Senegambian languages make up a major linguistic branch within the Niger Congo family of languages. The type language Fula[1]/Pular/Pulaar/Fulfulde -- and by any other name -- is widely spoken across West Africa and as far east as Sudan and Ethiopia, owing to the nomadic lifestyles of its native speakers[2]. Less dispersed Senegambian languages like Wolof, Sereer, and Cangin Languages are spoken in Senegal and Gambia, while Biafada, Bassari, and Badjara are spoken mainly in Guinea Bissau[3]. Eighty percent of Senegalese nationals speak a Senegambian[4] language as a native language (Wolof, Pulaar, Sereer), and it is no surprise that Wolof is the de facto lingua franca of Senegal and the neighboring Gambia.
From a European’s perspective, interest in Senegambian people, their languages and cultures is not new. As far back as the 19th century colonial officials and missionaries have been writing about Senegambian languages[5]. Then as now, Fula and Wolof occupy more than their fair share of space in the libraries of Western linguists. However, those extensive analyses of phonology (study of sounds) and morpho-syntactic (study of word structure and grammar) aspects of their native language are entirely Greek to the majority of Wolof and Fulɓe[6].
Yet, in my opinion, it is only by articulating those linguistic patterns formalized by a cadre of foreign academics can a Pular-speaking Fuutanke[7] from Fuuta-Jalon effectively understand Adamawan Fulfulde or Pulaar from Fuuta-Tooro. Arguably, if a Haali-Fulfulde[8] can barely articulate the ubiquitous phenomenon of consonant mutation[9], there is little chance that she can explain to an adult non-native speaker why windu and bindi refer to the same thing[10]. Granted understanding the theory of consonant mutation is not a prerequisite for being a native speaker of any Fula dialect, a simple intuition of consonant mutation is necessary for mutual intelligibility among speakers of different dialects. Indeed, the major divergence among Fula dialects can be attributed to the strong preference for one consonant over another in a consonant mutation series (for instance, ‘wiimi’ vs. ‘mbiimi’, ‘yahu’ vs. ‘njahu’, ‘arii’ vs. ‘ngarii’, etc.).
More important than teaching consonant mutation, I think, is the medium through which it is taught. The fact that w and b, f and p, or s and c are on opposite sides of most alphabets -- Latin, Arabic (Hija’i) and even native Fula/Wolof scripts -- makes it even harder to drive the message home that each pair of consonants are interchangeable; in fact, most consonants (>60%) of Senegambian Languages undergo alternation/mutation[11]. Not surprisingly, consonant mutation is a prerequisite for membership within the Senegambian branch of Niger-Congo Languages.
A complex system of consonant mutation, a large inventory of noun classes (which depend heavily on consonant mutation), and the lack of an appropriate model/alphabet system to intuit consonant mutation create an unnecessarily steep learning curve for Senegambain children in urban areas and non-native students of Senegambian Languages. Not surprisingly, the complex Fulfulde has given way to the simpler, more intuitive Hausa in Northern Nigeria[12],[13]. However, children growing up in Senegal do not have the same options as Nigerians do; 80% of Senegalese nationals are native speakers of a Senegambian Language. As a result, the choices for a lingua franca are between a Senegambian language with 15+ versus one with 25+ noun classes, or one with 67% versus one with 100% consonant mutation. Coincidentally, Wolof, with fewer consonant mutations and noun classes, serves as the de facto lingua franca[14] in Senegal.
Given these challenges, I wonder what is the most efficient way to encourage young native speakers and students to study and speak a Senegambian Language?
[1] Subsequently, I use the word Fula as an umbrella term for all three major dialects.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senegambian_languages The page includes currently acceptable phylogenetic tree of the broader Senegambian Languages.
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badyara_language Like “Fula”, there isn’t a single, generally accepted spelling for “Badjara” – differences are based on the lingua franca of former colonial powers.
[4] I use ‘Senegambian’ to refer to speakers of the many different Senegambian Languages, which is not limited to Senegal and The Gambia.
[5] Dictionnaire francais-wolof et francais-bambara, suivi du dictionnaire wolof-francais (Dard, 1825) http://goo.gl/uJzHr0; Primer in the Fulah Language (Reichardt, C.A.L, 1859) http://goo.gl/B96SqK; Vocabulary of the Fulde Language (Reichardt, C.A.L., 1878) http://goo.gl/rDY2vW; Grammaire et vocabulaire de la langue poul à l'usage des voyageurs dans le Soudan: Gramm (Faidherbe, 1882) http://goo.gl/9MeIfv;
[6] The “ɓ” consonant doesn’t exist in the English language. It’s an implosive stop that can be loosely pronounced as ‘b’. It is sometimes transliterated as ‘bh’.
[7] Demonym for people inhabiting Fuuta, be it Fuuta-Jalon, Fuuta Tooro or Fuuta Ɓundu.
[8] Haal(i)-Fulfulde = speaker of the Fulfulde dialect, c.f., Pular and Pulaar dialects
[9] Consonant alternation is a common phenomenon among Senegambian languages. In Fula, 67% of consonants can be interchanged with up to two other consonants at the beginning of each word.
[10] Both refer to the concept of writing - windu (verb, to write), bindi (noun, a script/ a writing).
[11] Back of the envelope calculation of Senegambian Languages surveyed in http://goo.gl/5KzlSr
[12] It is beyond the scope of this paper to discuss how Fula hegemony and the social status of the transhumant Fula contributed to the demise of the Fula language.