English(es) in West
Africa
West Africa
Precolonial history
Trade between equal partners:
The first Europeans in West Africa – the Portuguese: the second
half of the 15th century: Ca’ da Mosto (the Gambia River in 1455)
and Fernão do Pó (modern Nigeria in 1472)
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The first English trading stations in the 1620s (Sierra Leone) and
1630s (Ghana), more followed in the second half of the century
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The boom of the trans-Atlantic slave trade of the 17th and 18th
centuries: massive structural changes in the West African societies
Colonial history
Settlement projects in anglophone West Africa aimed at the
“repatriation” of freed slaves from the New World
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The rise of large scale migration streams within but also
between the different territories
Expansion of the domains where English was used:
• government and of all official transactions
• education (after the first three years of primary education)
• the medium of expression of a new literature as well as that of
interpersonal interaction among bilinguals in practically all
conceivable situations
Postcolonial time
Gaining their independence: Ghana 1957, Nigeria 1960, Sierra Leone
and the anglophone part of Cameroon in 1961 (the francophone part had
become independent in the previous year) and The Gambia 1965
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English is the official language in all of these countries, (in Cameroon
together with French), though in some cases (like The Gambia and Ghana)
this has never been formally acknowledged in the constitution. The reasons:
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English is a major world language
English is a neutral language that is thought to provide unity in ethnically
and linguistically diverse political entities
three main types of English spoken in West Africa:
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3.
ENL (English as a native language)
pidginized/creolized language
ESL (English as a second language)
Standard English
- Only a fraction of the population actually has a knowledge of English, a
smaller part uses the language on a regular basis, and an even smaller one
speaks it as a native language
- English is first and foremost acquired in school, but it is hard to say what
proportion of the population has a command of the language:
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no reliable figures exist
there is a continuum ranging from broken varieties to (near-) native competence
- Thus, only about 10–20 % of “anglophone” West Africans actually
speak a form of Standard West African English (Wolf 2001, 195)
The varieties of English
The native variety of non-Standard English: the creole language Krio in
SierraLeone (473000 speakers) with its small offshoot Aku in The Gambia
(8000) and Liberian Settler English in Liberia (69000). The speakers:
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- Descend from 19th century: ex-slave immigrants, mainly slaves
freed in the United States and from slavers off the Guinea Coast
- Held most of the influential positions in the government, administration
and the more westernized parts of society due to their close association
with the US and Britain during the 19th century
English-related Pidgin Languages such as Ghanaian, Nigerian, and
Cameroonian Pidgin English, which are structurally complex and related to
Sierra Leonean Krio
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Language choice
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A rough macrolinguistic generalization:
English is used for formal settings, indigenous languages are for informal settings
Multilingualism is very widespread in West Africa. What qualifies as a
lingua franca depends on:
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the functional range
the area covered by the language
The pidginized and creolized varieties of English as well as Standard
English serve as a national and supranational lingua franca
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The hierarchy of language choice:
native/local language > local lingua franca > regional lingua franca >
national language/English
1. Sierra Leone:
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bordered by Guinea,
Liberia and the Atlantic
Ocean
area: 71 740 m²
population: about
4.976.871 (2004
Population and Housing
Census of Sierra Leone[1])
capital: Freetown
languages: English as
official language, lingua
franca Krio spoken by
97% of the population; 21
other languages
The “Creoles” or “Krio” as
first Western Black
community (about 2% of
the population) consist of
the following groups
The groups of the “Creoles” or
“Krio”:
a) the Granville Sharp group:
- consisting of 411 settlers who left Britain, returned to
Africa and founded Freetown in 1787
- named after Granville Sharp, who fought for the
abolition of slave trade
b) the Nova Scotians:
- about 1131 former slaves who had fought for the British in
the American War of Independence
- came to Sierra Leone in 1792
c) the Maroons:
- about 550 slaves who had escaped from Jamaica and
were deported to Sierra Leone in 1800
Sierra Leone: the historic overview
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in 1807 Britain formally abolished slave trade
in 1808 Sierra Leone was declared a British colony
Sierra Leone gained independence in 1961
the Creoles as an educated Christian elite who had
great influence on other English settlements along
the coast
Krio was thus of great importance for the spread of
Pidgin in West Africa and spread as lingua franca
throughout Sierra Leone (e.g. through media)
Krio spread as lingua franca throughout the country
and is a fully fledged creole language that derives
some 80% of its vocabulary from English
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West African Krio clip
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Sierra-Leone English soundfile
2. Liberia
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bordered by Sierra Leone,
Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire and
the Atlantic Ocean
area: 111 369 m²
population: 3 476 608
capital: Monrovia
languages: English
(official language) and 34
other languages (incl.
