Bakola
Bakola is a Narrow Bantu language of the Makaa-Njem (A80) group (Gordon 2005, Guthrie 1971:33). The language is also known as Bagyeli, which may appear in many spelling variants, such as Gyele, Bajele, Bogyiel, Bagieli, etc. Estimations of the population of the speakers of Bakola vary from 2,200 (Renaud 1976 :28) to 5,000 (Ngima 2001:215). The speakers of Bakola, however, are not ethnically Bantu. They are forest foragers who have lived in symbiosis with sedentary Bantu-speaking communities over a long period of time. The Bakola language as it is now spoken is very closely related to Kwasio (also A80), which is the language of their former patrons.
Renaud (1976) reported two dialects for the language: “Bajele” which was closely associated with Kwasio, and “Bakola” which was closely associated with Bassa (A40). As the Bakola have become more sedentary and have entered into close relationships with other farming communities, the dialectal situation has become more complex. The Bakola language is fragmenting as different communities of Bakola speakers borrow extensively from different neighboring languages, such as Kwasio (A81), Bassa (A40), Yassa (A20), and possibly Ewondo (A60).
Bakola is a highly endangered language. The language is used strictly for in-group communication and not spoken in public when outsiders are present. When asked what language they speak, the Bakola name the language of the villagers. They often even deny that they have a separate language of their own (Duke, personal experience). Bakola have reported preferring to speak Kwasio when addressing outsiders (Ngima 2001:218). Their negative attitude toward their own language is reinforced by their marginal status among all the ethnic groups of the region, their poverty, and their decreasing ability to continue their traditional lifestyle due to deforestation.
References:
Gordon. 2005. Ethnologue, the Languages of the World. Dallas: SIL
Guthrie, Malcolm. 1971. Comparative Bantu. An introduction to the comparative linguistics and prehistory of the Bantu languages, Part 1, vol. 2 : an outline of Bantu history. Farnborough, U.K.: Gregg International Publishers Ltd.
Ngima Mawoung, Godefroy. 2001. “The relationship between the Bakola and the Bantu people of the coastal region of Cameroon and their perception of commercial forest exploitation,” African Study Monographs. Suppl. 26 : 209-235.
Renaud, Patrick. 1976. Le Bajele: phonologie, morphologie nominale. Les dossiers de L’ALCAM. Vols. 1 and 2. Yaounde: ONAREST, Institue des Sciences Humaines.
Renaud (1976) reported two dialects for the language: “Bajele” which was closely associated with Kwasio, and “Bakola” which was closely associated with Bassa (A40). As the Bakola have become more sedentary and have entered into close relationships with other farming communities, the dialectal situation has become more complex. The Bakola language is fragmenting as different communities of Bakola speakers borrow extensively from different neighboring languages, such as Kwasio (A81), Bassa (A40), Yassa (A20), and possibly Ewondo (A60).
Bakola is a highly endangered language. The language is used strictly for in-group communication and not spoken in public when outsiders are present. When asked what language they speak, the Bakola name the language of the villagers. They often even deny that they have a separate language of their own (Duke, personal experience). Bakola have reported preferring to speak Kwasio when addressing outsiders (Ngima 2001:218). Their negative attitude toward their own language is reinforced by their marginal status among all the ethnic groups of the region, their poverty, and their decreasing ability to continue their traditional lifestyle due to deforestation.
References:
Gordon. 2005. Ethnologue, the Languages of the World. Dallas: SIL
Guthrie, Malcolm. 1971. Comparative Bantu. An introduction to the comparative linguistics and prehistory of the Bantu languages, Part 1, vol. 2 : an outline of Bantu history. Farnborough, U.K.: Gregg International Publishers Ltd.
Ngima Mawoung, Godefroy. 2001. “The relationship between the Bakola and the Bantu people of the coastal region of Cameroon and their perception of commercial forest exploitation,” African Study Monographs. Suppl. 26 : 209-235.
Renaud, Patrick. 1976. Le Bajele: phonologie, morphologie nominale. Les dossiers de L’ALCAM. Vols. 1 and 2. Yaounde: ONAREST, Institue des Sciences Humaines.