Varieties of English
With such a diversity of languages, the variety of English any Congolese person may speak is dependent on which languages were first learned. Because most people are either fluent in French or Lingala or both, this will be the main focus of the phonological and lexical distinctions discussed here.
Phonological Differences
Lingala Consonant Phonemes
Lingala has most of the phonemes that exist in English, but it does not have glottal stops[ʔ],[h], interdental fricatives [θ], [ð], and glides [w], [y], or [r]. |
French Consonant Phonemes
French and English share most consonants, except the interdental fricatives [θ] and [ð], and the glottals [ʔ] and [h]. |
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Examples of Phonological Differences
A native Lingala or native French speaker might have difficulty with the pronunciation of certain consonants in English, or replace those sounds with other consonants with similar places of articulation. For example, the interdental fricatives [θ] and [ð] might be pronounced as [t] and [d], respectively. We see this in Joseph Kabila's address on Zimbabwe (left), where he frequently replaces the [ð] with [d] in words like "the"and "that," as well as the replacing of [θ] for [t] in "think" (Associated Press Archive, 2009). Because of the lack of familiarity of certain glottal sounds, a native speaker of Lingala and/or French in the Congo might delete the initial voiceless glottal fricative in English words. This could cause an English word like "hat" [hæt] to be pronounced [æt]. We see this phonological difference when Kabila (left) says "hand" as [ænd] (AP Archive, 2009). |
Lingala and French Vowel Phonemes
Neither French nor Lingala have two high vowels: [ʊ] and [ɪ]. These sounds both often revert to the vowel nearest in place of articulation and/or tongue height. Often, [ʊ] in a word like "put" [pʊt] becomes [u] in the DR Congo dialect of English.
Neither French nor Lingala have two high vowels: [ʊ] and [ɪ]. These sounds both often revert to the vowel nearest in place of articulation and/or tongue height. Often, [ʊ] in a word like "put" [pʊt] becomes [u] in the DR Congo dialect of English.
Lexical Differences
Word Formation
The process of coining words is common in any variety of English, especially by the process of combining two English words. For example the word for wild game in Congolese English and other West African languages is "bushmeat." This word comes from "compounding, where a local concept is compounded from [two or more] English items" (Jenkins, 2015. pp. 33).
The process of coining words is common in any variety of English, especially by the process of combining two English words. For example the word for wild game in Congolese English and other West African languages is "bushmeat." This word comes from "compounding, where a local concept is compounded from [two or more] English items" (Jenkins, 2015. pp. 33).
Integration of English Lexicon
The use of many English words in the native and official languages of DR Congo can often be seen in signage and postings about technology. In the sign photographed in Kinshasa (right), the sign advertises "internet", "photocopies," and "scanner" (Stanton, 2014). These additions to the language from English exist as a result of the technology created and introduced around the world.
In other instances, English borrowings into Lingala can be slightly modified but are still identifiable borrowings from English.
Ex: The word for milk in Lingala is "miliki". Similarly, soup is "supou" and book is "búku" (Jenkins, 2015. pp. 11).
The use of many English words in the native and official languages of DR Congo can often be seen in signage and postings about technology. In the sign photographed in Kinshasa (right), the sign advertises "internet", "photocopies," and "scanner" (Stanton, 2014). These additions to the language from English exist as a result of the technology created and introduced around the world.
In other instances, English borrowings into Lingala can be slightly modified but are still identifiable borrowings from English.
Ex: The word for milk in Lingala is "miliki". Similarly, soup is "supou" and book is "búku" (Jenkins, 2015. pp. 11).