Congo-Brazzaville - Languages
French is the official language and Kituba, Lingala and other African languages are also used. French was not used extensively by the general population. Many Congolese, especially urban dwellers, knew several ethnic languages and regularly used their own and two or more trade languages.
Several ethnic languages, both trade languages, and French are widely used in Brazzaville. A 1959 survey of the capital city's residents indicated 85 percent spoke three or more languages, including an ethnic language, a trade language, and French. About half of this group knew four languages: an ethnic language, both trade languages, and French. More than 25 percent of Brazzaville residents surveyed communicated primarily in a trade language. Only a small minority spoke French as a principal language.
Ethnic Languages
Almost every ethnic group and many subgroups have retained their own traditional language, although migrations and contacts between ethnic groups sometimes caused them to learn others. Congolese men became at least bilingual, but the women, having few associations outside their own ethnic group, remained predominantly monolingual. Colonization and the introduction of a money economy increased relations among the various ethnic groups and gave rise to the development of two trade languages, Lingala and Monokutuba. French was the language of the colonial administrators and became the official language after independence was achieved in 1960.
The Kongo people represent the largest single ethnic group in the country. Their languages, subgroups of the Niger-Congo family of Bantu languages, are the most widely spoken. The variations found in the southern part of the country form a homogeneous grouping, which can be divided into local classifications. In the eastern area the important languages are Laadi, Kongo, Kongo Nseke, Sundi, and Gangala. Nyanga, Kunyi and Yombe, which have common phonetics, morphology, and lexicography, are spoken in the western areas. Vili, Bembe, and Kenge are widely used, although they have few features in common with the majority of the Kongo languages. Tones used in Kongo are integrated with words and serve to differentiate word forms. Four basic vowel tones are employed, and two sets of prefixes distinguish between singular and plural words.
Lingala and Monokutuba
The large number of ethnic languages spoken in the country and the increased contacts between ethnic groups necessitated the formation of the trade languages. Two of these, Lingala and Monokutuba, which are somewhat similar, developed in trade centers. Lingala is spoken in the region north of Brazzaville, and Monokutuba is widely used in commerce between Brazzaville and the Atlantic coast. Lin-gala also extends eastward into the middle stretches of the Congo River, where it is used as a means of communication between Europeans and Africans in trade, administration, and the educational and religious training given by Catholic missions.
The structure and tone systems of Lingala show a Bantu influence, but these have been simplified for easy adoption by groups throughout the country. The homogeneous nature of Lingala can be explained by its similarity to the African languages from which it sprang. It is based on several local languages, such as Bangi, Mongo, Ngombe, and Losengo, which are spoken by groups traditionally thought to have had a common origin. These languages contain similar vowel systems and use the same system of stressing the first syllable of the stem word (radical). Dissimilarities include varying forms of prefixes and nasal sounds.
In the early stages of its development Lingala words were derived from the Bantu; later the vocabulary borrowed from more distant sources. Words that were the same in several local or related languages were accepted in Lingala without change. Those adopted from outside sources were usually modified to suit the requirements of Lingala speakers. For example, the Kongo words ngandu (crocodile) and sukula (to wash) became ngando and sukola in Lingala. Other words have been borrowed from Swahili, Luba, French, English, Portuguese, and Dutch.
Lingala has two tone levels, normal and high, which are used to distinguish similar words. For example, koluka, may mean to seek or to paddle, according to tone. Since its root and tone characteristics resemble those of the neighboring languages, an African from this region can learn Lingala without much difficulty. Even Europeans have found the simple Lingala tone system easy to learn.
Similarly, Monokutuba has no specific ethnic origins, but its basic elements were strongly influenced by the Kongo people. Although it has undergone modifications according to the area of use, certain common characteristics can be traced. Monokutuba has a simple morphology as compared with local ethnic languages, and its vocabulary is based primarily on words of Kongo origin, in which prefixes and suffixes are common.
French
French is the official language of government and is used extensively in the schools as well. Its greatest advantage over the ethnic languages is that it provides access to scientific and technical material. It is widely spoken in the European community and among the African elite, but only a small percentage of the African popuI lation has a working knowledge of French. Even members of the African elite will not normally speak French at home, as the level of education for women has not progressed to the point where most wives can comfortably communicate in that language. While the prestige of French remains high, it appears that the ethnic and trade languages receive wider use.
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