silesr2017 010 A Survey of the Tchumbuli Language Area | SIL International

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A Sociolinguistic Survey of the

Tchumbuli Language Area

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Language Area

Gabriele Faton and Katharina Tupper

SIL International

®

2017

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Abstract

This paper presents a sociolinguistic survey conducted in the Tchumbuli [bqa] speech community of Benin. Given the relatively small size of the group and a reportedly high level of bilingualism in the neighboring languages, Cabe or Maxi, our main focus was on the question of language vitality. Through interviews with government officials, community leaders, and groups of the village population, we gathered information on dialect comprehension, language use patterns in various domains and age groups, as well as on language transmission between parents and children, intergenerational shift, and language attitudes. We also gathered general information concerning population, literacy, education, and community structures in the Tchumbuli language area. Another area of interest was the relationship between Tchumbuli and the Chumburung language of Ghana and whether there are contacts between these two speech communities.

In this paper we give the results for each of the above mentioned categories and explain how they affect our conclusions. The interviews revealed indications for language shift, the extent of which differs from village to village. Generally, Cabe or Maxi is replacing Tchumbuli in a growing number of domains. This includes first language (L1) acquisition and communication between parents and children. Thus, Tchumbuli proficiency in the younger generations is declining. Only in the older generation (over 60 years) is Tchumbuli generally used among peers. So, in general, Tchumbuli in Benin is “endangered.” However, there is a strong sense of ethnic identity and indications of the desire to reverse or at least slow down the replacement process. Furthermore, the Tchumbuli language variety in Benin is closely related to the Chumburung language in Ghana, and Tchumbuli speakers in Ghana are reportedly able to use Chumburung written materials.

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1 Introduction

This paper1 _{presents a sociolinguistic survey conducted in the Tchumbuli [bqa] speech community of}

central Benin, in the Département des Collines.2 _{The survey was conducted in August 2000 by Gabriele}

Faton (née Schoch) and Katharina Tupper (née Wolf) from SIL. The purpose of the survey was to gather information bearing on the vitality of the Tchumbuli language and the desire of the Tchumbuli people for development of their language.

In preliminary research—e.g. personal correspondence with linguists who work in the North Guang language group—and literature research, the survey researchers collected data available about the Tchumbuli language, related languages in Ghana, and the history of the Tchumbuli people.

The field survey reported on here involved the administration of individual and community interviews and the elicitation of two wordlists. The survey researchers collected data concerning bilingualism in Cabe and/or Maxi, varieties of Tchumbuli, ethnic identity, language vitality, language attitudes, language development, and the religious situation.

In the following sections, general background information on the Tchumbuli area will be given, some of which was collected during the field research, followed by a presentation of the research questions and a description of the applied methodology. In a fourth section, the findings of the survey will be presented, followed by conclusions and recommendations.

1.1 Language name and name of the people group

Our main source for preliminary research was an article by A. F. Iroko (1995), an historian at the National University of Benin (Université Nationale du Bénin), as well as personal communication with the author. Iroko has done research in the Tchumbuli language area himself. He paints a detailed picture of the migration of the Edo people of Nigeria. Some of them were mercenaries and migrated from the town of Ibini to Ghana in the eighteenth century. There they lived amongst the Tchumbuli (‘Tchombolo’) in the Kété-Krachi (‘Kratye’) area and eventually adopted the Tchumbuli language. At some point then or later they started to call themselves Cobecha.3 _{It is unknown when and why exactly the Cobecha decided}

to go back to Nigeria. When they set out, they were accompanied by some of the Tchumbuli people. After having passed Kpétchi, Atakpamè (Togo), Agounan (Benin), Assanté (near Glazoue, Benin), and Gogoro (Benin) they were invited by the King of Kaboua4 _{to help him in his wars. The Cobecha agreed}

and founded the village of Okounfo nearby. The Tchumbuli (their “cousins”) founded a separate village in the neighborhood named Gbédé. When the Cobecha and Tchumbuli arrived in the Cabe- and Maxi-speaking area, they were named “Gbassen”5 _{by the Cabe and “Bassa” or “Bassen” by the Fon or Maxi. So,}

in essence, the Tchumbuli language community consists of two originally distinct ethnic groups, the Tchumbuli and the Cobecha (see also section 4.1 on language names).

1_{We would like to thank Dr. Deborah Hatfield for her input and editing on this report.}

2 _{At the time of the survey, Benin was divided into 12 governmental provinces called}_{départements}_{, each of which is} composed of a varying number of sub-prefectures. They encompass various rural communes and urban

circumscriptions. The départements were reorganized in 1999. Thus, the former Zou département is now divided into Zou, Collines, and Plateau.

3_{The origin and meaning of this name have yet to be clarified. One of our language assistants stated that “cobecha”} in Tchumbuli resembles “come and join me” « viens me joindre ». However, another assistant stated that it means “we are many” « nous sommes nombreux ». (See also Iroko 1995:108.)

4_{A Nago king in the Savè area.}

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There has been some confusion as to the name of this people group and their language, since different linguists and historians have called them differently. For example, Bertho (1952) refers to the Tchumbuli as “Tshummbuli” whereas Moulero (1964) mentions three different tribes who are

immigrants from Ghana: “the Chounbouloun, the Awloukpoukpou and Chombecha.” In the remainder of this paper, we will refer to the ethnic (sub)group as “Tchumbuli” and to the language of the Tchumbuli and Cobecha as “Tchumbuli.”

Another source of misunderstandings has been the persistent rumor that the Tchumbuli and Cobecha were Ashanti fugitives (Iroko 1995:109–111) which might even have resulted in erroneously classifying Tchumbuli as an Akan language (Grimes 2000a). Iroko tracks down the origins of this misunderstanding and states very clearly that “the Cobecha have nothing in common with the Ashanti” (Iroko 1995:109).

1.2 Language classification

Research in linguistic literature and correspondence with linguists working in North Guang languages revealed that Tchumbuli is closely related to Chumburung, a North Guang language of Ghana (Bertho 1952, Person 1956, Painter 1967, Hansford pers. comm, Snider pers. comm.).

1.2.1 Tchumbuli and Chumburung

Classification: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Kwa, Nyo, Potou-Tano, Tano, Guang, North Guang.

The North Guang group includes Gonja, Choruba, Ndmpo, Yeji, Prang, Nawuri, Gikyode, Ginyanga, Nchimburu (Chumburung), Nchumunu, Krachi, and Nkonya. Stewart quotes Snider as grouping together Tchumbuli, Yeji, Prang, Nchimburu, and Nchumunu (Stewart 1989).

Snider (pers. comm.) classifies Tchumbuli and Chumburung as follows: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Atlantic-Congo, Kwa, Nyo, Potou-Tano, Tano, Guang, North Guang, Oti Guang, River Guang, Chumburung including Tchumbuli. According to him, Tchumbuli definitely is a “dialect” of

Chumburung. This evaluation is based on data collected from Tchumbuli speakers who had returned to Ghana in the 1950s.

