Nouchi—the Making of a New Ivorian Language: An Interview with Mema Bamba

By Dr. Peter Vakunta

Q1- Peter Vakunta:  In your own words, how would you define Nouchi?  Is it a composite language, slang, or pidginized French?

A1-Mema Bamba: Nouchi is a vernacular language, nonstandard French of sorts, spoken predominantly by the urban youth in Côte d’Ivoire. Yes, it is also pidginized language, composed of formal French mixed with some local languages, the main ones being Dioula, Baoule, and Bete. Nouchi also borrows from foreign languages such as English, German and Spanish to expand and enrich its vocabulary. Beyond the linguistic aspect, Nouchi reflects the mixture of occidental cultures with local ones.  In a sense, Nouchi could be defined as a hybrid language.

Q2-Peter Vakunta:   What is the genesis of this linguistic revolution in Côte d’Ivoire? Put differently, what socio-cultural events led to the birth of Nouchi?

A2- Mema Bamba:

It would be difficult to pinpoint a specific socio-cultural movement leading to the birth of Nouchi. But, we can speculate that the language has evolved over the years since the time of colonization with the national population adding its personal twist to the language of the colonizers. Recent vestiges of Nouchi could be traced back to neighborhoods in Abidjan, such as Adjame, Abobo and Yopougon, but more specifically in the ghettoes of these places. The uneducated population utilizes Nouchi as a tool for daily communication, and also for business.  Given the complexity of formal French, and the illiteracy of the people, it is understandable why Nouchi has become a lingua franca in Côte d’Ivoire. This ‘false’ French enables the locals to better express their daily needs, experiences, imagination and sensibilities. They add a few words here and there to make up a lexicon that serves as a perfect tool for the interpretation of social realities. Initially, looked down by many, Nouchi has made its way up to the mainstream of social discourses. It has now been exported out of the slums and propagated through music with the advent of the musical genre called zouglou. Zouglou bands, usually from the slums constantly resort to Nouchi as a way to convey their messages. Pioneer musicians such as Yang system, Kassiri, or Gor La Montagne who were either gangsters or slum-dwellers made it very fashionable to sing in Nouchi. And gradually, Nouchi spread to other art forms, notably sitcoms, Ivorian Rap and comics. Today Nouchi is part and parcel of Ivorian cultural identity. Think of Nouchi and Zouglou as Ebonics and rap music and you would get a better idea of what this language is made of.

Q3- Peter Vakunta: Is Nouchi the only slang spoken by Ivorians, or one of many hybrid languages in Côte d’Ivoire?

A3-Mema Bamba: Nouchi is by far the main, if not the sole slang spoken by Ivorians. Other lingos exist but are barely known to the public given that they are spoken in smaller circles of friends, or are limited to specific geographic regions in the country. Hence, they tend to disappear with time. It might also be due to the fact that other slangs fail to catch up or compete with the ubiquitous Nouchi in the metropolis.

Q4- Peter Vakunta:  When Ivorians resort to Africanized French in discourses, is it a manifestation of extreme discomfort with standard French or an attempt to resist cultural imperialism?   

A4- Mema Bamba: Neither one of these cases! Africanized French is just French (presumably calqued on French as spoken in France) adapted to the reality of francophone Africans, which reflects their social and cultural identities. It is the same as Black English in America. African Americans do not resort to Ebonics as a sign of discomfort with Standard American English nor for anti-imperialistic reasons. Nouchi (let’s call it Ivorian French), though different from the French spoken by most Ivorians is more of a signature language, meaning that it is an adaptation of hexagonal French, defined and spoken by a specific group within the  population. It is a coded language that requires some insights into the socio-cultural aspects of social reality in Côte d’Ivoire to understand it. Even if one were to learn and master the vocabulary and grammar of Nouchi, it would still be a challenge to understand this language without a basic understanding of its socio-cultural context, including the sub-cultures that sustain it. At best, Nouchi translates the psychological mindset and mannerisms of its speakers. Note also that it is a language whose lexicon can change overnight following a major event or new trends within the population. An Ivorian who spends much time outside the country could be out of sync with Nouchi.  Things get even more complicated for complete strangers or novices to the language; the more so because some standard French words do not always best translate or explain reality that is unique to “nouchiphones”. Using standard French words to describe local reality often results in semantic loss.

