English(es) in West Africa

1. English(es) in West Africa

2. West Africa

3. 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) • The first English trading stations in the 1620s (Sierra Leone) and 1630s (Ghana), more followed in the second half of the century The boom of the trans-Atlantic slave trade of the 17th and 18th centuries: massive structural changes in the West African societies

4. Colonial history • Settlement projects in anglophone West Africa aimed at the “repatriation” of freed slaves from the New World • 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

5. 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 • 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: • 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: • ENL (English as a native language) • pidginized/creolized language • ESL (English as a second language)

6. 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: • 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)

7. 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: - 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

8. Language choice • 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: • 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 • The hierarchy of language choice: native/local language > local lingua franca > regional lingua franca > national language/English

9. 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 1. Sierra Leone:

10. 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 NovaScotians: - 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

11. Sierra Leone: the historic overview • 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

12. West African Krio clip • Sierra-Leone English soundfile

13. 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: 2. Liberia

14. 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

15. Liberia • 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

16. Liberia • “The love of liberty brought us here” • “Good” English in Liberia is geared to American phonology • Different varieties of Liberian English can be distinguished: Standard LE Vernacular LE Kru Pidgin English

17. Liberian English basilectal sound sample

18. 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: Common facts

19. The Gambia: Historical overview • 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

20. The Gambia: Linguistic features • 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

21. Gambian president clip

22. 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: Common facts

23. Ghana – historical overview • 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

24. Ghana – sociolinguistic aspects: • 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

26. West Africa (Cameroon & Nigeria)

27. 4 African language families: Afro-Asiatic (250 mio) Niger-Congo (260 mio) Nilo-Saharan (30 mio) Khoisan (considered as ‚first languages‘ of Africa) 1. Language History

28. 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

29. 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

30. Language Policy • „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

31. Nigerian Pidgin English • 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

32. Nigerian Pidgin English ctd. • 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

33. 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

34. German rule ctd. • 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) • 1907: direct rule, language policy: • German language of instruction from grade 3 • German rule is remembered with high prestige, though language vanishes later

35. Colonial Period ctd. • 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

36. Post-colonial Period • 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”

37. 2.1 “Frenchification” • 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.

38. 2.2 Languages and Lingua Franca Areas in Cameroon • 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)

39. North-West, South- West provinces and bordering: PE Central and Southern Zone: French North: Fulfulde Lingua Franca Zones

40. Fulfulde Zone • 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

41. PE Zone • 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

42. French Zone • 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

43. 2.3 The Status of English in Cameroon • “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) • linguistic imbalance between French and English • prominent status of French even in domains that are supposed to be bilingual

44. Factors for French Dominance • 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

45. Factors for French Dominance • Lack of effective language policy: • To guarantee linguistic rights of the minority • Encourage the francophone majority to learn English

46. Potent Factors for the English Language • 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

47. Play intelligibility clip – where and why do misunderstandings occur?

48. Questions for discussion: • What are the consequences of the settlement policy Britain and the USA held in West Africa in the 19th century? • Does English as lingua franca pose a danger for the existence of indigeous African languages? • Will a Standard African English (for the whole continent) be possible? • There has always been some measure of antagonism between the settler communities and the indigenous peoples in these countries. Why is that? • What is the relation between English and social equality in African society?

49. Discussion ctd. • “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)

50. Discussion • “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?