Alternative language names for Tchumbuli: Tshummbuli (Bertho 1952)

Chombulon (Dolphyne and Kropp Dakubu 1988) Tchombolo (Iroko 1995)

Basa (CENALA 1989, CNLB 1983:78, Grimes 2000a) Alternative language names for Chumburung:

Tshimmboro (Bertho 1952)

Nchumburu (Dolphyne and Kropp Dakubu 1988) Nchimburu (Painter 1967, Stewart 1989)

Nchumburung, Nchimburu, Nchummuru, Kyongborong (Grimes 2000a)

Tchumbuli (“Basa”) is classified as an Akan language by Grimes (2000a). The Atlas Sociolinguistique (CNLB 1983) lists Basa as a Gur language. However, it is not clear where this information has come from. As has been shown through linguistic analysis, Tchumbuli is a North Guang language within the Kwa family (Stewart 1989, Hansford pers. comm., Snider pers. comm.).

1.2.2 Nchumbulu

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1.3 Previous sociolinguistic research

On the basis of comparative wordlists Bertho grouped together Gbanya, Nawuri, Chumburung, Atshodé, Kratchi, Basa, Nkogna, Logba, Agnaga (Ghana), Tshummbuli, and Bazantché (Benin), as Gonja languages (Bertho 1951, 1952). For Tchumbuli (Benin) he presents two wordlists which differ slightly from each other. After a comparison with the Chumburung wordlist he comes to the conclusion that Tchumbuli and Chumburung are very closely related (Bertho 1951:873).

According to Painter (1967) Tchumbuli is 80 percent cognate with Chumburung. However, Gillian and Keir Hansford estimate that if synonyms and near synonyms are accounted for, Tchumbuli is even 99 percent cognate with Chumburung (Hansford pers. comm.). Keir and Gillian Hansford have been

working on translations into the Chumburung language since 1976. A New Testament has been finished (International Bible Society and Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation [GILLBT] 1988) and several Chumburung primers have been published (Demuyakor, I. et al. 1980a, 1980b; Abresÿyii, I. et al. 1984).

Snider, who worked in the North Guang languages, took a wordlist from the Benin Tchumbuli who resettled in the town of Anyinamae in the Chumburung area in Ghana. He states that though the Tchumbuli language has changed slightly from that of the other Chumburungs, it “is definitely a dialect of Chumburung.” He states that the Tchumbuli who have moved to Ghana from Benin have no difficulty using Chumburung literacy material (Snider 1989, pers. comm.). Ring, who surveyed the Chumburung language area, reported that he “would be surprised to find the Chumburung NT useable as it stands in its Ghana format and idioms among the Benin Basa” (Ring pers. comm.).

So, it can be stated that Tchumbuli (Benin) is closely related to Chumburung (Ghana) in terms of lexical similarity. However, Bertho (1952) collected his wordlists almost fifty years ago. In the meantime, the variety of Tchumbuli in Benin should have undergone normal change. Snider, on the other hand, bases his evaluation on a wordlist taken about 1989 from Benin Tchumbuli who had

returned to Ghana in the 1950s. Given their exposure to Chumburung and other related languages in the Volta region, it seems likely that the variety of Tchumbuli in Ghana has developed somewhat differently than that in Benin. Therefore, it still remains to be clarified to what extent the present day variety of Tchumbuli in Benin is similar to Chumburung in Ghana and whether Chumburung is intelligible to the Benin Tchumbuli speech community.

Iroko is an historian who has also worked with CENALA (Centre Nationale de Linguistique Appliquée) on the linguistic map of Benin. In his paper on the migration history of the Tchumbuli and Cobecha he states that all members of this linguistic community are bilingual in Cabe, causing a shift from Tchumbuli towards Cabe in the younger generations (Iroko 1995:112).6

1.4 Language area

The language in question is spoken in the Département des Collines of Benin between Savè and Ouèssè, i.e., in the area of longitude 2°20'–2°40' east and latitude 8°20'–8°30' north (IGN 1992). The speakers of the language live in the villages listed in table 1:

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Table 1. Tchumbuli villages

Okounfo Gbédé Edaningbe

sub-prefecture Savè Ouèssèa _Ouèssè

location approx. 37 km north of Savè at the RNIE 2b

approx. 52 km north of Savè, 6 km dirt road off the RNIE 2

on the outskirts of Ouèssè, approx. 5 km east of the main market, part of the Lakoko quarter

majority language in the area

Cabe Cabe Maxi

primary school 6 classes with a total of 278 pupils, out of which 260 are Cobecha. The scolarization rate boosted from 11% in 1987 to 57 or 67% in 2000

built in 1973 by “World Education”; 3 classes with a total of 125 pupils

comments market with some importance for the surrounding villages, new stalls built by the NGO “Picardie” in 1990

the dirt road from the RNIE 2 to Ouèssè (20 km) is in a very bad state even when it is dry

a_{According to the sub-prefects of Savé and Ouèssè (2000). The maps in the publications of the Ministère du Plan et de la} Restructuration Economique du Bénin, Institut National de la Statistique et de l’Analyse Economique (1994) show the situation before the restructuring of Benin’s administrative entities.

b_{Route Nationale Inter-Etats.}

The majority languages in the area, Cabe and Maxi, are not closely related to Tchumbuli, a North Guang language. Cabe is classified as follows: Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Benue-Congo, Defoid, Yoruboid, Edekiri, Edè, South West Edè (Capo 1989). Maxi is classified as Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Atlantic-Congo, (New) Kwa, Left Bank, Gbe, Fon (Stewart 1989, Grimes 2000a). In the interviews, the names used for indicating a language varied. Cabe would also be referred to as Nago or Yoruba, and Maxi would be referred to as Fon.

The following NGOs (non-governmental organizations) are working in the area:

• GEFAD: literacy in Maxi and Cabe

• la Picardie: community development, e. g., construction of the market stalls in Okounfo

1.5 Population

Mbessa, Benoît, a Cobecha geographer at the Université Nationale du Bénin, estimated in 1992 that there were 5,000 Tchumbuli speakers (Plunkett pers. comm.).

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Table 2. Estimated population figures by village

Okounfo 122b _1,589c _1,160d _{Cobecha. Minorities of}

Yoruba, Nago, Fon, Hausa, Ditammari, Peulh

Gbédé 809 1,047 764 Tchumbuli. Minorities of Cabe, Fon, Peulh

Edaningbe 800e ₅₈₃f _{Cobecha. Maxi minority,}

no Nago

Total 3,436 2,507

a_{Information gathered in interviews with community leaders held in August 2000 in the area.} b _{Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration Economique (1994c:20).}

c_{Estimate based on the estimated growth rates for the region, i. e. 3.2 percent (1992–1996) and 3.4 percent (1997–} 1999) as given in Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration Economique (1994b:170).

d_{This figure results from the assumption that 73 percent of the population is Cobecha or Tchumbuli. This proportion} was obtained from the estimated figures for Edaningbe.

e_{Estimate by F. A. G. at Ouèssè.}

f_{In Edaningbe, 300 adults are Cobecha (estimate given by our language assistants). The total of 583 results from the} proportion of 48.5 percent under-15-year-olds in the Zou province (Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration Economique 1994a:23).

Based on estimates made by our language assistants, there are 3,436 inhabitants in the three villages, out of which about 73 percent (2,507) are ethnically Tchumbuli. It has to be borne in mind though that these figures are based on a set of assumptions and are only rough estimates.

Vanderaa (1991) reports 1,000 speakers for Tchumbuli.