Q5- Peter Vakunta:   Camfranglais, a Cameroonian slang akin to Nouchi, has been described by quite a few linguists and educational authorities in Cameroon as a threat to standard French. Is this the case with Nouchi in Côte d’Ivoire?

A5- Mema Bamba: It is most likely the same in Côte d’Ivoire, which is normal given that educational authorities would always frown upon any slang being used in an educational setting. But, again, we must not lose sight of the fact that city life is part of national culture in every country; it is part of the identity of the people who speak it. What makes Nouchi and other urban languages despised in educational settings is that, though they are fundamentally based on French, they do not comply with the basic rules (sentence structures, vocabulary and other grammatical rules) of the mother-language—French. So, they are perceived as rebel languages, and of course, being standard rule-breaking languages, linguists or teachers could see that as a threat, because this defies the norm.

Q6-Peter Vakunta: Has there been attempts to codify Nouchi in order to provide Nouchiphones with a uniform code for transcribing this emerging language into literature, news broadcasts and other forms of written communication?

A6-Mema Bamba: Nouchi is predominantly a spoken slang, but is gradually becoming a written language. It still has its limitations, given that its grammar and orthography are not yet standardized to be followed consistently and uniformly in a written form. In terms of a uniform code, www.nouchi.com, a website devoted to the promotion of Nouchi, is by far the prime entity pushing for this initiative. And again, the website is constantly updated with entries from users. There is no formal institution, nor entity that regulates the use of Nouchi, as you would see with the French Academy. www.nouchi.com is much like its American counterpart www.urbandictionary.com .

Most human languages contrary to machine or computer languages evolve from oral to written forms. Computer languages at the infancy stage might already have rigorous sets of rules; such is not the case for human languages. Before a language reaches the stage of formalization, it has to be adopted by a number of persons and survive over time. Nouchi is crossing the chasm and might have a uniform code for transcription soon rather than later.

Q7- Peter Vakunta:  Are there works of fiction written in Nouchi.  What particular challenges do these works constitute for readers not proficient in Nouchi?

 A7- Mema Bamba: Nouchi is an oral language. It has not evolved enough yet to find a presence in written literature. Given that it is more spoken than written it would be difficult to find a book, whether fiction or any other genre, written entirely in Nouchi. The few times you might find Nouchi in writing is between characters in works of fiction (novels, plays, etc) conversing in the lingo. In such a case the author would report the conversation verbatim. In other cases, some excerpts of writings could be in Nouchi, but less likely to be entirely in Nouchi. A work of literature written entirely in Nouchi would be challenging for readers not proficient in the language because of the socio-cultural knowledge needed to decode the message. A literal translation or knowledge of semantics might not be enough to comprehend such a dynamic and sociocultural language. You would not see any academic publication or newscasts in Nouchi. However, it is used abundantly in sitcoms, humoristic newspapers or cartoons like Gbich, an Ivorian comic strip. Written Nouchi is not easy to find in common literature (fiction, poems, plays), but one day that could be the case. Though I cannot think of a work of fiction, I know for sure about the case of music in Nouchi. Famous artists such as the band Garagistes or pop singer Soum Bill use Nouchi in their lyrics. Though outsiders can enjoy the melody and rhythm of their songs, it can be an uphill task to comprehend the lyrics.

Q8- Peter Vakunta:  How would you respond to a member of the Académie française who contends that Nouchiphones are bastardizing the language of Molière?  

Q8- Mema Bamba: Each language has its purpose and importance for its speakers. Nouchi might be colloquial and misjudged, but it surely serves it purpose. In a country with sixty (60) ethnic languages, Nouchi practically breaks the language barriers that divide the people, and gives them an option, somehow, of using a uniform language comprised of standard French and bits and pieces of their own native tongues. Moreover, most people speak Nouchi by choice, not because they are compelled to do so. For instance, students can choose to talk in academic French in classroom settings, but resort to Nouchi when conversing with friends out of the classroom. Whoever says that Nouchi bastardizes the language of Molière is ignorant of the linguistic realities of Africa. Such a person expects Nouchi to conform to the rules set by the Académie française. In other words, Nouchi should be a daughter-language to standard French, inheriting its orthographic and grammatical structures. This is not tenable because Nouchi expresses a reality distinct from French reality—African experience. The non-conformity of Nouchi in matters relating to rules of classic French does not make it an illegitimate, or a lesser language. Most romance languages, including French and Italian, evolved from Vulgar Latin (the everyday language, spoken by common people and tradesmen; casual language, so to speak)rather than classic Latin(used in writing more than for anything else; formal). I doubt that it would be correct to assert that these languages did damage to the quality of Latin. On another note, the linguistic value of Nouchi cannot and should not solely be measured by grammar or comparison to another language. I am sure many anthropologists and linguists would find it fascinating that Nouchi is a dynamic language that serves its speakers very well, whether they do it by choice or necessity.