Liberian Standard English
and Liberian Pidgin
English)
has a special status among
the English speaking
countries in West Africa
and a unique history
because:
Liberia
a) it was the first modern independent state in Africa
(independence proclaimed in 1847)
b) its historical and political ties to the US largely influenced the
English spoken in Liberia (modeled on AmE) and thus made it
distinct from other English speaking African countries
(modeled on BrE)
c) e it is the only African state where English is spoken as a
mother tongue by 20% of the population
Liberia
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5% of Liberia's population are so-called Americo Liberian, who
descended from American black expatriates
those expatriates ruled and dominated the country
“[...] they carried with them American ways of life, including the
language and the concept of racial differences. They also felt
superior to their wild and uncivilized African brothers, and the
leading group preserved this distance well into the 20th century
[...]
Görlach, M.: “Studies in Varieties of English”
Amsterdam: Benjamins, 1991. p. 127
Liberia
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“The love of liberty brought us here”
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“Good” English in Liberia is geared to American
phonology
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Different varieties of Liberian English can be
distinguished:
Standard LE
Vernacular LE
Kru Pidgin English
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Liberian English basilectal sound
sample
The Gambia: Common facts
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neighbouring country is
Senegal (French!)
area: 11,295 km2
population: app.
1,700,000
capital: Banjul
official language:
English
further languages:
Fula, Mandinka, Wolof,
Djola, Fulfulde
The Gambia: Historical overview
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1588 given as present to merchants by
Elizabeth I
1618 given as present to a company by
James I
17th century several European countries
occupy the area
1888 Senegambia becomes British Crown
Colony
1965 The Gambia becomes independent
from UK
The Gambia: Linguistic features
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Creole variety spoken in The Gambia is
called Aku (related to Krio)
linguistic influences of refugees from
Senegal, Guinea and Sierra Leone
frequent code-switching between English
and Gambian languages
Wolof gains prestige because it is the
language of economy
it also serves as a lingua franca between
French-speaking Senegal and The Gambia
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Gambian president clip
Ghana: Common facts
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neighbouring countries are
Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso
and Togo
area: 238, 540 km2
population: app. 24,000,000
capital: Accra
official language: English
further languages: Akan,
Dagaare/Waale, Dangbe,
Dagbane, Ewe, Ga, Gonja,
Kasem, Nzema plus another
26 non-government
sponsored languages
Ghana – historical overview
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Middle Ages: early development of feudalism,
subdivision in kingdoms
1471 the Portuguese arrive and find the area rich in
gold
16th century slave trade as main economic factor
1874 Gold Coast is made British Crown Colony
19th century Asante wars, Britain remains victorious
1957 Gold Coast is named Ghana and becomes
independent
1994 ethnic clashes between the Konkomba and the
Nanumba due to quarrels over land
Ghana – sociolinguistic aspects:
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lower levels: English as subject
higher levels: English as a medium to teach
30% English speakers, related to education
clear influence of Ghanaian mother tongues
and Nigerian English
West Africa (Cameroon &
Nigeria)
1. Language History
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4 African language
families:
Afro-Asiatic (250
mio)
Niger-Congo (260
mio)
Nilo-Saharan (30
mio)
Khoisan (considered
as ‚first languages‘
of Africa)
1.1 Nigerian (Pre)colonial History until
1945 & the Pidgin
Pre-colonial History of the Area
 1472: Portuguese landed
 15th century: British arrival on the coast
 17th/18th century: slave trade
 Slave trade slowly replaced by palm-oil
trade
 1840‘s: missionaries arrive, teaching
English mainly
 Pidgin-English developed as main means of
communication
Colonial Nigeria
1861: British occupy Lagos, make it
colony
 Moves into hinterland & Niger-Delta
 1900: North & South Nigerian
Protectorate
 1906: Colony of Lagos & South Nigeria
were joined
 1914: Colony and Protectorate of
Nigeria
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Language Policy
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„indirect policy“ of colonial rule practised in
Northern protectorate, while in South
missionaries employed an Anglicist policy
At same time standardization of indigenous
languages for evangelization
1914: indirect rule creates an indigenous
elite for governing country
Population held powerless, but not in
ignorance: prestige of English creates a
demand for it, employed in Pidgin English
Nigerian Pidgin English
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Pidgins are „‘incidental‘ modes of
communication that usually arise in
situations where people from three different
language communities [...] need to
communicate with one another [...] Pidgins
are not spoken as first or primary
languages, and they are nobody‘s mother
tongue.“ (Webb & Sure: 29)
In Nigeria, contrary to definition, it is first
language to many!
