasa b. Karon-Mlomp: Karon, Mlomp c. Kwatay Figure 1 1.2 Overview of the history of Gusiilaay contact with other languages

It seems impossible to describe all the complex contacts Gusiilaay had over the years, however, we will try to identify the main ones.

In his book “A Cultural, Economic, and Religious History of the Basse Casamance since

1500” P. Mark describes the language situation in the region at different periods of time. According to him, in early 16th century the region was mostly populated by Bagnun people. In the end of the

16th century and the first half of the 17th Diola people arrived and started slowly assimilating

Bagnuns. By the end of the 17th century the population of the Buluf is described as mostly Diola

(Mark 1985: 17-20, 31). Some oral traditions suggest that there were local people in Thionck-Essyl before the group from the South of the River (Bandial) arrived. Quite likely, local people were assimilated by the newcomers, however, some traits of the Bugnun culture are still present. For example the family name Diatta and Sambou are of Bugnun origin and these families are considered to be the first inhabitants of Thionck-Essyl. Some Bagnun words like fúcaho 'to eat' were kept in the vocabulary. So this mix of Bugnun and Bandial became later known as Gusiilaay.

Casamance was colonised after 1893, but the French were present in the region from the end of the 17th century (Mark 1985: 22). During that time many French words were incorporated into Gusiilaay vocabulary (school, hospital and governmental domains).

In the early 20th century, following widening trade with the Gambia (Mandinka people) many young men converted to Islam which led to the islamisation of the area (Mark 1985: 100-

103). Consequently Gusiilaay borrowed Mandinka/Arabic religious vocabulary as well as days of the week (with the original 6 day Diola week it was impossible to keep track of Fridays).

Nowadays, Gusiilaay undergoes another major influence caused by spread of Wolof in Senegal.

1.3 Geography of Thionck-Essyl

The people of Thionck-Essyl used to live in four different villages: Daga, Niaganane, Batine and Kamanar, currently regrouped into a commune (a small town) where each village received a certain number of allotments. Illustration 2: Map of Thionck-Essyl made by Elena Yashina

The blue area in the middle is the commune created in the 1980's. Niaganane, Batine and

Kamanar villages share the same dialect of Gusiilaay called Gárindien. Today there is almost no population left in those old villages. Daga is a separate variety and it is the most populated district.

The three red circles representing different villages in Daga area are still populated. The differences in two dialects could be explained by history of their geography, however, the two groups recognise each other as Gusiilaay. The majority of the population is Muslim. There is only one district in Daga

(Old Daga) which is Catholic. The minority Catholic population was forced to live there to avoid religious conflicts. 2 LANGUAGE USE AND MOTIVATIONS

Karan argues that the study of motivations various motivations for usage and revitalization of a language should be a part of any background research for language development (Karan 2008:

6), because “motivations are key” (Karan 2008: 10).

2.1 An overview of language motivations in Senegal

We will present the various motivations for usage of languages in Senegal using the framework proposed by Karan (2011: 143).

Communication Economics Social identity Language Power Nationalistic and Religious and Prestige Political Internationally: Job related: Group related: High language Nation level: French / Latin English, French French, Wolof, French, Wolof forms: Wolof Arabic Nationally: English Solidarity French Local level: English French ,Wolof Trade related: related: Low language Local languages Locally: Arabic, Wolof, Wolof, local forms: National and local Soninke, languages National languages Mandinka languages Network related: Local languages French, Wolof, Arabic, English Table 1: Language choice motivations

Local languages like Gusiilaay are not prestigious to learn. However, the nationalistic feelings have been arising for some time with more local communities being proud of their language and traditions. This is key for the future development of local languages.

2.2 Language use in Thionck-Essyl

2.2.1 French

French is a language of education. It also opens doors to various partnerships especially with the white people. Everyone who attended school understands French to certain extend, but does not necessary have the ability to speak it fluently. Also French is used in the local Catholic church alongside the Fogny. 2.2.2 Wolof

Wolof is very popular amongst young people. Speaking Wolof means you have spent some time in big cities like Ziguinchor or Dakar, which gives you peer prestige. The older generation complains about 'excessive' use of Wolof by young people. Some of older generation do not understand Wolof at all. Nowadays not being able to speak it is considered backwards.

2.2.3 Diola-Fogny

One of the dialects of the Diola-Fogny is Buluf. The two dialects are very similar and their difference seems mainly in territorial identity. People of Thionck-Essyl use Buluf for communication with neighbouring villages.

