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The decline of the Punu language in Gabon
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 Kwenzi Mickala, speaker of the Punu language in Gabon.
The decline of the Punu language
Punu is the language of the Bapunu, second largest ethnic group in Gabon in terms of population. It’s a Bantu language, spoken in the Tchibanga area. The increasingly important movement of Bapunu people towards larger urban areas is causing a gradual loss of their language and cultural knowledge
Linguist : Jean-Marie Hombert
Image and sound : Luc-Henri Fage
Editing : Caroline Laurent