French: An African Language Pubblico

Abstract

This work studies the changes of the French language on the African continent in a time of post-colonialization with a particular focus on the language dynamics in Senegal, a West African country that was the former seat of the Afrique Occidentale Française. Without colonial constraints, the language has evolved in relation to other African languages. During the colonial period, a French monolingual society was artificially imposed on Senegal, but today, multilingualism is resurging, seen in the rise of vernaculars like Urban Wolof, which blends French and Wolof vocabulary, phrases, and grammar. This study examines the relationship between Wolof, the lingua franca of Senegal, and the French language. It first explores literature, showing how French is Africanized to reflect African cultural realities. It then focuses on Urban Wolof, a mix of French and Wolof, in cities like Dakar, and explores how Hip Hop uses language to challenge political power. Finally, the study investigates how film highlights the socio-political dynamics between language and power, with Africanized French resisting France’s historical linguistic control and ultimately becoming an African language. With the majority of French speakers now in Africa, studying French language use on the African continent is important to understand the future of the language as it is changed by those who speak it the most.

Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………. 1

Chapter 1: Woven Language in Senegalese Literature……………................................... 6

Chapter 2: Urban Wolof as Africanized French: The Case of Journal Rappé.................... 28

Chapter 3: Revealing the Power Dynamics of Language in Senegalese Film…………… 47

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………... 68

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	French Studies
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Cinema African Studies Language, Linguistics
Parola chiave	Linguistics Cinema and Media Wolof Urban Wolof French Language Senegal
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Xavier, Subha, Emory University
Committee Members	Ndiaye, Bamba, Emory University Descourtis, Sandra, Emory University

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