Languages of Gabon
In Gabon, a total of 42 different languages are spoken, but this linguistic diversity is under threat as more and more French Gabonese take over.
Supremacy of the French
The official language of Gabon is French, while 32 % of the population speak Fang as their mother tongue. French is the only language of instruction approved. Prior to European colonization, many different languages are spoken in the country as their mother tongue, with larger languages such as fishing, Punu and Teke were used as languages for communication between ethnic groups among themselves. The European colonizers led French and to 1915 in the north also in German Wolö - Ntem, which belonged to German - Cameroon, a. After the First World War all traces German colonization were eliminated and now only allowed French as an official language, although the majority of the inhabitants of the colony did not say this. Only Gabonese, who worked in business or in government administration, also spoke French. After the Second World War, France has worked increasingly in the enforcement of the French language in the universal primary education in Gabon, and in the census of 1960/61, already spoke 47% of the Gabonese over 14 some French, while 13% of French -dominated orally and in writing. Up to the 1990s, the literacy rate grew in French even more than 60%.
Meanwhile, a small proportion, several thousand in number, also a secondary and higher education and dominated French fluently. It is estimated that now 80% of the country's population is able to speak French and a third of the inhabitants of the capital Libreville are native speakers of the language. More than 10,000 French people live in Gabon and France continues to dominate the cultural and foreign economic relations of the country.
The national languages
The indigenous languages are all members of the Bantu language group and are already spoken in Gabon for over 2,000 years. We distinguish between 42 different languages. They are generally used in oral intercourse, but not written, although missionaries from Germany and France since the 1840s, and lately more and more developed Latin -based transcriptions for most languages from the United States and translated the Bible into several of them. The French colonial policy officially supported the study of French and suppressed the use of the central African languages. However, the languages still persist by transmission through family and clan; and people in cities and other areas where several people come into contact with several Bantu languages to learn.
The Gabonese government promoted the research on the Bantu languages , which began in the 1970s.
The three major languages are Fang, Mbere and Sira ( Eschira ), each with approximately 25-32 % share of the speakers. The remaining languages have a single-digit spokesman Percentage, and some have only a few thousand to a few hundred speakers.
List of languages of Gabon
- Baka (SIL code BKC )
- Barama (BBG )
- Bekwil (BKW )
- Benga ( BEN)
- Bubi ( UW )
- Bwisi ( SEZ )
- Duma (DMA )
- Catch ( FNG )
- Ikota ( KOQ )
- Kendell ( KBS )
- Kaningi ( KZO )
- Kili ( KEB )
- Lumbu ( LUP )
- Mahongwe ( MHB)
- Mbama ( MBM )
- Mbangwe ( ZMN )
- Mbere (MDT )
- Myene ( MYE ), has several dialects
- Ndasa (NDA )
- Ndumu (NMD )
- Ngom (NRA )
- Njebi ( NCB )
- Pinji (PIC)
- Punu ( PUU )
- Sake ( SAG)
- Sangu ( SNQ )
- Seki ( SYI )
- Sighu ( SXE )
- Simba ( SBW )
- Sira ( SWJ ), aka Eschira
- North - Teke (TEG )
- West Teke ( TYI )
- Tsaangi (TSA)
- Tsogo ( TSV)
- Vili (VIF )
- Vumbu ( VUM )
- Wandji ( WDD )
- Wumbvu ( WUM )
- Yangho ( YNH )
- Yasa ( YKO )
Websites
- Langues du Gabon.com
- Ethnologue report on the languages of Gabon
- PanAfriL10n page about Gabon