Lingthusiasm - A podcast that's enthusiastic about linguistics

108: Highs and lows of tone in Babanki - Interview with Pius Akumbu

Sep 19, 2025
Join Pius Akumbu, a Cameroonian linguist and Director of Research in African Linguistics at CNRS, as he dives into the rich nuances of Babanki. He shares his innovative approach to linguistic fieldwork, including staging a mock wedding to document endangered language rituals, which surprisingly inspired real ceremonies. Pius discusses the complexities of Babanki's tone system, explaining how high and low tones can entirely change meanings. He also recounts his challenges and triumphs in founding a local school, ensuring children can learn in their mother tongue even amidst conflict.
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ADVICE

Combine Intuition With Community Data

  • When documenting your own language, combine native intuition with data from multiple community speakers.
  • Rely on community variation and recorded data rather than solely on personal judgment.
ANECDOTE

Ritual Registers Require Insider Access

  • Some ritual registers, like songs in childbirth or death ceremonies, contain meanings that even native speakers find hard to access.
  • Akumbu notes that understanding these requires building trust and close work with the specific ritual participants.
ANECDOTE

Staging A Mock Wedding To Record Ritual Speech

  • Pius Akumbu staged a mock traditional Babanki wedding to record ceremonial language when no natural event occurred.
  • The enactment reconnected people to tradition and inspired at least one real traditional wedding afterward.
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