Diola-Fogny is also used in the local Catholic church in Thionck-Essyl because many members of the church are foreigners (teachers, doctors assigned to work in the area). The priests are also from the neighbouring villages. Fogny NT is used as part of mass readings.

2.2.4 Arabic

Arabic is a language of religion. Even though Islam is a fairly new to the Gusiilaay community its influence is growing. More mosques are open and more religious material produced.

Fognys are trying out for their language. Some people in Thionck-Essyl are not literate in French, but can read Arabic.

Victor Tendeng, the head director of all public schools in Thionck-Essyl, explained that learning Arabic is obligatory part of religious education.

2.2.5 Mandinka

There are strong connections with the Gambian villages. Quite often children are sent to spend their holidays with their relatives in the Gambia where they can acquire some Mandinka where it is spoken instead of Wolof.

2.2.6 Gusiilaay

Gusiilaay is the first and the main language children learn at home. Later on, when a child starts spending holidays with relatives in another places, he can learn Wolof, Fogny or Mandinka depending on location. Quite often children are placed elsewhere to get a better education.

However, for primary and secondary education the tendency is to send children to Thionck-

Essyl, because the cost of living in this town is considerably lower than in Ziguinchor or Dakar.

That is how the children of those living outside Thionck-Essyl manage to maintain a good fluency in Gusiilaay. That is also an opportunity for children from neighbouring villages to learn Gusiilaay.

All the children are usually treated alike and those who are preparing for important exams might get excused from certain chores. Many children come to Thionck-Essyl just for the final year of secondary education prior to their secondary final exam. It is the only one place in the Buluf which has Lycée (higher secondary school preparing for the equivalent of A levels).

Schools are where children start learning French. However, the director of primary school in

Tangame (a part of Thionck-Essyl) Victor Tendeng said that for the first couple of years teachers have to use Gusiilaay in order to explain the lessons (even though they are not supposed to!), otherwise children would not understand.

Gusiilaay is clearly 6a level of EGIDS (Expanded Grade Intergenerational Disruption

Scale), that is sustainable orality (Lewis & Simons, 2010). It is widely used at all levels of every day life and the locals take a great pride in their language.

3 PROSPECTS OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Motivation as a key for Gusiilaay development

The people of Thionck-Essyl are very excited about the prospect of their language being written down. The mayor of Thionck-Essyl supports the language development activities in various ways. One of the local associations CLOA (Coordination locale des opérations en alphabétisation) made Gusiilaay development their main activity. There are about 300 members, men and women of various ages (early 30s – late 60s). The association represents all four sub-wards of Thionck-Essyl, which is very important for any decision making.

One of the reasons for such enthusiasm is ethnic pride. Seeing other languages being developed made them wonder about the Gusiilaay status. The other reason is a fear of loosing their traditions and wolofisation (section 2.2.2). Through the texts gathered during our fieldwork amongst the Gusiilaay an interesting tendency appears. All elderly people (aged 60+) do not use

Wolof borrowed words while telling traditional tales and stories of every day life. Younger generation (aged 40-) use quite a lot Wolof borrowings. The Wolof influence became quite a concern for the village elders. If there is no word in Gusiilaay for certain concept or thing, the members of CLOA prefer to use French borrowings to Wolof ones. It does say something about their attitude toward wolofisation.

While working on language development many people became more aware of other language (especially French and Mandinka) influences on Gusiilaay. As a result there was a call for reviving 'real Gusiilaay'. The members of CLOA started a search for the names of the traditional 6 days week in Gusiilaay. They made quite a lot of research interviewing elderly people of the village.

The names were remembered, unfortunately the order was lost. There was a tentative order proposition in the 2012 calendar. It is unlikely that these traditional day will be used in every day life, but it is important for Gusiilaay people at least to remember them.

During a couple of stakeholders meetings with SIL, the members of CLOA expressed their expectations for the Gusiilaay development. They would like to write down their traditions, tales and history. There were certain celebrations like women's wrestling which were banned by Muslim leaders. People started re-thinking if it was necessary and some members of CLOA made quite a lot of research to document the ceremony and the songs associated with it. Quite a lot of forgotten words appeared during that research. There are also a lot of oral tradition about founding of the village, wars and traditional tales (there are about 10 founders and war stories, 70 tales, 100 traditional riddles and about 60 of songs recorded during the field work in Thionck-Essyl). There is a big fear that those stories might die with the elderly people, which has been already the case.

