DigitalResources Electronic Survey Report 2017-010 A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Tchumbuli Language Area Gabriele Faton and Katharina Tupper A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Tchumbuli Language Area Gabriele Faton and Katharina Tupper SIL International® 2017 SIL Electronic Survey Report 2017-010, July 2017 © 2017 SIL International® All rights reserved 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 iii iv 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." 1 2 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.