1.6 History

Moulero in his history of the Savè area mentions three “tribes” (“tribus”) to be fugitives from Assanté (Ashanti): the Chounbouloun, the Awloukpoukpou, and the Chombecha, the latter being originally from Ibini (Nigeria). To avoid a war with the kings of Kumasi (Ghana), the Chombecha left the area of Kumasi with the first two tribes, to go back to their original home country Nigeria. When they arrived in Kaboua (Benin), King Olodumaré granted them exile in his area (Moulero 1964:17f).

Basically Iroko (1995) confirms this account. He describes the itinerary of the Cobecha from Nigeria to Ghana and then back to Benin in more detail. As to the reasons for the decision to return to Nigeria, Iroko states they are not clear (Iroko 1995:108).

Snider (pers. comm.) states that the Tchumbuli “are Chumburung people who left Ghana on a warring expedition about 150 years ago. They ended up settling in Benin and intermarrying with other language groups. In the 1950s a number of them, led by their paramount chief Anyanami III returned to Ghana and settled in the Chumburung area south of Chindere,” i. e., in the town Anyinamae

(K. Hansford pers. comm.). Other Tchumbuli families from Benin migrated back to Ghana and settled in the Zongo at Jasikan and at Nkwanta in the north of the Volta Region (Ring pers. comm.).

For the oral accounts of Cobecha and Tchumbuli history given during community interviews in August 2000, see Appendix C.

2 Research questions

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criteria are separated into two categories. The first includes factors for establishing need for

involvement: dialect comprehension, bilingualism, language vitality, and language attitudes. The second category includes additional factors which influence language project priority and strategy: group cohesion/identity, existing internal structures or institutions, community expressed need/interest, group size, potential community support, religious situation, present or future church work, government programs and policies, relationship to other languages with already existing written materials, and available or potential resources (Marmor 1996:2).

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Table 3. Research questions

Survey Goal/Concept Research Questions Indicator

Language Area Where is Tchumbuli spoken? Dialect Comprehension within

Tchumbuli

How many varieties of Tchumbuli exist, if any?

What is the relationship between Tchumbuli and Chumburung? Would the Tchumbuli speakers be able to use Chumburung written material?

reported comprehension intelligibility (not tested) lexical similarity

Bilingualism Which languages do the Tchumbuli and Cobecha understand?

Which languages do the Tchumbuli

and Cobecha speak? language use in domains and age groups Language Use Which languages do the Tchumbuli

and Cobecha use in various speech domains and functions of speech?

reported language use patterns

Language Vitality Is Tchumbuli endangered, and if so, to what degree?

bilingualism

language use in domains and age groups with the dominating ethnic group number of speakers in relation to the size of the ethnic group

Language Attitudes towards language shift

What are community attitudes towards the maintenance of Tch in the community?

reported attitudes

Attitudes towards language use

What are community attitudes towards the use of Tch, Nago, Cabe, Maxi, Fon, Yoruba, and other languages?

Is one of these languages more prestigious than the others?

reported attitudes

Ethnic identity What do people call themselves? What do others call them?

What kind of contacts are there, if any, to the Guang unification movement in Ghana?

What kind of contacts are there to Tchumbuli speakers in Ghana and elsewhere?

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There are also some additional factors that are directly related to the priority and strategy criteria outlined above. These are listed in table 4.

Table 4. Additional research questions

Survey goal/Concepts Research question Indicator(s) Social cohesion How homogenous is the Tch.

language community as a group?

linguistic, cultural, geographical, political, economic and socio-religious homogeneity Middle-aged leadership What is the political structure in

the village?

To which age group do the leaders

belong? age of influential people in the village population Existing structures What is the education situation and

literacy rate in the area?

Do literacy programs exist? If so, in which languages? Do they reach Tchumbuli and Cobecha?

Which NGOs work in the area?

location of schools methods of doing things? Are they interested in community

development?

evidence of new technology and projects initiated and/or supported by Tch people

Religious situation Which churches, if any, work in the area?

Which other religions are practiced in the area?

Which religion(s) do Tchumbuli and Cobecha adhere to?

3 Methodology

3.1 Techniques

In order to address the research questions mentioned above, the following techniques were used:

3.1.1 Correspondence

Correspondence with SIL linguists working in North Guang languages:

• K. & G. Hansford

• Keith Snider

• Andy Ring

3.1.2 Preliminary interviews

Preliminary interviews to obtain background information were conducted with the following persons:

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• Tchumbuli speaker who works at Cotonou, Benin.

• Professor B. M., Cobecha, and professor of geography at the National University of Benin (Université Nationale du Bénin).

• Professor A. Félix Iroko, professor of history at the National University of Benin (Université Nationale du Bénin), author of an article about the Cobecha (Iroko 1995).

3.1.3 Community questionnaires

Community questionnaires were used to investigate the following topics (see Appendix B for the questionnaire used):

• Language name(s) and language area

• Dialect comprehension

• Language use

• Language vitality

• Intergenerational shift

• Language attitudes

• Ethnic identity

• Religious situation

3.1.4 Interviews with community leaders

Interviews were held with the following community leaders:

• Government officials, i.e., sub-prefects

• Formal education officials, i.e., teachers

• Literacy coordinators (see Appendix B for the questionnaire used )

• Church leaders (see Appendix B for the questionnaire used )

3.1.5 Wordlists

In the course of previous linguistic research, wordlists were taken by Bertho (1951, 1952), Painter (1967) and Snider (1989), as explained in section1.3. Both Bertho and Painter actually elicited the wordlists in Benin. In order to examine the lexical similarity between the present variety of Tchumbuli in Benin and Chumburung, as well as between Tchumbuli varieties (if any), wordlists were taken in Gbédé and in Okounfo.

3.1.6 Presentation of Chumburung written materials

Since Tchumbuli is closely related to the Chumburung language in Ghana, primers (Demuyakor 1980a, b) and the New Testament in Chumburung (International Bible Society 1988) were shown to interested individuals to get a first impression whether they might be able to use this material.

3.1.7 Observation

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3.2 Implementation

The preliminary interviews with Tchumbuli speakers as well as with an academic and historian provided important information on the history and language of the Tchumbuli speech community. The

correspondence with the linguists working in the Guang language group helped to clarify language names and their alternatives in the Chumburung area and the relationship between Chumburung and Tchumbuli.

One of the people involved in the preliminary research was a Tchumbuli speaker who works in Cotonou. Not only did he give us important information before the survey trip, but he also accompanied us during our fieldwork in the language area including visits to the local government authorities (sub-prefectures). His introductions to relatives and friends facilitated the setting up of interviews and their administration. During the interviews, he translated our questions into Tchumbuli and then translated the answers back into French. In Okounfo, the delegate also helped with translation. In Gbédé, the king’s speaker and translator translated the answers from Tchumbuli into French.

The trip to the language area was designed to gather reported data. It consisted of interviews with community leaders and individuals in order to gather data on language use, language vitality, attitudes towards language use and language shift, as well as information on literacy programs, education, and the religious situation. In addition, two wordlists were elicited.

3.2.1 Community questionnaires

The purpose of the community interviews was to obtain the views of native speakers on the name of their language and the geographical boundaries of the Tchumbuli language area, as well as their views on their relationship to Chumburung speakers in Ghana. Another area of special interest was the language use pattern of Tchumbuli and the role of other pertinent languages in the area, Cabe and Maxi in particular. The questionnaire also included questions aiming at attitudes towards language use and language shift (see Appendix B).

