Hugues Steve Ndinga-Koumba-Binza

Gabonese Language Landscape: Survey and perspectives

Several authors have described the language situation of Gabon with regard mainly to native languages, as one of language diversity. In this article, we portray this language situation with regard to both foreign and native languages, and introduce the concept of a Gabonese Language Landscape, which we contrast with a concept of a language situation. The concept is introduced in comparison to that of a language situation. Based on observations, we present an inventory of both foreign and native languages in an attempt to display the language situation of Gabon in a realistic way. The article also examines the status of the various languages used in Gabon as well as Gabons language policy.

Vowel Duration Issue in Civili

The main goal of this article is to define the problem of vowel duration in Civili (H. 12a). It shows that the so- called Civili vowel-length issue desperately needs to be re-examined, because previous works on the sound system of this language hardly explain a number of phonological phenomena, such as vowel lengthening, on the basis of data at hand. Demonstrating the problem in question, the author first reviews previous works that all identify a vowel lengthening in Civili. The complexity of the phenomenon is shown by observing differences between analyses and difficulties the different phonologists came up against. The problem is also shown through weaknesses in the results of each analysis. This in turn shows more aspects of the vowel duration issue, and leads the author to make a clear distinction between vowel length and vowel lengthening that can both be regarded as vowel duration only. Finally, the article suggests a possible way forward through an experimental approach towards the Civili sound system.

Planning and Macrostructural Elements for a Multilingual Culinary Dictionary of Gabonese Languages

This paper is an account of an ongoing dictionary project. It aims to outline the main features of the planned dictionary. The project is a first of its kind in Gabonese lexicography. The current paper gives a description of the data collection and sources as well as the macrostructural issues of the forthcoming dictionary. The paper starts with a brief outline of the project background, needs and interests.

Language science and language technology in Africa: A festschrift for Justus C. Roux

CITATION: Ndinga-Koumba-Binza, H.S. & Bosch, S.E. (eds.). 2012. Language Science and Language Technology in Africa: A Festschrift for Justus C. Roux. Stellenbosch: SUN MeDIA. doi:10.18820/9781920338800.

Perceived duration in vowel-length based Civili minimal pairs

Several authors have established the existence of short and long vowels on the basis of minimal pairs occurring in Civili. These works however simply refer to impressionistic phonetic observations and do not rely on experimentally-gathered and verified data. This article focuses on the perceived duration of components of minimal pairs. It is intended to assess the validity of claims on vowel length and minimal pairs in the language. The article gives an account of a perception experiment that was conducted and describes the administration of perception tests. The perceptual data gathered are then statistically analysed and discussed in terms of phonological implications.