African multilingualism viewed from another angle: Challenging the Casamance exception

Area of Science:

• Sociolinguistics
• Linguistic Anthropology
• African Studies

Background:

• The Casamance region of Senegal is often characterized as exclusively multilingual.
• Previous research has overlooked the prevalence and significance of monolingualism in this area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the previously unacknowledged importance of monolingual settings and practices in the Casamance.
• To challenge the prevailing view of the region as solely multilingual.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a survey of 62 villages using a questionnaire and a novel 'blindfold test'.
• Analyzed exogamy's role in multilingual acquisition through a study of 34 women.
• Examined child language production and directed speech for monolingual acquisition evidence.
• Assessed sociolinguistic profiles of 101 speakers to understand intergenerational multilingualism.

Main Results:

• Identified two main types of villages based on multilingualism and monolingualism.
• Found that most villages in the Casamance are monolingual settings.
• Determined that migration, rather than exogamy, is the primary driver of individual multilingualism.

Conclusions:

• Proposed a distinction between multilingual and monolingual settings within the Casamance.
• Monolingual settings, prevalent in rural areas, foster monolingual language acquisition.
• Migration significantly contributes to the development of individual multilingualism in these contexts.