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Abstract In a globalised sociolinguistics “[d]ifferent types of societies must give rise to different types of sociolinguistic study”, as Dick Smakman and Patrick Heinrich argue in the concluding remarks of their (Smakman, Dick. 2015. The westernising mechanisms in sociolinguistics. In Dick Smakman & Patrick Heinrich (eds.), Globalising sociolinguistics. Challenging and expanding theory , 16–35. London: Routledge) book Globalising sociolinguistics. Challenging and expanding theory . To this end, a basic condition must be met: both target languages and societies must be well known. This is not the case in much of Central and West Africa: with only few exceptions, here local languages and societies are generally under-researched and sociolinguistic studies have focused mainly on urban contexts, in most cases targeting the interaction between local and colonial languages. With regard to individual multilingualism, this urban-centered perspective risks to limit scholarly attention on processes that, while valid in cities, may not apply everywhere. For one thing, there might still be areas where one can find instances of endogenous multilingualism, where speakers’ language repertoires and ideologies are largely localised. The case in point is offered by the sociolinguistic situation found in Lower Fungom, a rural, marginal, and linguistically highly diverse area of North West Cameroon. The analyses proposed, stemming from a strongly ethnographic approach, lead to reconsider basic notions in mainstream sociolinguistics – such as that of the target of an index – crucially adding spiritual anxieties among the factors conditioning the development of individual multilingual repertoires in local languages.
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Multilingualism and intercommunity relationship: An ethnographic appraisal of Lower Fungom communities in the North West Region of Cameroon.
In the history of language and conflict, experience has shown that when there is multilingualism in very restricted communities like Lower Fungom, the issue of identity comes up as many people are asserting their identity and this has often resulted into conflict. Yet, there seem to be apparent calm in Lower Fungom and therefore the question is how these languages cohabit with the people such that there is relative calm. Hence, we study the households to see the kind of culture the people have and how they practice their multilingualism in such a way that it helps to blend them or separate them. This paper examines the interface on which multilingualism and inter-community relationship is expressed in Lower Fungom such that there is a peaceful cohabitation among the people. A sociolinguistic survey was carried out in four of the thirteen villages of Lower Fungom with an ethnographic interview guide that handled both linguistic and ethnographic information. Data were collected through in-depth interviews from ten households in each of the four chosen communities. The information collected through in-depth interviews was later verified through focus groups discussions where the participants refuted or confirmed what was provided as information during in-depth interviews. The analysis of the data collected is based on the information that was provided by participants during focus group discussions. The data collection and analyses revealed that significant rates of multilingualism in the area are explained socially in terms of blood relations, marriage, in-laws, perceived proximity and similarity, religion, education, individual relations and movements. Also, the data suggests that household multilingualism transmitted from one generation to another has become a culture and is responsible for the peaceful community and inter- community coexistence in the area. The ethnographic approach employed in data collection revealed that there is no identity crisis but there is a new way of negotiating identity which begins from the household where there is tolerance and consensus in the use of different languages. This tolerance and consensus is extended to the entire community and even beyond the community. Furthermore, household and community multilingualism should be a national responsibility for reasons other than those of international politics. This is because language crisis often tend to breed other crisis such as economic, political, and social crises which, in turn, create a dysfunction in the society.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1761639
- PAR ID:
- 10409367
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- African journal of social sciences
- Volume:
- 11
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 2410-3756
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 107-120
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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