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"No", said Dikoo

Outside Dikoo's local shop I pointed at the moon. "It's not so much a ghostly galleon" I said, "More a stately Cunard Liner"

"No", said Dikoo, "Is moon."

The question is, is Gambian English no more than incorrect English, or is it a fully functioning language in its own right, in the same way that Caribbean English, which, while departing from standard English, is consistent and hence qualifies as a language in its own right.

To wrap things up, I gave Dikoo a yellow card, for which he said thank you and I was quoting from THE HIGHWAYMAN

'The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding-
Riding-riding-
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.'

Re: "No", said Dikoo

sorry, don't understand the sense of your posting.

Are you aware, that english is not the mothertongue of any Gambian? And that they are - due to lack of education in literature - not familiar with lyrics and prosa?

Even I - with 2 university degrees - being not british don't understand.

Re: Re: "No", said Dikoo

Yes, thank you, I am aware that English is not the mother-tongue of Gambians. And in addition, I find their ability to handle several languages effectively, including English, absolutely staggering, and I envy their linguistic abilities.

Developing a language does not necessitate university degrees or literacy: humans invented languages well before there were schools, colleges or books. I am particularly interested in the acquisition of language and literacy skills by small children, and spend a great deal of time trying to explore this process. Research evidence shows that command of English (as a second/third/etc language) is enhanced if the children are first led to develop literacy and associated concepts, in their own mother tongue. I remember reading somewhere that the Gambian Government supports the use of local languages as the primary means of communication in nursery schools.

Returning briefly to Dikoo, this is a man who has memorised the ENTIRE Koran. I have a great deal of respect for Dikoo. He is intelligent, he works hard and he is a nice guy.

Re: "No", said Dikoo

Do you mean because he didn't get the metaphor or because he said 'it moon' instead of 'it's the moon'? In either case, you could just as easily ask the same of anywhere outside the strict dictum of the Noel Coward play, a Merchant Ivory film or tea with the queen.

A fully functioning language could be taken as one which allowed people to communicate effectively so there's your answer. But regarding Gambian communication in general, I often wonder how different tribes manage. Do they use a lingua franca or rely on a skeleton of other languages?

Re: Re: "No", said Dikoo

Opposite to Senegal, where 80% of the people can speak wolof, there is no lingua franca in The Gambia. English is the official langage, but only people, who attended school can speak it more or less, depending on how long they went to school.

I have no knowledge of the other languages, but Wolof and Mandinka have no similarities, so one can not be used to learn the other one.

Re: "No", said Dikoo

just going off at a tangeant, thankyou jo for repeating the highwayman. i hadn't heard that poem in years and the years slipped away as i read it again

Re: Re: "No", said Dikoo

Watchout for ostlers though!!