50% of population speak it, partly
„bidialectical“ situation
Nigerian Pidgin English
ctd.
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Language of markets, police, army, sports,
campuses, playgrounds, in taxis etc...
Stigmatised by elite as „broken“
For average people only English they know,
enjoys prestige for its ethnic neutrality
(same for „Standard“ English)
Different grammar, structural innovations,
word borrowing from indigenous languages
more extensively, it influences Nigerian
English by contact, constantly changing
Carrier of Identity
1.2 Cameroonian
Language History
Colonial Period:
 1884 German Protectorate
 No colonial language policy,
commercial exploitation of the area via
private companies
 English & PE still strong: Kurzes
Handbuch für Neger-Englisch an der
Westküste Afrikas unter besonderer
Berücksichtigung von Kamerun, 1908
German rule ctd.
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Hauptmann Hutter über PE: “ein Gemisch
aus verdorbenem Englisch und Portugiesisch
in das sich einzelne Worte verschiedener
Negersprachen oder richtiger die den
Negern eigene konkrete Ausdrucksform
darein mischen. Es ist das sog. Beach
(Küsten)–Englisch“ (Deu- tsche
Kolonialzeitung, 17/1898 in: Wolf 2001)
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1907: direct rule, language policy:
– German language of instruction from grade 3
– German rule is remembered with high prestige,
though language vanishes later
Colonial Period ctd.
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1916/ 1919: partition into British and French
„Cameroons“ entails linguistic and cultural
cleavage (GB about one fifth of area)
Britain integrates her two small strips of
land into Nigeria, with same language
policy
Illiteracy remains high (80-90% in 1948)
until demand of people after WWII leads to
broader education
France pursues assimilation & direct rule
Post-colonial Period
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1960: Independence
1961: Referendum in anglophone areas, with
northern part remaining with Nigeria, southern
area joining Cameroon
“Federal Republic of Cameroon” until 1972,
when “Federal” was dropped (French
dominance shows)
Authoritarian rule of Ahidjo and Biya (French
Cameroonians) until 1990
Conflict between “Francophones” and
“Anglophones”
2.1 “Frenchification”
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French dominance
Political: administration, electoral
system, the army/police/fire brigade,
university
Economically: dependency on France
as a foreign investor and in
export/import
Culturally: language, dress, food etc.
2.2 Languages and Lingua
Franca Areas in Cameroon
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Population: 18.470.000
Area: 475.000km²
Capital: Yaoundé
3 of the 4 major African language families
about 248 languages
Official languages: English and French
“A lingua franca zone is an area where one
can communicate in most of the daily
encounters with most of the people using a
language spoken in that area” (Wolf 2001,
p.155)
Lingua Franca Zones
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North-West, SouthWest provinces and
bordering: PE
Central and
Southern Zone:
French
North: Fulfulde
Fulfulde Zone
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Speakers: 668.700 L1, 5.000.000 L2
People are called Fulbe, traditional
religion Islam
trend away from Fulfulde as lingua
franca, French is taught in government
schools
but Fulfulde is most widely spoken
lingua franca in the North
the North is culturally homogenous
due to the strength of the Islam
PE Zone
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only 2.000.000 mainly L2 users of PE
In respect to number of speakers and
territorial dominance Fulfulde area is more
solid
roots in the anglophone part of the country
means of communication between
Anglophones and Francophones (work, official
business, talk to strangers) and between
Anglophones from different ethnic and social
status
prestige of PE seems to be low in the
anglophone area
French Zone
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Ewondo as a strong lingua franca in the
francophone part, only if indigenous
languages and rural areas are considered
French overwhelmingly used in most of the
towns in most situations
Prestigous status as official language, but
not as an identity carrier
French has no roots in the Francophone
part, as English has in the Anglophone part
via PE
2.3 The Status of English in
Cameroon
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“The official languages of the Republic of
Cameroon shall be English and French.
