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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Language use in the Islamic faith in Cameroon: the case of a Mosque in the city of Maroua
Authors:Kouega, Jean-PaulISNI
Baimada, François G.
Year:2012
Periodical:Journal of languages and culture (ISSN 2141-6540)
Volume:3
Issue:1
Pages:10-19
Language:English
Geographic term:Cameroon
Subjects:Islam
language usage
Arabic language
Fulfulde language
External link:http://www.academicjournals.org/JLC
Abstract:This paper examines language use and religion, paying special attention to the languages of religious practices and the factors that determine the choice of these languages in a given polity. The data are drawn from a series of Friday congregational prayers in the main Mosque of the city of Maroua, the headquarters of the Far North region of Cameroon, an area where the Islamic faith has a high concentration of worshippers. For lack of an appropriate sociolinguistic framework of analysis, the structural-functional approach proposed by Kouega (2008a) was used. Sketchily, this approach consists in segmenting a religious service into its constituent parts and checking what language is used in what part and for what purpose. The analysis of the data collected reveals that a Friday Prayer service is divided into some 15 parts and the dominant language used is Arabic. One other language cited, exclusively for sermons and announcements are Fulfulde, a widespread northern Cameroon lingua franca. The choice of these languages is determined by a variety of factors: Arabic is the liturgical language associated with Islam, while Fulfulde is the language of the Imam, that of the Muezzin and a vehicular language in the neighbourhood. [Journal abstract]
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