LANGUAGE DIVERSITY IN GUINEA, WEST AFRICA By SAMANTHA ANNE MERO A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2003 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The efforts of many different people went into the successful completion of this thesis. I would first like to give glory to God and my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, without whom I would not have had the strength to persevere through the rough times. Special appreciation goes to my parents. My entire college education would have been impossible without their love and support. Watching their hard work and dedication throughout my life has encouraged me to strive for my best in all that I do. I would also like to thank the chair of my committee, Dr. M.J. Hardman, who inspired the idea for this thesis and has guided me through the process of completing it. Her ideas and encouragement have kept me going throughout this process. The members of my committee have all generously given of their time to improve the quality of this thesis, each adding a unique viewpoint and area of specialization. Dr. Jean Casagrande has been with this project from the beginning, constantly encouraging me to keep going and keeping me from taking on more than I could handle. Dr. Fiona McLaughlin is the newest member of my supervisory committee, but her expertise in West African studies has been invaluable in directing my research. Further recognition is due to the members of the Guinea Branch of Pioneer Bible Translators. Without their aid during the summer of 2003, this thesis would have been impossible because I would have no data. Finally, I would like to thank my fellow graduate students in the Linguistics department. I could not have asked for a better group of friends to help me keep a healthy perspective and to make me laugh even when I was feeling frustrated. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................ii ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................1 2 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION....................................................................8 3 LANGUAGE USAGE IN GUINEA .....................................................................11 Introduction..........................................................................................................11 History .................................................................................................................12 Pre-Colonial History ....................................................................................13 Colonial History...........................................................................................15 Post-Independence .......................................................................................19 Current Situation ..................................................................................................21 Diglossia......................................................................................................22 Coastal Guinea.............................................................................................24 Fouta Djalon ................................................................................................28 Upper Guinea...............................................................................................30 Forest Region...............................................................................................32 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................34 4 LANGUAGE USAGE IN WESTERN AFRICA...................................................35 Introduction..........................................................................................................35 Senegal.................................................................................................................35 Togo.....................................................................................................................37 Congo...................................................................................................................38 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................39 5 MAJOR LANGUAGES OF GUINEA..................................................................41 Introduction..........................................................................................................41 Susu......................................................................................................................41 Maninka ...............................................................................................................47 iii Pular.....................................................................................................................53 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................60 6 QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH........................................................62 APPENDIX A FIELD NOTES.....................................................................................................65 B EINAR HAUGEN’S 10 QUESTIONS .................................................................68 REFERENCE LIST.......................................................................................................69 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .........................................................................................71 iv Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts LANGUAGE DIVERSITY IN GUINEA, WEST AFRICA By Samantha Anne Mero August 2003 Chair: Dr. M.J. Hardman Major Department: Linguistics The Republic of Guinea in West Africa is home to native speakers of over 40 indigenous African languages. In addition to these indigenous languages, French is used as the official language; and Arabic is used as the language of Islam, the majority religion. Everyday conversations among Guineans reflect complicated, often contradictory sociolinguistic norms not only on what to say but what language to say it in. Many factors affect the choice of language, including the identity of the interlocutors, the location of the conversation, and the topic of the conversation. There are four linguistically relevant regions in the country, each one dominated by one of Guinea’s three major languages, Susu, Pular, and Maninka. During a 2-month trip to Guinea in the summer of 2002, I gathered data on language usage in each of these four regions. Most of the data were collected by observing which language was used in a variety of social situations, ranging from conversations between friends to marketplace interactions to business discussions at government agencies. v The results of this study varied for each of the regions. However, they all exhibited evidence of diglossia and even triglossia. In all regions, French is the H language and is used in government and education. Each region uses one of the three major languages as an M language. These languages are used in the cities and marketplaces and as a trade language between members of different language groups. The indigenous languages are L languages. Among the people who speak them natively, L languages are the languages of everyday topics with family and friends of the same language group. The three major languages also function as L languages in areas where they are spoken natively. Understanding language usage in a country can help the government adopt a conscientious language policy that will facilitate communication between groups and between the people and the government and reduce the chances of conflict while respecting the rights of minority groups to retain their native languages. In Africa, one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world, the decision of what official status, if any, to give the different languages should not be taken lightly. Through this and other similar studies, we can gain a better understanding of language interaction and attitudes. This information could help us better handle what is a very emotional issue in much of Africa and the world. vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Language diversity and multilingualism are more common in the world than monolingualism. Today, at least 4,000 different languages are spoken in the world with some estimates ranging as high as 8,000. However, there are only about 160 countries (Wardhaugh 1987). In many parts of the world, people have to make daily decisions on language usage based on who the participants in the conversation are, what the topic and setting of the conversation are, why the conversation is taking place, and a variety of other factors (Wolff 2002). Whenever speakers of different languages meet, some sort of linguistic concession must be made for the sake of communication. This concession can take many different forms. The groups may use one of the languages as a trade language, either by mutual decision or because one group forces their language on the other. The groups may even use a third language as a trade language. At other times, aspects from more than one language can be borrowed to