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11 Côte d’Ivoire

  • Akissi Béatrice Boutin
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Manual of Romance Languages in Africa
This chapter is in the book Manual of Romance Languages in Africa

Abstract

The French spoken in Côte d’Ivoire has taken on a certain autonomy from the international standard of French. This current movement is determined by several factors, including historical and current contacts with Ivorian languages, the early diffusion of French outside formal places, and the appropriation of French by the entire population in the postcolonial period. This led first to the emergence of a national reference variety in the process of becoming the Ivorian standard, then to the appearance of Nouchi as the language of young people, and finally to its rapid expansion in society as a new mixed urban language. In this chapter, we approach the history and the sociolinguistic context of the evolution of French in this country, not to show its singularity, as this evolution could well occur in other African countries too.

Abstract

The French spoken in Côte d’Ivoire has taken on a certain autonomy from the international standard of French. This current movement is determined by several factors, including historical and current contacts with Ivorian languages, the early diffusion of French outside formal places, and the appropriation of French by the entire population in the postcolonial period. This led first to the emergence of a national reference variety in the process of becoming the Ivorian standard, then to the appearance of Nouchi as the language of young people, and finally to its rapid expansion in society as a new mixed urban language. In this chapter, we approach the history and the sociolinguistic context of the evolution of French in this country, not to show its singularity, as this evolution could well occur in other African countries too.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Manuals of Romance Linguistics V
  3. Table of Contents VII
  4. 1 Introduction 1
  5. Northern Africa
  6. French
  7. 2 Algeria 23
  8. 3 Morocco 43
  9. 4 Tunisia 71
  10. Italian
  11. 5 Libya 85
  12. Portuguese
  13. 6 Portugal: Madeira 95
  14. Spanish
  15. 7 Spain: Canary Islands 115
  16. 8 Spain: Ceuta and Melilla 147
  17. Western Africa
  18. French
  19. 9 Benin 169
  20. 10 Burkina Faso 193
  21. 11 Côte d’Ivoire 221
  22. 12 Guinea 241
  23. 13 Mali 265
  24. 14 Mauritania 289
  25. 15 Niger 319
  26. 16 Senegal 337
  27. 17 Togo 391
  28. Portuguese
  29. 18 Cabo Verde 413
  30. 19 Guinea-Bissau 447
  31. Middle Africa
  32. French
  33. 20 Cameroon 469
  34. 21 Central African Republic 483
  35. 22 Chad 497
  36. 23 Congo-Brazzaville 507
  37. 24 Congo-Kinshasa 537
  38. 25 Gabon 551
  39. Portuguese
  40. 26 Angola 579
  41. 27 São Tomé and Príncipe 609
  42. Spanish
  43. 28 Equatorial Guinea 625
  44. Eastern Africa
  45. French
  46. 29 Burundi and Rwanda 643
  47. 30 Djibouti 669
  48. 31 France: Réunion and Mayotte 691
  49. 32 Madagascar and Comoros 717
  50. 33 Mauritius and Seychelles 753
  51. Italian
  52. 34 Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia 783
  53. Portuguese
  54. 35 Mozambique 809
  55. Overview
  56. Country Key Facts
  57. 36 Country Key Facts 827
  58. Language Index 841
  59. Linguistic Subject Index 849
  60. General Subject Index 855
  61. Person Index 867
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110628869-011

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Manuals of Romance Linguistics V
  3. Table of Contents VII
  4. 1 Introduction 1
  5. Northern Africa
  6. French
  7. 2 Algeria 23
  8. 3 Morocco 43
  9. 4 Tunisia 71
  10. Italian
  11. 5 Libya 85
  12. Portuguese
  13. 6 Portugal: Madeira 95
  14. Spanish
  15. 7 Spain: Canary Islands 115
  16. 8 Spain: Ceuta and Melilla 147
  17. Western Africa
  18. French
  19. 9 Benin 169
  20. 10 Burkina Faso 193
  21. 11 Côte d’Ivoire 221
  22. 12 Guinea 241
  23. 13 Mali 265
  24. 14 Mauritania 289
  25. 15 Niger 319
  26. 16 Senegal 337
  27. 17 Togo 391
  28. Portuguese
  29. 18 Cabo Verde 413
  30. 19 Guinea-Bissau 447
  31. Middle Africa
  32. French
  33. 20 Cameroon 469
  34. 21 Central African Republic 483
  35. 22 Chad 497
  36. 23 Congo-Brazzaville 507
  37. 24 Congo-Kinshasa 537
  38. 25 Gabon 551
  39. Portuguese
  40. 26 Angola 579
  41. 27 São Tomé and Príncipe 609
  42. Spanish
  43. 28 Equatorial Guinea 625
  44. Eastern Africa
  45. French
  46. 29 Burundi and Rwanda 643
  47. 30 Djibouti 669
  48. 31 France: Réunion and Mayotte 691
  49. 32 Madagascar and Comoros 717
  50. 33 Mauritius and Seychelles 753
  51. Italian
  52. 34 Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia 783
  53. Portuguese
  54. 35 Mozambique 809
  55. Overview
  56. Country Key Facts
  57. 36 Country Key Facts 827
  58. Language Index 841
  59. Linguistic Subject Index 849
  60. General Subject Index 855
  61. Person Index 867
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