ECAS 2013

Having observed that indigenous languages in Cameroon just like those in other parts of Africa and the world at large are dying out, this study aims at investigating the rate of endangerment of some 16 indigenous languages spoken by 181039 people of the Manyu Division in the south West Region of the Republic of Cameroon so as to determine ways of revitalizing them such that knowledge of biodiversity by the indigenous people can be enhanced.The study hypothesizes as follows:language endangerment has a negative impact on knowledge of biodiversity, the use of indigenous languages will enhance knowledge of biodiversity and linguistic plurality enhances knowledge of biodiversity. In order to achieve its goal, the research will embark on a qualitative and quantitative design of inquiry, making use of 500 respondents randomly selected from speakers of all the 16 languages.The instruments for data collection will be questionnaires, interview and field observation.It is hoped that the findings from the study will not only provide the rate of endangerment of indigenous languages of the area, but also awareness of biodiversity and more specifically indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants.

Fractals, which constitute a substantial part of chaos theory, are often considered as a 'western scientific' achievement. However, recent research reveals a widespread use of fractals (ranging from traditional settlements to knowledge systems) on the African continent (Eglash 2002), and suggests that fractals, as a form of knowledge, is both an African and Euro-American achievement or better: it is the result of reciprocal influences and similar inspirations.

This kind of knowledge is both 'local' and 'global' for not only does it constitute the latest advances of Euro-American ('western') science but it is also widespread in south-East Asia. It is therefore knowledge that entails a powerful potential to bridge cultural differences while at the same time preserving a local dimension (expressed, for example, into the values which inform these conceptualizations).

Drawing on ethnographic material collected in the Cameroon Grassfields, the first part of the paper argues that some 'local'/'indigenous' conceptualizations and artifacts rest on a fractal logic - that is, the way people get to know themselves, and the world known to themselves, rests on a fractal logic.

The second part of the paper addresses the following issues: how does 'western' fractals relate to 'African' fractals? Can we promote this type of knowledge in order to reinforce Africa's position into the global map of knowledge production? In what respect and to what extent do fractal conceptualizations dating from the pre-colonial period can be used in the investigation of contemporary issues of individual and collective identity?

La plupart des pays de l'Afrique francophone ont été conduits à donner une place importante à la langue française. La présence de nombreuses langues dans les nouveaux États indépendants permettait en effet difficilement aux dirigeants de prioriser une langue au détriment d'une autre. Qui plus est, l'absence d'instruments pédagogiques et didactiques concernant ces langues et le peu de ressources disponibles compromettaient la mise en place de programmes de formation s'appuyant sur les langues nationales africaines. A l'exception de certains pays largement monolingues - le Burundi et le Rwanda notamment, mais également les pays du Maghreb - la plupart des pays francophones d'Afrique sub-saharienne ont donc développé leurs structures d'éducation à partir de l'enseignement de la langue française tout en maintenant le français dans les échanges au sein des espaces politiques officiels et des espaces médiatiques. Malgré la place qu'occupe le français dans les communications écrites, les langues nationales continuent d'être largement utilisées dans les échanges quotidiens . Certaines langues nationales semblent d'ailleurs s'imposer dans quelques pays comme le Sénégal et le Mali. Par ailleurs, l'alphabétisation en langues nationales semble faire du sur-place et s'adresse souvent à des populations relativement marginales (populations rurales et souvent plus âgées). La présente communication permettra de faire état des informations sur l'utilisation des langues nationales africaines et l'alphabétisation dans ces langues depuis le milieu des années 1970 ou 1980 et ce, telles qu'elles ressortent des analyses détaillées qu'offrent les données des recensements du Bénin, du Burkina, du Cameroun, du Mali et du Sénégal.

One of the oldest languages of the African continent, as attested by archeological documents, is Berber (Amazigh), a North African language whose domain of use extends from the Siwa oasis in the west of Egypt to the west of Morocco, and from the Mediterranean coast to the South of Niger. Today, the largest communities of Berber speakers live in Morocco and Algeria with a minority of Touaregs living in Mali, Niger, and Chad. According to the last Moroccan national census, Berber is the native language of 28.3% of the overall Moroccan population. In 2001, this language was recognized by a royal decree as a basic component of the Moroccan identity and culture, and in 2011, it became an official language in the revised constitution. The goal of this paper is to address the issue of how Moroccan Berberophones perceive their newly empowered language in the face of strong and powerful co-present languages such as Arabic and French, which represent the colonial legacy, and English, which has become dominant internationally. The data on which this paper is based consists of a language attitude questionnaire that was administered to a sample of 300 male and female respondents who live in different towns, belong to different age groups, and have different levels of education. Some of the questions the paper endeavors to answer are to what extent Berberophones perceive their language as significant in the era of globalization, as a conveyor of scientific knowledge, and as a tool for national development and progress.

Despite the rich diversity of languages in the continent, African languages remain underrepresented in the international sphere. The worst thing is that even though their dynamism does not belong to the past in Africa itself, their local domination is not always observed.

The situation of African Languages today, facing the multipolar world is not homogeneous and cannot be reduced to a single destiny. With concrete cases taken from the Bantu area, a linguistic area covering Central, Eastern and Southern Africa, ) we illustrate several different situations and perspectives: a local language with a national destiny nicely facing a strong promotion of English. An African language killing the smaller ones, crossing borders but unable to get international status. Or even an African Creole reaching the status of National Language, promoted to be one of the languages of instruction but meeting resistance.

All the case studies help understanding that type of language, language policy and local consciousness are deciding factors.

The proverb is a rhetorical universal and as such shares features across linguistic, ethnic and culture boundaries, thus making typological distinctions along ethnic or regional lines a daunting task. Further complicating this scenario within the African context is the relentless hybridization and subversion of the African proverb consequent on colonial contact and sundry postcolonial interventions. This twin trajectory, the conceptual universalism of the proverb and the relentless absorption of proverbs from diverse sources into contemporary global and hybrid contexts, has often raised the question whether it is possible to pinpoint the 'African' proverb or the Africanness of a proverb with any sense of authority. This paper examines sundry characterizations of the African proverb, with Yoruba proverbs as exemplar, and proposes a number of linguistic and literary parameters by which what we have described as the African protoproverbial may be distinguished from both western and certain contemporary African varieties. The question: how relevant is the African proverb to development in a contemporary multipolar world is also germane to this presentation.