Abstract

Although French is the official language of Benin, the government is pursuing a policy on the use of national languages, particularly in education and cultural life. This project will help by classifying the languages of South Benin and carrying out a comparative analysis of these languages to enable the State to formulate a policy governing the use of national languages. It will also supply the necessary tools and work techniques to those who communicate in these languages. In addition, the project will reinforce the capabilities of the Documentation Centre of the Centre national de linguistique appliquée to better serve researchers, decision-makers, and trainers responsible for the use of the country's national languages.

Post-Project Summary

The project has been underway for two years, and the following has been accomplished: production of a language map in colour; production of a national alphabet; a comparative study of Gbe dialects of southern Bénin using segmental phonology; a typological study of noun usage in four Gbe dialects; a comparative study of Gbe dialects of southern Bénin using synchronic classification; a collection of proverbs and riddles in Idaaca; and a selective bibliography of the languages spoken in Bénin: "Langues, alphabétisation et culture" (languages, literacy and culture). The Centre national de linguistique appliquée (CENALA, national centre for applied linguistics) has acquired the resources to perform the urgent task of printing books for its modest library and training its two documentalists. Although the team has had difficulty finding a press able to print documents in the national languages, the documents produced were in press when the final report was completed.

Recipient Institution(s)