In general, we made appointments or at least informed the village community the day prior to our coming. On our first visit to Okounfo, an appointment for the community interview was made for the following day. The people of Okounfo informed the people of Gbédé of our coming. We sent a message to Edaningbe, but unfortunately the messengers arrived after us. As the focus of the interview was on the vitality of the Tchumbuli language, we asked the village chief or delegate to invite people of all age groups, especially parents with young children, to participate in the interview.

In Okounfo the questionnaire was administered in a classroom to approximately 40 men of all ages, including the delegate of the village, younger men with little children, but not the king. In Gbédé, the community questionnaire was administered to the king and his elders in the presence of about 60 men, women and children of different ages in the king’s chamber. The women did not participate actively in the interviews, but judging by their reactions they seemed to agree with what was being said. In Edaningbe, we spoke to four elders and the youngest son of one of the elders. This man (35 years) had started listening to the interview. In the course of the interview he became more and more intrigued until he participated actively and became one of the major respondents.

The questionnaire items were used in their set order or, sometimes, following the topic of

conversation. The responses were recorded either on the questionnaires or in note form. A map was used in conjunction with the questionnaire to help determine language boundaries and patterns of languages used in the area (see Appendix A).

3.2.2 Interviews with community leaders

3.2.2.1 Government officials

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3.2.2.2 Education officials

Informal interviews were conducted with the headmasters of the local primary schools of Okounfo and Gbédé in order to obtain information on the number of pupils, their ethnic group, language use among pupils, school enrollment, and secondary schools in the area.

3.2.2.3 Literacy coordinators

The regional literacy coordinator of Ouèssè was interviewed in order to ascertain the number of literacy classes in the area, total class populations, and participation of Tchumbuli speakers. The literacy

coordinator of Savè was not in the area at the time of the survey and could not be interviewed. (For the literacy questionnaire see Appendix B.)

3.2.2.4 Church leaders

Interviews were conducted

• in Okounfo with the maître catholique (Tchumbuli speaker), the secretary of the Methodist church (Tchumbuli speaker), and the secretary of the Christianisme Céleste (Tchumbuli speaker, Nago mother)

• in Gbédé with the catechist of the Catholic church (Nago, speaks Tchumbuli fluently)

• in Edaningbe with the catechist of the Catholic church (Tchumbuli speaker)

The questionnaire contained questions on the number of churches in the Tchumbuli speaking area, as well as language use and attitudes towards the use of Tchumbuli in the church context (see Appendix B).

3.2.3 Wordlists

The wordlist used is based on the CENALA Listes lexicales (no date). The corresponding Chumburung words elicited by Snider (1989) were also entered in the list, in order to be able to compare the elicited Tchumbuli lexical items with those of Chumburung.

The wordlists were elicited in Okounfo and in Gbédé, both traditionally Tchumbuli-speaking villages. It had been planned to elicit wordlists in at least two different villages. Information obtained during the preliminary interviews suggested that the Tchumbuli language is undergoing advanced language shift in Edaningbe. In the course of the survey this impression was reinforced so that no wordlist was taken in Edaningbe.

The group from which the lists were elicited consisted of three or more people, all born in the respective village. The elicitation in a group allowed for the discussion of variants, verb forms to be chosen, as well as near-synonyms and synonyms. In this manner, group decisions were made about which form to include in the wordlist. The Chumburung wordlist elicited by Snider (1989) was also used to make minor comparisons during the elicitation process in regard to word selection in cases of

indecision, or if there was doubt as to the exact meaning of the Tchumbuli word.

In Okounfo, our interpreter and the delegate chose three Cobecha men. All three were children of Cobecha parents. They were born and raised in the village. During the elicitation process, our interpreter translated the French word into Cabe since not all three informants understood French well enough. Then the word/term in Tchumbuli was chosen, sometimes after a discussion as to the exact meaning. Our interpreter also participated in these discussions at the beginning. After eliciting the wordlist, the words were then tape-recorded by one of our assistants. For this process, he used our filled-in list with the phonetic script. In some cases, he said a different word than the one that had been chosen. In addition, the verb forms are not consistent, which we only found out afterwards.

In Gbédé, our interpreter and the group decided on two men as our main informants for the

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into three parts and tape-record the elicited words in between to make it easier for the language assistant to remember the lexical items chosen. However, due to electricity installations during the process and the resulting noise, the list had to be split up into two parts only. We also made sure that the same verb form was chosen for all the verbs. We are not sure whether the pronunciation documented on the recording is representative. In the middle of the elicitation process, one of our informants was corrected with the remark that he had a French accent in his Tchumbuli. We do not know whether he was

corrected every time he made a mistake.

3.2.4 Presentation of Chumburung written materials

In all three villages where interviews were conducted several individuals were shown the Chumburung written materials during or after the community interviews. Their reaction was observed and recorded.

3.2.5 Observation

Information about living conditions, language use, and evidence of traditional religious practices was at least partially collected by observation. It was used to confirm or to rectify reported information.

4 Results

In the following sections the results from the preliminary interviews, the community interviews, and the interviews with community leaders will be presented.

4.1 Language name(s)

In Okounfo and Edaningbe the respondents call their language “Cobecha”, whereas in Gbédé the language is called “Tchumbulu,” “Tchumbulin,” “Tchumbuli,” or “Tchombolo.”7_{All agree that all these}

names refer to one and the same language. The same applies for the name of the people group: in Okounfo and Edaningbe, they call themselves “Cobecha” or “Obechapu”; in Gbédé, “Tchombulin” or “Tchombolun.” The people in Gbédé emphasize that there are no Cobecha in their village. Outsiders do not distinguish between Cobecha and Tchumbuli; they call both of them “Gbassin.” Neither do they make a distinction between the people and their language and call the language “Gbassen” as well.

The dichotomy with Cobecha in Okounfo and Edaningbe on the one hand, and Tchumbuli in Gbédé on the other hand, can be explained historically. As mentioned earlier, the Cobecha originate from Nigeria. They are descendants of the Nigerian Edo people. When they settled in Ghana they gave up their own language and shifted to Tchumbuli. When the Cobecha had to leave Ghana the Tchumbuli

accompanied them. All of them finally founded villages in the Savè area (see section 1.6). However, they still retain their separate ethnic identities in spite of speaking the same language.

In the remainder of the paper we will refer to the language spoken by the Cobecha and the Tchombuli as “Tchumbuli” as this name is commonly mentioned in the literature and reflects the relation to the Ghanaian language Chumburung.

4.2 Lexical similarity

Wordlists were elicited in Gbédé and Okounfo. As they were taken under average survey conditions and not sufficiently double-checked, their reliability is not very high. To get a first impression of the extent of

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lexical similarity between Tchumbuli and Chumburung, we compared the elicited wordlists with the Chumburung wordlist published by Snider (1989). For this comparison, we applied the following criteria:

• Same: two lexical items are the same, if they have been noted exactly identically, including tones.

• Similar: two lexical items are similar, if they appear to have the same root. Similar are close to mid vowels at the various places of articulation, open-mid to open vowels at the various places of articulation, nasals and the alveolar approximant, trill and flap to the alveolar lateral approximant. Noun class prefixes and other prefixes were not taken into account, where they could be identified.

