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- Language Family: Gur
- Topic #1: Sociolinguistics
Sociolinguistic aspects of language change among Kabiye-French bilinguals
This study examines the influence of French on Kabiye (Gur language) in everyday communication among Kabiye-French bilinguals in Togo. Since French is the official language of education and the government, nearly all educated Kabiye speakers are bilingual in French and Kabiye.
My study shows that the prestige and the socio-economic status of French coupled with the fact that it is the formal language of communication within a multilingual set up have led to an increase in its use in the country. Importantly, I observe that the influence of French has been increasing particularly among educated Kabiye-French bilinguals. Today, the use of the Kabiye verb lábu ‘to do’ plus a French noun or verb as well as the use of the verb kpáu ‘to take/carry’, the meaning of which is calqued from the French verb prendre ‘to take’ has become commonplace among Kabiye-French bilinguals.
More specifically, the study shows that in order to maintain their language, Kabiye speakers use language maintenance mechanisms to prevent Kabiye from being corrupted by such a powerful language as French.
The data for this study are drawn from tape-recorded interviews and participant observation of Kabiye speakers in informal settings.
Cette étude examine l’influence du français sur le kabiyè (langue Gur) dans les communications quotidiennes entre les bilingues kabiyè et français au togo. Comme le français est la langue officielle dans l’éducation et dans le gouvernement, presque tous les kabiyès scolarisés sont bilingues en kabiyè et en français.
La présente étude montre que le prestige et le statut socioéconomique du français en plus du fait qu’il soit la langue utilisée dans le secteur formel et multilingue privilégie son usage dans le pays. Nous avons observé plus particulièrement que l’influence du français s’accroît surtout parmi les locuteurs bilingues en kabiyè et en français. Aujourd’hui, l’usage du verbe lábu ‘faire’ accompagné d’un nom français ou d’un verbe français à l’infinitif, ainsi que l’usage du verbe kabiyè kpáu ‘prendre’ est devenu quotidien entre les bilingues kabiyè et français.
Par ailleurs, notre étude démontre qu’afin de protéger leur langue, les locuteurs Kabiyè ont créé des mécanismes de protection afin de sauvegarder le kabiyè et le protéger contre toute forme de corruption d’une si puissante langue qu’est le français. Ce travail est basé sur des enregistrements des interviews et sur ma propre observation des conversations informelles de locuteurs Kabiyès.