Sorosoro is not only interested in preserving languages. We consider that it is just as important, during filming, to hear what our speakers have to say about contemporary topics.

For example, our teams question them about how they have coped with the transition from a traditional life to a more urban, technological way of life, about the problems that such changes engender and about how they envisage their own futures.

Concerning the language, we ask them what they believe is causing its decline and if they think that it will survive as it comes into contact with the external world and in the context of globalisation. And often it turns out that, from one part of the world to another, the same causes have the same consequences, and often the situations described are similar.

Therefore, we will regularly offer this kind of testimony. We start here with Théodosie and Jean Kédine, two speakers of the Akele language of the lakes in Gabon.

The decline of the Akele language

Akele is the language of the Akele people from Gabon. It’s a Bantu language, whose speakers are scattered around various parts the country. The Akele are fishermen and farmers living along the Ogooué and Ngounie rivers, and in the lake region around Lambaréné

The decline of the Akele language explained by Théodosie

The decline of the Akele language explained by Jean Kédine

Linguist: Jean-Marie Hombert
Camera and sound: Luc-Henri Fage
Translation: Hugues Awanhet
Editing : Caroline Laurent