Dogon languages
Encyclopedia
The Dogon languages are spoken by the Dogon
of Mali
. There are about 600,000 speakers of a dozen languages. They are tonal languages, most like Dogul having two tones, some like Donno So having three.
The place of Dogon inside the Niger–Congo family
is not clear, and the evidence linking them to Niger–Congo is weak. Various theories have been proposed, placing them in Gur
, Mande
, or as an independent branch, the last now being the preferred theory. The Dogon languages show no remnants of the noun class
system characteristic of much of Niger–Congo, leading linguists to conclude that they likely diverged from Niger–Congo very early. The basic word order is subject–object–verb.
Roger Blench comments,
The Bamana
and Fula language
s have exerted significant influence on Dogon, due to their close cultural and geographical ties.
, Mooré, Bambara
, Bozo, and Tamasheq). Jamsay is thought to be the original Dogon language, but the Dogon "recognise a myriad of tiny distinctions even between parts of villages and sometimes individuals, and strive to preserve these." (Hochstetler 2004:18)
The best-studied Dogon language is the escarpment
language Toro So (Tɔrɔ sɔɔ) of Sanga
, due to Marcel Griaule
's studies there and because Toro So was selected as one of thirteen national language
s of Mali. It is mutually intelligible with other escarpment varieties. However, the plains languages—Tene Ka, Tomo Ka, and Jamsay, which are not intelligible with Toro so—have more speakers, and Jamsay and Tommo so
are most conservative linguistically.
Calame-Griaule appears to have been the first to work out the various varieties of Dogon. Calame-Griaule (1956) classified the languages as follows, with accommodation given for languages which have since been discovered (new Dogon languages were reported as late as 2005), or have since been shown to be mutually intelligible (as Hochstetler confirmed for the escarpment dialects). The two standard languages are asterisked.
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Douyon and Blench (2005) report an additional variety, which is as yet unclassified:
Blench noted that the plural suffix on nouns suggests that Budu is closest to Mombo, so it's been tentatively included as West Dogon above. He also notes that Walo–Kumbe is lexically similar to Naŋa; Hochstetler suspects it may be Naŋa. The similarities between these languages may be shared with Yanda. These are all extremely poorly known.
(Blench 2005b). Blench believes that it is a remnant of the pre-Dogon languages of the area; the Dogon appear to have been in the area for many thousand years.
Dogon people
The Dogon are an ethnic group living in the central plateau region of Mali, south of the Niger bend near the city of Bandiagara in the Mopti region. The population numbers between 400,000 and 800,000 The Dogon are best known for their religious traditions, their mask dances, wooden sculpture and...
of Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
. There are about 600,000 speakers of a dozen languages. They are tonal languages, most like Dogul having two tones, some like Donno So having three.
The place of Dogon inside the Niger–Congo family
Niger–Congo languages
The Niger–Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question...
is not clear, and the evidence linking them to Niger–Congo is weak. Various theories have been proposed, placing them in Gur
Gur languages
The Gur languages, also known as Central Gur, belong to the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 70 languages belonging to this group. They are spoken in Burkina Faso, southern Mali, northeastern Côte d'Ivoire, northern Ghana, northern Togo, northwestern Benin, and southwestern Niger.Like most...
, Mande
Mande languages
The Mande languages are spoken in several countries in West Africa by the Mandé people and include Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Bissa, Dioula, Kagoro, Bozo, Mende, Susu, Yacouba, Vai, and Ligbi...
, or as an independent branch, the last now being the preferred theory. The Dogon languages show no remnants of the noun class
Noun class
In linguistics, the term noun class refers to a system of categorizing nouns. A noun may belong to a given class because of characteristic features of its referent, such as sex, animacy, shape, but counting a given noun among nouns of such or another class is often clearly conventional...
system characteristic of much of Niger–Congo, leading linguists to conclude that they likely diverged from Niger–Congo very early. The basic word order is subject–object–verb.
Roger Blench comments,
- Dogon is both lexically and structurally very different from most other [Niger–Congo] families. It lacks the noun-classes usually regarded as typical of Niger–Congo and has a word order (SOV) that resembles Mande and Ịjọ, but not the other branches. The system of verbal inflections, resembling French is quite unlike any surrounding languages. As a consequence, the ancestor of Dogon is likely to have diverged very early, although the present-day languages probably reflect an origin some 3–4000 years ago. Dogon languages are territorially coherent, suggesting that, despite local migration histories, the Dogon have been in this area of Mali from their origin.
The Bamana
Bambara language
Bambara, more correctly known as Bamanankan , its designation in the language itself , is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people...
and Fula language
Fula language
The Fula or Fulani language is a language of West Africa. It is spoken as a first language by the and related groups from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan...
s have exerted significant influence on Dogon, due to their close cultural and geographical ties.
