The Bissagos islands is an archipelago of 88 islands and islets in the Atlantic Ocean off the mouth of the two biggest rivers of Guinea-Bissau, Geba and Buba rivers, in West Africa (fig. 1). It is a Ramsar wetland that UNESCO declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1996, with one National Park, one Marine National Park, and one Marine Protected Area. Only 20 islands are inhabited by around 34.500 people (INE, 2009: 2), that is 1,6% of the country’s population. The capital city of the administrative region, close to mainland Guinea-Bissau, is Bolama (c. 5.000 inhabitants) whereas Bubaque (c. 4.000 inhabitants) is the most central large town amidst the islands. It is 70 km Southwest from Bissau, the country capital city, that is around 4 hours by boat. The islands’ economy is based on agriculture, some fishing and growing ecotourism.
The dominant language in rural areas is the indigenous Bidyogo, a West Atlantic language with four main dialects: Anhaki on Canhabaque island, Kagbaaga on Bubaque island, Kamona on Caravela and Caraxe islands, Kajoko on Orango, the biggest island, and on Uno island. Other dialects are spoken in Formosa and Galinha islands. Not all dialects seem to be intelligible to each other (Gordon, 2005: 131). Like other West Atlantic languages, Bidyogo has a noun-class system similar to remotely related Bantu languages. In urban areas, the dominant language is the Portuguese-based Kriol Guinensi also spoken in rural areas as L2. The only official language of Guinea-Bissau, Portuguese, is not often used, not even in school or among teachers…
Publisher keywords: Bissagos islands, Guinean Creole, language-in-education planning, Portuguese language
Uploaded: 11/20/2024
https://doi.org/10.3917/oep.djord.2024.01.0045
