Analysis of the urban sociolinguistic landscape of Ziguinchor: interbreeding, creoleness and cosmopolitanism
Cambar lalinu làkk si askanu Sigicoor : jaxasoo ci wàllu xeet, kerewolite ak xeet yu bari te wute
Keywords:
Ziguinchor, Sociolinguistique, Créolité, Cosmopolitisme, Paysage UrbainAbstract
In Senegal, there are about nineteen ethnic groups for about forty languages spread over the whole country, with, however, majority locations for each group. In Casamance, in the south of Senegal, more precisely in Ziguinchor, the language group known as the forest peoples is mainly found. Data from the 2013 general population and housing census in Senegal indicate that the main ethnic groups are: the Joolas (57.8%), the majority group, the Mandinkas (11.10%), the Pulaar (10.5%), the Wolofs (3.9%), the Manjacks (3.5%), the Balantes (2.9%), the Sereers (2.70%) and the Mancagnes (2.4%). It may seem odd that the Baïnounk are not mentioned in this list of Ziguinchor's "main ethnic groups" since, as we know, they founded Ziguinchor. This is because many Baïnounks now call themselves Joolas. A phenomenon that goes back, it seems, to the propagation of the myth of the Baïnounk curse. The Baïnounks are said to have been cursed by their king, Gana Sira Bana, whom they murdered by burying him alive after setting a trap for him at Birkama. Before his death, the king is said to have predicted an unhappy future and the gradual disappearance of the ethnic group. According to the myth, anyone who marries a Bainunk will never be rich. As a result, the Baïnounks took refuge in the Joola ethnic group. Ziguinchor, by virtue of its geographical position and its historical past, is at the confluence of several languages and cultures. This position gives it beyond the status of a socio-cultural and linguistic crossroads, and makes it one of the most cosmopolitan regions in Senegal. According to M. Dreyfus & C. Juillard (2004), the Ziguinchor region is much more multilingual than other regions in the north of the country. It is characterised by an 'ethnic-linguistic' diversity, a cosmopolitanism and a creolity that are the results of its historical process. However, it should be noted that not all the languages present in this urban area enjoy the same status. Thus, according to M. Dreyfus and C. Juillard, Casamance Creole with a Portuguese lexical base, forms a separate linguistic group. In any case, the sociolinguistic configuration of the urban space reveals that the people of Ziguinchor are multilingual and that they speak at least two of the country's national languages.
The aim of this paper is to give an account of the linguistic and cultural diversity of the city of Ziguinchor, based on a sociolinguistic analysis.
Key words: Ziguinchor, sociolinguistics, creolity, cosmopolitanism, urban landscape.
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