There is also a big desire for the codification of the Gusiilaay, because it can give the language the equal status with other national languages and the possibility of being introduced into the school system. In 2011 some members of CLOA worked hard on figuring out how to write Gusiilaay. With the help of SIL there were produced an alphabet chart, an orthography guide, a book of traditional riddles, a transition guide for learning to read and write in Gusiilaay and a first photo story. There is a book of traditional musical instruments on its way and more photo stories are being developed. In the April 2012 the CLOA organised the first literacy class in Gusiilaay. Seeing all this effort the mayor of Thionck-Essyl helped the association to prepare all the necessary documents for codification and he will take care of the whole process.

This short overview clearly shoes that the local people are very motivated to preserve their culture and their language as a part of it.

3.2 Prospects for Gusiilaay

Language development is not a chaotic process and usually it needs a careful planning.

CLOA and SIL tried to address this issue during their meetings in 2011. There are several areas which need to be addressed in order to ensure a sustainable language development.

3.2.1 Language documentation

One of the SIL linguists has already started the documentation of the language. The phonology paper was produced and the description of the grammar is almost finished. The first orthography guide was produced in collaboration of CLOA and SIL, this guide will be a base document for Gusiilaay codification. There are still a lot of work needed to be done on discourse analysis. All the documents produced are needed to be at disposition of the local community, the government and the Dakar University.

3.2.2 Orthography development / codification

There is quite of lot work that has been already done in that area, but more testing is needed.

For that reason, CLOA plans to found an editing committee which will take care of the decisions concerning orthography. There also could be a lot of changes in the orthography when the government starts the process of codification. The committee will have to reconcile what was done with the government decisions. 3.2.3 Literature production

CLOA and SIL planned several writing workshop, the goal of which is to produce new and interesting reading materials. Literature production requires quite a lot of creativity especially in the oral society. This area of the language development should be planned very carefully each year.

3.2.4 Development of the sustainable literacy programme

Even though the first literacy class has started and five more are planned for the next year, there is big question of how to make this programme sustainable. To be more precise, is there a way of carrying on literacy without external funding? Several Gusiilaay businessmen are pondering the idea, however, it is not an easy issue to address.

Apart from financial side, it is very important that the written language is also used outside the literacy classes. There are some plans needed for introducing Gusiilaay on different types of media (especially mobile phones, e-mails). There are attempts to take notes of different meetings in the Thionck-Essyl town hall in Gusiilaay.

3.2.5 Maintaining the motivation

The Gusiilaay people have started well. However, the issue of maintaining the motivation for the language development should be addressed at early stages of the project. What can motivated people to use their language in written form when all the traditions are nicely preserved and documented?

CONCLUSION

Analysis of the Gusiilaay situation shows that this language has a great potential for development. Even though it had a long history of external influences (which is quite a common situation in the world), the speakers of Gusiilaay are very motivated to keep their language and traditions alive. These two reasons: the ethnic pride and the desire to preserve the culture are crucial for the future of the language. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sapir, J. David (1971) 'West Atlantic: An Inventory of the Languages, Their Noun Class Systems and Consonant Alternation', Current trends in linguistics 7, 45-112

Carlton, E. M., Rand, S. (1993) Enquête Sociolinguistique Sur les Langues Joolas de Basses

Casamance. Dakar: SIL

Mark, Peter (1985) A Cultural, Economic, and Religious History of the Basse Casamance since

1500. Stuttgart: Steiner-Verlag-Wiesbaden-GmbH

Lewis, Paul M. & Simons, Gary F. (2010) Assessing Endangerment: Expanding Fishman’s Gids.

Karan, Mark E. (2008) The Importance of Motivations in . 2nd

International Conference on Language Development, Language Revitalization, and Multilingual

Education in Ethnolinguistic Communities.

Karan, Mark E. (2011) 'Understanding and forecasting Ethnolinguistic Vitality', Journal of

Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 32: 2, 137-149

Lewis, M. Paul (ed.) (2009) Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 16th ed. , Tex.: SIL

International, http://www.ethnologue.com/ [accessed 23 April 2012]

Wikipedia (2012) Thionck-Essyl, http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thionck_Essyl [accessed 02 May

2012]

Fielder, Martyn (2011) Notes de réunion de planification Gusiilaay. Thionck-Essyl: SIL.

Personal communication from Victor Tendeng 2011