• Different: two lexical items are different, if they do not appear to have the same root.

In at least 15 out of the 70 cases of difference between lexical items we suspect that the differences could be explained with near synonyms or communication problems in the elicitation process.

Accordingly, thorough double-checking might reveal that similar lexical pairs are actually the same. The comparison yielded the following results:

Table 5. Lexical comparison between Tchumbuli and Chumburung

Tchumbuli (Gb)– Tchumbuli (Ok)

Tchumbuli (Gb)– Chumburung

Tchumbuli (Ok)– Chumburung

Same 18 9 10

Similar 112 92 84

Different 13 24 33

Total of lexical pairs 143 125 127 Lexically similar

pairs 91% 81% 74%

4.3 Dialect comprehension

In spite of the apparent dissimilarities reflected in the wordlists, there are no reported differences between the varieties of Tchumbuli in Okounfo, Gbédé and Edaningbe. Everyone agreed that the variety spoken in Ghana (Chumburung) is exactly the same as Tchumbuli.

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Table 6. Relations between Ghana and Benin

Village to Reason From Reason

Okounfo Yonkpontre, Kouami-Dansou, Gbidjamissi, N’Tumuda,a_{Ayiname Hai}

(Ghana)

family visits Gbidjamissi, Ayiname Hai

family visits, yam feast in September

Gbédé Aynininni Aye (Ghana) emigration in 1953 triggered by

two persons in 1984, to gather information on the language

Edaningbe Badjamossi (Ghana) one person for a family visit, in big brother was tired of Edaningbe and did not want to stay.”

a_{Awloukpoukpou village}

b_{Information given during the community interview in Gbédé in August 2000. Iroko (1995:116) also mentions people} from Gbédé who decided to go back to Ghana in April 1951. This expedition was led by the paramount chief Anyanami III and the group resettled in the town Anyinamae in the Chumburung area (Hansford pers. comm., Snider pers. comm.).

At the community interview in Okounfo, several took the primers and those who could not read expressed the desire to be able to read them. Others started reading them with difficulty and understood. They started at the beginning where it is very easy so that we do not know about more difficult material such as texts and stories yet. When shown the written material in Chumburung, the younger men of Gbédé could read them fairly easily.

One man used to travel to Ghana regularly. He reported that he brought Bible portions in

“Cobecha” (probably Chumburung) from there, but gave them away. When shown the Chumburung New Testament, he said he had never seen it, but just booklets.

At the community interview in Gbédé a blackboard was brought into the crowded room. A young man was in charge of the board to write down personal and place names for us to copy. Before the start of the interview he wrote “Chumburung” on the top of the board. When asked, he explained “That’s the name of our language.” In the course of the interview he went home and brought back volume two of the Chumburung primer (Demuyakor et al. 1980).

In all three villages language assistants stated that the people in Ghana speak exactly like them, “it is the same thing” (« exactement comme nous, c’est la même chose »). It is not clear, though, whether they are referring to Chumburung or to members of the Tchumbuli speech community who went back to Ghana when they say this.

4.4 Comprehension of Foodo

Foodo is another North Guang language, spoken in Séméré, south of Djougou at the border of Togo. The perception of Foodo varies among the Tchumbuli and Cobecha.

During the interviews before the actual trip to the language area our interpreter stated that Tchumbuli is also spoken in Séméré. According to him, the varieties of Okounfo and Séméré are mutually intelligible, differing only slightly in tone, and there are no significant lexical differences.

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to be “brothers,” but he did not know them himself. Others in Gbédé had met Foodo speakers and report to understand simple sentences in context, such as “Put the yam on the table.”

4.5 Language vitality

4.5.1 Bilingualism

Preliminary research suggested that the Tchumbuli and Cobecha are at least bilingual in Tchumbuli and Cabe (Iroko 1995:112, 116). Before the actual survey trip we had several interviews with our interpreter. On one of these occasions also a member of our interpreter’s extended family was present. When talking to each other they used a language that they admitted to be Cabe, when asked. The assumption that the Tchumbuli might be highly bilingual was supported by the sub-prefects of Savè and of Ouèssè who both said that the Tchumbuli and Cobecha speak Cabe so well that they cannot even be identified as non-Cabe. It was reported in Okounfo that children’s L1 (first language) most often is non-Cabe. An interviewee in Okounfo said that children already speak Cabe when they are 2 or 3 years old. Cabe was said to be the dominant language in the village.

In Edaningbe, the question of bilingualism is more complex since for many Cobecha, Tchumbuli is not their L1 anymore. Little children, in general, learn Maxi (or rarely Cabe) instead of Tchumbuli as L1. However, no further research has been done to determine the level of bilingualism in Cabe and Maxi in the Tchumbuli language community.

Apart from Tchumbuli, the languages used most are Cabe in Gbédé and Maxi and Cabe (“Nago”) in Edaningbe. The respondents in Gbédé added that in Okounfo they speak more Cabe than they do in Gbédé. No answer was recorded during the community interview for the dominant language in Okounfo, but other information indicates that it is Cabe.

4.5.2 Language use in domains

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Table 7. Language use by domains

Domain Village Tch Cabe Maxi Comments

Announcements in the

village Okounfo _Gbédé (x)_x _xx Tchumbuli only for secrets _{Cabe for those who don’t understand} Tchumbuli

Edaningbe x

Ceremonies Okounfo x

Gbédé x exclusively

Edaningbe (x) x Maxi dominates, “only a little Tchumbuli”

Judgments in the family Okounfo x x

Gbédé x

Edaningbe (x) possibly not generally truea

Judgments in the village Okounfo x x Tch in the presence of the king, otherwise Cabe

Gbédé x x Cabe because of foreigners

Edaningbe (x) x after the council in Tchumbuli

Council of elders Okounfo x

Gbédé x

Edaningbe x (x) proclamation in Maxi

Regional meetings of the

traditional council(s) Okounfo x x Tch with those of Gbédé, Cabe on the level of the sub-prefecture Gbédé x (x) Cabe (“Nago”) only if non-Tch speakers

are present

Edaningbe no answer recorded

a_{Two of our respondents in Edaningbe belong to the village founder’s family. We had the impression that they are}

some of the last few who speak Tchumbuli with their children. Therefore, their answer concerning the use of

Tchumbuli in the home domain might not be representative for an average family in Edaningbe. This does not impair the reliability of the other answers on language use.

Cabe or Maxi has permeated into all domains mentioned above except for the council of elders which is held solely in Tchumbuli in all three villages. Ceremonies are another domain consecrated to the sole use of Tchumbuli in Okounfo and in Gbédé, whereas in Edaningbe they seem to be conducted exclusively in Maxi. Another stronghold for the use of Tchumbuli seems to be the family judgments. In the following tables the information is rearranged by village:

Table 8. Language use in Okounfo

Okounfo Tch Cabe Maxi Comments

announcements in the village (x) x Tch only for secrets

ceremonies x

judgments in the family x x

judgments in the village x x Tch in the presence of the king, otherwise

Cabe

council of elders x

regional meetings of the

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In Okounfo, ceremonies and the council of elders are domains that still seem to be consecrated exclusively to the use of Tchumbuli. Otherwise, Tchumbuli and Cabe are used alongside each other. Cabe appears to be the default language as soon as non-Tchumbuli speakers are present. In the case of

announcements in the village, Cabe dominates, Tchumbuli only being used for secrets that are to be kept from non-Tchumbuli speakers.

