[lg policy] dialect vs vernacular discussion , a reflection !

[dzo at BISHARAT.NET]

I was once at a meeting where Adama Samassekou, then head of the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN). gently took someone to task for using the term "vernaculaire" (this was in French) in speaking of African languages. As I recall, the gist of his comment was that the term had been used in a somewhat derogatory sense (perhaps similar to what Annette hears in it), contrasting vernacular with "language" in its implied fuller/higher meaning. 
 
The official French treatment of languages in Africa certainly related to the overall notion of "la mission civilatrice," etc. There were instances of African languages being referred to as "idiomes," arguably even further from "langue" than "vernaculaire." So there may be some sensitivity on this count in what we often refer to today as Francophone Africa. 

Nevertheless, term usage implying an inferior status of African languages exists in English as well. I don't recall "vernacular" used this way (and have in fact used that word in the past in what I understood to be the academic sense), but unlike Annette, I have heard "dialect" used by Africans to describe their languages - not in the academic sense of a variety of a language, but meaning something that is not quite a full language (for instance, "my tribal dialect"). 

I am interested by the suggestion that "mother tongue" may be used with various implications. In this context it is also of interest to note that UNESCO adopted the term "mother language" for its annual observance of the importance of first languages. 

Returning to Africa for a moment, I think that in general it is worth paying attention to the terms one uses in referring to languages, since usage and perceptions may differ from what one may encounter in other contexts. Another example is "national language," which often refers to an African language that is not official nor necessarily used nationwide, but is given a particular legal status.

Don Osborn


Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: Annette Islei <annetteislei at gmail.com>
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Date: Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:48:29 
To: Language Policy List<lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
Reply-To: Language Policy List <lgpolicy-list at groups.sas.upenn.edu>
Subject: Re: [lg policy] dialect vs vernacular discussion , a reflection !

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