Languages
The Dogon consider themselves a single ethnic group, but recognize that their languages are different. In Dogon cosmology, Dogon constitutes six of the twelve languages of the world (the others being FulfuldeFula language
The Fula or Fulani language is a language of West Africa. It is spoken as a first language by the and related groups from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan...
, Mooré, Bambara
Bambara language
Bambara, more correctly known as Bamanankan , its designation in the language itself , is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people...
, Bozo, and Tamasheq). Jamsay is thought to be the original Dogon language, but the Dogon "recognise a myriad of tiny distinctions even between parts of villages and sometimes individuals, and strive to preserve these." (Hochstetler 2004:18)
The best-studied Dogon language is the escarpment
Bandiagara Escarpment
The Bandiagara Escarpment is an escarpment in the Dogon country of Mali. The sandstone cliff rises about 500 meters above the lower sandy flats to the south. It has a length of approximately 150 kilometers. The area of the escarpment is inhabited today by the Dogon people. Before the Dogon, the...
language Toro So (Tɔrɔ sɔɔ) of Sanga
Sanga
Sanga or Sangha is a group of thirteen villages in the Dogon Country region of Mali, lying east of Bandiagara at the top of an escarpment. The most important villages are Ogol-du-Haut and Ogol-du-Bas. It is known as a centre for traditional religion with many temples and shrines, and as a base for...
, due to Marcel Griaule
Marcel Griaule
Marcel Griaule was a French anthropologist known for his studies of the Dogon people of West Africa, and for pioneering ethnographic field studies in France....
's studies there and because Toro So was selected as one of thirteen national language
National language
A national language is a language which has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy. The term is used variously. A national language may for instance represent the national identity of a nation or country...
s of Mali. It is mutually intelligible with other escarpment varieties. However, the plains languages—Tene Ka, Tomo Ka, and Jamsay, which are not intelligible with Toro so—have more speakers, and Jamsay and Tommo so
Tommo So
Escarpment Dogon is a continuum of Dogon dialects of the Bandiagara Escarpment, including the standard language. There are three principal dialects:...
are most conservative linguistically.
Calame-Griaule appears to have been the first to work out the various varieties of Dogon. Calame-Griaule (1956) classified the languages as follows, with accommodation given for languages which have since been discovered (new Dogon languages were reported as late as 2005), or have since been shown to be mutually intelligible (as Hochstetler confirmed for the escarpment dialects). The two standard languages are asterisked.
}}
- Plains Dogon: Western PlainsWestern Plains DogonThe Dogon dialects of the western plains below the Bandiagara Escarpment is Mali are mutually intelligible. They are sometimes called the Kan Dogon because they use the word kan for varieties of speech...
(dialects: ) - Escarpment DogonEscarpment DogonEscarpment Dogon is a continuum of Dogon dialects of the Bandiagara Escarpment, including the standard language. There are three principal dialects:...
(dialects: - West Dogon: ?
- North Plateau Dogon:
- YandaYanda DogonYanda Dogon is a Dogon language spoken in Mali. It is reported to be lexically similar to Nanga, which is only known from one report from 1953.-External links:*...
- Nanga:
- TebulTebul DogonThe Tebul language, Tebul Ure, is a Dogon language spoken in Mali by the Tebul U . It was first reported under this name online by Roger Blench, who reports that it appears to be the same as a language called Oru Yille in the literature...
Douyon and Blench (2005) report an additional variety, which is as yet unclassified:
Blench noted that the plural suffix on nouns suggests that Budu is closest to Mombo, so it's been tentatively included as West Dogon above. He also notes that Walo–Kumbe is lexically similar to Naŋa; Hochstetler suspects it may be Naŋa. The similarities between these languages may be shared with Yanda. These are all extremely poorly known.
Pre-Dogon language
formerly considered a divergent branch of Dogon, turns out not to be Dogon at all, and is possibly a language isolateLanguage isolate
A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common with any other language. They are in effect language families consisting of a single...
(Blench 2005b). Blench believes that it is a remnant of the pre-Dogon languages of the area; the Dogon appear to have been in the area for many thousand years.
External links
- Map of Dogon language(s) from the LL-Map Project
- Dogon and Bangime Linguistics
- Information about the Dogon language(s) from the MultiTree Project
- Guide linguistique dogon, on the French Wikitravel
- Dogon linguistics website
- Dogon languages on Rogerblench.info (includes linguistic data and pictures)
- Dogon Languages and Linguistics An (sic) Comprehensive Annotated Bibliography Abbie Hantgan (2007)