Table 9. Language use in Gbédé

Gbédé Tch Cabe Maxi Comments

announcements in the village x x Cabe for those who don’t understand Tch

ceremonies x exclusively

judgments in the family x

judgments in the village x x Cabe because of the foreigners council of elders x

regional meetings of the traditional council(s)

x (x) Cabe (“Nago”) only if non-Tchumbuli speakers present

In Gbédé, ceremonies are restricted to the use of Tchumbuli. Also decisions in the family and the council of elders seem to be conducted exclusively in Tchumbuli. On the village level both Tchumbuli and Cabe are used for announcements and judgments. At meetings of the traditional councils of the sub-prefecture, Tchumbuli is spoken with those of Okounfo, and Cabe (“Nago”) with others. Generally, it can be said that Tchumbuli dominates in all domains. Cabe is used when non-Tchumbuli speakers are concerned.

Table 10. Language use in Edaningbe

Edaningbe Tch Cabe Maxi Comments announcements in the village x

ceremonies (x) x Maxi dominates, “only a little Tchumbuli” judgments in the family x

judgments in the village x after the council in Tchumbuli council of elders x proclamation in Maxi

regional meetings of the traditional council(s)

no answer recorded

In Edaningbe, Maxi dominates in most of the domains in question. Even ceremonies, which are a stronghold of Tchumbuli in Okounfo and Gbédé, are conducted predominantly in Maxi, with “only a little Tchumbuli.” Decisions in the family are said to be made in Tchumbuli, but we suspect that this answer is not representative for Edaningbe. Only the council of elders is still held in Tchumbuli.

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4.5.2.2 Language use at home according to age-groups

Table 11. Language use at home according to age-groups

Age group Village Tch Cabe Maxi Comments > 60 years Okounfo x

Gbédé x

Edaningbe x

40–60 years Okounfo no answer recorded

Gbédé no answer recorded

20–40 years Okounfo no answer recorded

10–20 years Okounfo x

Gbédé no answer recordeda

Edaningbe xb

6–10 years Okounfo x

Edaningbe x

< 6 years Okounfo x

Edaningbe x

a_{Some elderly people in Gbédé state they would send young people away if they spoke Cabe at home. This remark} indicates that Tchumbuli is still used in Gbédé homes (see section 4.5.5.2 below).

b_{This information is based on the comment “The children under 15 or 20 years do not speak the language any longer”} (community interview at Edaningbe, August 2000).

As for language use at home, all old people over sixty use Tchumbuli. There are no data available for the group of the 20–40-year-olds. The young generation under 20 (“children”) does not speak Tchumbuli in Okounfo and Edaningbe, but Cabe or Maxi, respectively. It would be interesting to know whether they still speak Tchumbuli in Gbédé or have switched over to speaking Cabe at home.8

The situation in Okounfo is supported by our observations in the extended family of our interpreter. To us it seemed that they were often speaking Cabe, and not Tchumbuli. When asked, they explained that they had given up Tchumbuli and spoke Cabe at home. They added, “The children mock the language of their parents.”

4.5.2.3 Language use in and between age groups

The following tables depict reported data on which languages are used among peers and between age groups. Use of parentheses ( ) denotes little or exceptional use of the language in question.

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Table 12. Language use in Okounfo in and between age groups

Okounfo: < 6 years 6–10 years 10–20 years Comments

< 6 years Cabe “Nago”

6–10 years (Tchumbuli), Cabe

out of 260 Cobecha primary school children about 25 speak Tchumbuli during breaksa

10–20 years Cabe

20–40 years no answer recorded

> 60 no answer recorded

20–40 years 40–60 years > 60 years Comments

< 6 years no answer recorded

20–40 years Tchumbuli, Cabe Among themselves, they speak Tchumbuli, with foreigners Cabe.

40–60 years Cabe “Some understand

Tchumbuli perfectly, others do not, so Cabe is used.”

> 60 years Tchumbuli

a_{“The majority of pupils in Okounfo are Cobecha, that is 260 out of 278. The others are Cabe, Fon, and Peulh. During} breaks the pupils speak Cabe, only about 25 pupils speak Tchumbuli. The non-Cobecha do not understand Tchumbuli” (headmaster of the Okounfo primary school, pers. comm.).

In Okounfo, the younger generation (under 20 years) almost exclusively speak Cabe among

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Table 13. Language use in Gbédé in and between age groups

< 6 years 6–10 years 10–20 years Comments < 6 years (Tchumbuli),

Cabe

The influence of Ghanaian immigrants encourages the use of Tchumbulia

6–10 years Tchumbuli,b_Cabe _“Nago”

10–20 years Tchumbuli according to the

headmaster of Gbédé primary schoolc

> 60 no answer recorded

a_{In the 1950s a group of Tchumbuli resettled in the Chumburung area in Ghana, but some of these emigrants later came} back (see page 12). “The little children speak Cabe, but this changes a bit. The Ghanaians teach us Tchumbuli songs and dances.” The “Ghanaians” in this case means the group that has returned to Benin.

b_{The use of Tchumbuli among primary school children at Gbédé is confirmed by the testimony of the school’s}

headmaster. He is Maxi and understands only very little Tchumbuli and a little Cabe. The primary school in Gbédé has 125 pupils and all of them speak Tchumbuli except for the 8 children of the headmaster. The environment is bilingual with Cabe. During breaks the children very often have the tendency to speak Tchumbuli, even if they are asked to speak French. His own children have picked up enough Tchumbuli from their schoolmates to speak it when they want to keep secrets from their father. (headmaster of the primary school in Gbédé, pers. comm.).

c _{“They go to the school of the 3rd cycle at Parakou, where they speak Tchumbuli among themselves. They do not hide.”} (headmaster of a primary school, pers comm.).

< 6 years no answer recorded

> 60 years Tchumbuli “even at Cotonou”a a_{the economic capital of Benin}

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Table 14. Language use in Edaningbe in and between age groups

< 6 years 6–10 years 10–20 years Comments

< 6 years Maxi no Tchumbuli at all

10–20 years Maxi

20–40 years (Tchumbuli),a

Maxi

see also section 4.5.3

40–60 years no answers recorded

> 60 no answers recorded

< 6 years no answers recorded

20–40 years (Tchumbuli),b

Maxi

> 60 years Cabe, Maxic _Tchumbuli _Tchumbuli _{“We have to speak}

Tchumbuli in order not to become Nago.” (laughter)

a_{“Sometimes they speak Tchumbuli, but that’s fairly rare” (YK, pers. comm.). See also 4.5.3 “Language transmission} from parents to children.”

b_{There are Cobecha who do not understand Tchumbuli. “We only speak Tchumbuli when everybody present} understands it.”

c_{“We talk to the young people in their mother tongue” (« la langue de leurs mamans »).}

In Edaningbe the younger generation under 20 years seems to have completely shifted to Maxi. But also among the 20–40-year-olds a certain number do not master Tchumbuli any longer. They tend to speak Maxi with each other and the older generation communicates with members of this age group in Cabe or Maxi. We do not know the language preferences of the 40–60-year-olds, but the elder

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4.5.3 Language transmission from parents to children

Table 15. Language transmission from parents to children

Village Tch Cabe Maxi Fon Comments a child’s first language Okounfo x

Gbédé x

Edaningbe (x) x sometimes Cabe language parents speak

to their little children

Okounfo (x) x some speak Cabe, others Tchumbuli Gbédé x

Edaningbe x “because the children no longer understand Tchumbuli”

Okounfo no answers recorded

Gbédé There are only very few Fon in the village - no other answers recorded Edaningbe 8 2 – 3 Answer for Fon probably refers to Maxi

In the case of mixed marriages, we asked for the children’s first language if the father is Tchumbuli and the mother is not or if the mother is Tchumbuli and the father is not.