The state shall guarantee the promotion
of bilingualism throughout the country.”
(Republic of Cameroon in Wolf 2001)
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linguistic imbalance between French and
English
prominent status of French even in
domains that are supposed to be
bilingual
Factors for French
Dominance
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Demographic Advantage:
Anglophone Cameroon constitutes only 20%
of the population and 10% of the land area
of Cameroon
Political Factor:
majority of top ranking government officials
have been French speaking
French is exclusive language in the army,
parliamentary debates and policy
statements are in French
Factors for French
Dominance
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Lack of effective language policy:
To guarantee linguistic rights of the
minority
Encourage the francophone majority
to learn English
Potent Factors for the
English Language
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international importance and prestige
of English is acknowledged by the
Cameroonian government
Cultural institutions like the British
Council or American Cultural Center
American hegemony in international
relations, media, science, international
travel and communications
Play intelligibility clip – where and why
do misunderstandings occur?
Questions for discussion:
What are the consequences of the settlement policy Britain
and the USA held in West Africa in the 19th century?
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Does English as lingua franca pose a danger for the existence
of indigeous African languages?
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Will a Standard African English (for the
whole continent) be possible?
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There has always been some measure of antagonism between
the settler communities and the indigenous peoples in these
countries. Why is that?
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What is the relation between English and social equality in
African society?
Discussion ctd.
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“French is the language of Cameroon”
(Wolf 2001, 179) – As English and
French legally co-exist as official
languages of Cameroon how could the
status of English be promoted? What
would you do? (If you had the political
power or financial means)
Discussion
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“Pidgin is that language that you have
taken from the colonizers and you
have made it your own” (Deuber in:
Schneider 2007) – Thus, it symbolizes
(Nigerian/Cameroonian) identity and
has an advantage to “Standard”
English. Should PE be granted official
status?
Sources:
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Apter, David E. 1959: The Gold Coast in Transition, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Auswärtiges Amt: http://www.auswaertigesamt.de/diplo/en/Laenderinformationen/LaenderReiseinformationenA-Z.jsp (accessed on 2009-1115)
Görlach, Manfred. 1991. Studies in Varieties of English. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Görlach, Manfred. 1995. More Englishes: New Studies in Varieties of English 1988-1994.
Amsterdam: Benjamins,
Kachru, Braj, B.: The Handbook of World Englishes. Malden, Mass [u.a]: Blackwell, 2006.
Lucko, Peter, Lothar Peter and Hans-Georg Wolf (eds.) (2003): Studies in African Varieties of
English, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Osei, Akwasi P. (1999): Ghana. Recurrence and Change in a Post-Independence African State, New
York: Peter Lang.
Schmied, Josef (1991): English in Africa. An Introduction, New York: Longman Linguistics Library.
Volkshochschulen und der Themenbereich Afrika, Asien und Lateinamerika (1987): Materialien 29.
Afrika. Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe , Bonn:
Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband e.V.
Schneider, E.W. 2007. Postcolonial English: Varieties around the world. Cambridge: University
Press.
Webb V. & Kembo-Sure. 2000. The languages of Africa. In: Webb V. & Kembo-Sure (ed.) African
Voices: An introduction to the languages and linguistics of Africa. 26-54. Oxford: University Press.
Wolf, H.-G. 2001. English in Cameroon. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Wolf, H.-G. 2008. British and French language and educational policies in the Mandate and
Trusteeship Territories. Language Sciences 30: 553-574.
Maps from:
Gambia: http://geology.com/world/the-gambia-map.gif (accessed on 2009-11-15)
Ghana: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/geography/maps.php(accessed on 2009-11-15)
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Sources