In Okounfo and Gbédé, the majority of mixed marriages are with Cabe.9._{In Okounfo, the language}

of the non-Tchumbuli-speaking parent determines the language children learn first regardless of who is the Tchumbuli speaker in the family. In Gbédé, however, the mother’s language dominates. If she is Cabe, she talks Cabe with the child, if she does not understand Tchumbuli. If she is Tchumbuli, she talks Tchumbuli with the child. So in Gbédé children in mixed marriages will still learn Tchumbuli as L1 if the mother is Tchumbuli or knows Tchumbuli well enough. In Okounfo mixed marriages extinguish the acquisition of Tchumbuli as L1.

In Edaningbe the majority of mixed marriages are with Maxi women, and some Cabe. The Maxi women speak Maxi with their children.

Only in Gbédé do children learn Tchumbuli as their first language and Tchumbuli is used in the family context. In Okounfo the situation is not very clear. Children reportedly learn Cabe as their first language. In mixed marriages they acquire the language of the non-Cobecha parent first. Apparently this does not imply that they learn Tchumbuli first if both parents are Cobecha. Parents speak with their children either in Cabe or in Tchumbuli. In Edaningbe Tchumbuli does not play any role at all in L1 acquisition and communication between parents and children, except in the case of the family of the son of the village founder.

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4.5.4 Intergenerational shift

One indicator of language shift can be the diminishing language proficiency of the younger generation in the endangered language. When asked if the young children (under 6 years) and the young people (10– 20 years) speak Tchumbuli correctly («comme il faut»), the respondents in the different villages evaluated their children’s proficiency quite differently.

In Okounfo there are some children under 6 and also certain youths between 10 and 20 who are said to speak Tchumbuli (“Cobecha”) correctly. However, the respondents in Gbédé mentioned that the younger generation in Okounfo don’t speak “Tchumbuli like adults, they don’t speak it fluently.”

In Gbédé the little children (under 6 years) are said to “speak better Tchumbuli than their fathers, and they even speak more than the elders.” As children under 6 years are still in the process of L1 acquisition this statement hardly reflects a realistic assessment of the little children’s language proficiency. Furthermore, in section 4.5.2.3 on language use in and between age groups it was stated that children under 6 speak Cabe to each other. However, the above statement seems to indicate a strong pride in their children as well as in their language. Concerning the youths between 10 and 20 years, they are said to “speak Tchumbuli well.” This is due to the exchange with those of Ghana.10 _{“The Ghanaians}

have brought the Tchumbuli songs and dances. Before that we sang Cabe songs. Now the children sing in Tchumbuli.” It has to be kept in mind, though, that the ability to sing songs in a certain language does not necessarily imply a high level of proficiency in that language. Overall, this statement seems to hint that the youths do not speak Tchumbuli all that well and would need more input to improve their proficiency.

In Edaningbe the little children are said not to speak Tchumbuli at all, nor do the teenagers seem to speak Tchumbuli correctly. In answer to a question on language use in age groups, it was stated that the “children under 15 or 20 years of age do not speak the language any longer.” There were two young men present (22 years, 26 years) who reportedly speak Tchumbuli properly. They belonged to the family of the founder of the village.

Overall, proficiency in Tchumbuli of the younger generation appears to be declining. In Edaningbe, they do not speak Tchumbuli at all. In Okounfo there are said to be “some children” and “certain youths” who speak it correctly, which implies that most young people do not speak it correctly any longer. Only in Gbédé does the young generation still seem to use Tchumbuli actively. However, the way the

influence of the Chumburung songs from Ghana is described there suggests that the teenagers may not speak Tchumbuli all that well.

4.5.5 Language attitudes

4.5.5.1 Attitudes towards speakers of other languages

Remarks on mixed marriages during the community interviews revealed attitudes of the villagers towards Cabe, Fon, and Peulh. In Gbédé, the majority of mixed marriages are with Cabe. With the Fon, even though they are reportedly not well liked, intermarriages started recently. There are definitely no mixed marriages with the Peulh. In Okounfo, most of the mixed marriages are with Cabe. However, the Tchumbuli of Okounfo reportedly intermarry with all other ethnic groups as well. In Edaningbe, many Cobecha men marry Maxi women. However, the historical accounts reflect a slightly negative attitude towards the Maxi who got the surnames “pig” or “slave” from the Cobecha.

We did not find any evidence that any of these languages are more prestigious than the others.

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4.5.5.2 Attitudes towards language use

The attitude towards the use of Tchumbuli throughout the Tchumbuli and Cobecha communities is ambiguous. Both in Okounfo and Gbédé, the young people are said to be proud of their language. However, in Okounfo it is added that one is often ashamed of speaking Tchumbuli, “but we cannot leave it.” A former literacy worker of the village claims that Tchumbuli is nothing to be ashamed of. In Gbédé there are admittedly some villagers who understand Tchumbuli but do not want to speak it. They are said to have an inferiority complex because the language is not as developed as neighboring languages, such as Cabe, are. However, this attitude is rather rare. An inferiority complex was also mentioned in Edaningbe where “the young people don’t want to learn Tchumbuli any longer because they are mocked. It is not an ‘official’ language, and they are mocked. If they speak Tchumbuli in the presence of non-Tchumbuli speakers the others think they are talking about them. To avoid this, the Cobecha speak a language the others can understand.”

The older generation throughout the three villages is not satisfied with this development. In

Okounfo, if the young people speak a language other than Tchumbuli at home, old people think that this is bad and they are not content. They also claim that “it is not good that the children learn Cabe as their first language.” In Gbédé, our elderly assistants state that they would send the young people away if they spoke Cabe at home. In Edaningbe the elders disapprove of the fact that they themselves speak to the generation of the 20–40 year-olds in the language of their (non-Cobecha) mothers.

4.5.5.3 Attitudes towards language shift

To the question whether our language assistants think that their children’s children will still speak Tchumbuli, we got different answers. In Gbédé, the interviewees maintained that their children’s children will still speak Tchumbuli and that they wish it to be so. In Okounfo, the interviewees stated that without a Tchumbuli literacy program, their language would die out within several years. Our language assistants disapproved of this fact. In Edaningbe, the children do not speak Tchumbuli anymore. However, some effort is being made to maintain the Tchumbuli language within the community. The son of one of the elders has started to teach Tchumbuli to some of his peers. All the elders in the three interviewed villages deplore the fact that Tchumbuli is spoken less and less.

4.5.6 Ethnic identity

Traditionally, every village of the Tchumbuli language community has a king. The king of Okounfo is approximately 60 years old. He is 100 percent Cobecha and he speaks nothing but Tchumbuli. Tchumbuli is more widely used in the king’s neighborhood than in other areas of the village. People from Ghana enthroned him in 1998. The crown, a gold-colored hat, was also brought from Ghana for this occasion. (For more information on connections to Ghana see section 4.2). The king of Gbédé is about 50 years old. He took lively interest in the community interview that was conducted in his own house, and he also participated in the elicitation of the wordlist. The king of Edaningbe is said to be very old (« totalement vieux ») and does not seem to participate in village activities anymore.

The Tchumbuli and Cobecha have kept their ethnic identity, although the neighboring ethnic groups have had a strong impact on them. The sub-prefect of Savè stated that the Tchumbuli and Cobecha11_{have kept their ethnic integrity even though they are totally mixed (}_«_métissés_»_{) with the}

Cabe and speak Cabe like mother tongue speakers. He said, “It is not likely that they will disappear because they are attached to their origins.” One of our informants in Edaningbe maintained that the Cobecha had to speak Tchumbuli in order not to become “Nago.” One man in Ouèssè complained about the fact that the Tchumbuli and Cobecha are grouped together with the Cabe by the government.

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We have conflicting information as to the extent to which the Tchumbuli and Cobecha feel ethnically attached to one another. Iroko, who focuses on the Cobecha, states that the Cobecha have always stayed apart from others, even from their relatives in Gbédé (Iroko 1995:116f). This

consciousness of being different was confirmed during the community interview in Edaningbe: “There are Tchumbuli in Edaningbe, but that is also a custom. We have the same language, but we do not have the same customs.”

4.5.7 The number of speakers in relation to the size of the ethnic group

There is no data available as to population numbers of Tchumbuli and Cobecha in the three interviewed villages other than the 1992 census data (Ministère du Plan et de la Restructuration Economique du Bénin et al. 1994). However, in these statistics, the Tchumbuli and Cobecha are not considered as a separate ethnic group, but they are grouped together with the Cabe or Maxi respectively.

Table 16. Tchumbuli speakers by village

Village Populationa _{Ethnic Cobecha or}

Tchumbulib _{of Tchumbuli speakers}Estimated percentage Estimated number of _{Tchumbuli speakers}

Okounfo 1,589 1,160 70 812

Gbédé 1,047 764 95 726

Edaningbe 800 583c _51.5 ₃₀₀

Total 3,436 2,507 73.3 1,838

a_{See section 1.5 for further details.}

b_{Estimates based on the estimated figures for Edaningbe.}

c_{In Edaningbe, 300 adults are Cobecha (estimate given by our informants). The total of 583 results from the} proportion of 48.5 percent under-15- year-olds in the Zou province (Ministère du Plan et de la

Restructuration economique 1994a:23).

The estimated overall population of the three villages Okounfo, Gbédé and Edaningbe amounts to 3,436 inhabitants. In Edaningbe, 73 percent of the population were said to be Cobecha (see section 1.5 for further details). If we assume that this proportion is generally true it follows that there are about 2,507 Tchumbuli and Cobecha in the area. This number does not include those who live outside the traditional language area, such as secondary school and university students and those who live in urban areas.

Our assistants in Okounfo maintained that almost all Cobecha in the village understand Tchumbuli. However, the results on language use in section 4.5.2 reveal that Tchumbuli is not used widely among the younger generations under 20 years. In Gbédé, it was stated that only those who leave the village do not speak Tchumbuli anymore and that the little children even speak it better than the adults do. In Edaningbe, the language situation is extremely different from that in Gbédé, as reportedly only people older than 20 years still speak Tchumbuli.

Thus, we estimate the percentages of Tchumbuli speakers at 95 percent in Gbédé, at 51.5 percent in Edaningbe,12_{and somewhere in between for Okounfo. This results in 1,838 Tchumbuli speakers or 73.3}

percent of the Tchumbuli and Cobecha population. It has to be kept in mind, though, that this estimate is based on a number of assumptions.

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4.5.8 Large-scale socioeconomic conditions that favor shift

Fasold (1984:213–245) mentions the following large-scale socioeconomic conditions that favor shift:

• urbanization, living in industrial or commercial centers

• improved means of transportation and communication

• influx of people from the majority group

• the replacing language is the language of education

The majority of the Tchumbuli and Cobecha live in a rural area. However, we do not have any data on the rural exodus and on the Cobecha and Tchumbuli communities in Cotonou and Porto-Novo.

The village of Okounfo used to be at a different location but at a given point of time the community decided to move to the main road RNIE 2 that connects the south of Benin with Burkina Faso in the north. This has probably helped to make Okounfo a market place of some importance for the neighboring (Cabe) villages, resulting in increased contacts with Cabe speakers.

The language of formal education in Benin is French. Thus, the replacing language is not the language of education. However, Maxi and Cabe are languages of wider communication in the area.

4.5.9 Other factors related to language vitality

For the research and documentation of endangered languages the following additional factors ought to be considered (Grimes 2000b):

• scientific importance of the language for documentation

• Has any related language been documented?

• current status of documentation

• accessibility of the speech community

• conditions for carrying out research (fighting, disease)

• proficient speakers willing to work on their language for documentation

Tchumbuli is closely related to the Chumburung language of Ghana (Snider pers. comm.). In Chumburung a number of books have been produced since 1976, including the New Testament. The translation of the Old Testament is under way (K. Hansford pers. comm.).

For the current stage of documentation see section 1.3 on previous linguistic research.

The speech community is easily accessible: Okounfo lies directly at the RNIE 2.Gbédé is 6 km off the same road. Edaningbe is a quartier (‘quarter’) of Ouèssè, which is seat of the sub-prefecture.

The conditions for carrying out research are favorable.

4.6 Religious situation

4.6.1 General information

4.6.1.1 Okounfo:

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animistic beliefs in the village.13_{As to Cobecha leaders in the churches, the president of the Methodist}

church is a Cobecha, as well as the president and the vice-president of the Christianisme Céleste. A new mosque is being built. Preaching is in Arabic; the explanation of the reading is in Yoruba.

4.6.1.2 Gbédé:

The Catholic Church is the only church in Gbédé and the majority of the inhabitants belong to it. Most of them are Tchumbuli. The catechist is Nago but speaks Tchumbuli fluently. There are very few Muslims in the village, but a new mosque is being built. Preaching at the mosque is in Yoruba, with annotations in Tchumbuli. Animism is not mentioned as a religion, but we found evidence of animistic belief during our stay there.14

4.6.1.3 Edaningbe:

The majority of the inhabitants of Edaningbe are Catholic Christians. Out of the 60 members of the Catholic Church, 25 are Cobecha. Both catechists of the Catholic Church are Cobecha, but one of them does not understand Tchumbuli. There are no Muslims.

4.6.2 Language use

The following data were collected from the church leaders regarding language usage. In the interviews, the names used for indicating a language varied. Cabe would also be referred to as Nago or Yoruba, and Maxi would be referred to as Fon. The Fon Scriptures could be either the Fon New Testament or the Gun Bible.

The following abbreviations are used in the tables below:

Cb: Cabe F: Fon Fr: French

Ma: Maxi Tch: Tchumbuli Yor: Yoruba E: Edaningbe G: Gbédé O: Okounfo

13_{Our translator stated that pigs are not reared in Okounfo (contrary to Gbédé) “because the spirit of the earth does} not allow it.”