Q9- Peter Vakunta:   Any final word for language purists who predict the demise of Nouchi, Français Moussa, etc.?

A9- Mema Bamba: Nouchi is a very buoyant language in Côte d’Ivoire? It has come to stay. It is part of the pop culture; an entity of our national identity. Predicting the death of Nouchi is wishful thinking. The language is very dynamic on the geo-temporal planes. Expressions in Nouchi vary depending on the location and time-frames of its speakers.

 

Q10- Peter Vakunta:  What follows is an excerpt written in Nouchi.

Q10- Mema Bamba: This excerpt is the transcription of an oral commercial in Nouchi

Pour tout les mogo qui veulent visiter la Côte d’Ivoire, le meilleur care du pays c’est Babi la belle. A Babi, il y a touts le kens pour t’enjailler à gogo.

Si tu vas à Babi, tu dois aller visiter les maquis pour te le gboli local.

The zegen est le plus o top. Zegen so quinze, poisson togo de l’eau glassée et ta journée est gagnée. Il faut gbo doucement pour le bon gout du gboli.

Il y a beaucoup d’enjaillement dans la jall. Me manque pas de te po avec les guistou du carre, pour guincher ou just écouter la zic du pays com le coupé décalé. En grand mot, enjoy Babi la Belle, et apprend un peu de Nouchi pendant que tu y est.

Translation:

To whoever wants to visit Ivory Coast, the best place in the country is Abidjan aka Babi the beautiful. There are all kinds outlets to get the most fun in Abidjan.

While you are in Abidjan, you have to visit the local restaurant to taste local food. Garba, a local dish made of fried fish eaten with some puree of manioc, is the favorite one out there. Get some garba for 75 CFA and some fish for 100 CFA with some fresh water and your day is made. Eat slowly to enjoy it to the fullest.

There is a lot of entertainment in Abidjan, you can catch up with friends in a bar or hang out in a club and dance to some great music such as coupé décalé. In sum, Abidjan is great; learn some Nouchi while you are there.

Interview compiled in collaboration with Armel Affechi Yapo, a friend of Mema Bamba living in Abidjan.  We are grateful for his help in refreshing our minds and guiding us to the current state of Nouchi.

 

References for further reading

http://www.postnewsline.com/2011/01/ivorian-nouchi-cousin-to-cameroonian-camfranglais.html

 

Comments

[J. S. Dinga]

Dear Dr.Vakunta, I admire your unrelenting patience and commitment to these new languages and alternative means of communication. Surely they serve a sub-population in carrying their wares to the market place.

But my worry is how far they will go before disappearing into thin air. I am acutely aware of the loss of a large part of African culture due mainly to the so-called "oral tradition" by which our ancestors depended on word of mouth to pass on their culture. It is this awareness that makes me wonder how far down the road these new hybrids will go. Esperanto rose like a meteorite in the 1960s, and then passed away. Today we have all sorts of Creoles - combition of mother-tongues with various former colonial languages such as patoi and French in Haiti, patoi plus portugues in Cape Verde, bantu plus arabic in East Africa, patoi plus English in Sierra Leone, Frananglais in Cameroon and the famous Ebonics you alluded to. If these means of communication are not codified and documented, what is their fate in a competitive market place of ideas?

I believe that the authors of such languages stand a better chance documenting them and if possible, associating words with some concrete invention or discovery that can enable them reach across to those in the other spheres of communication; otherwise they crumble like the oral traditons of the past. Will you contest this?
And by the way, may I have your coordinates (e-mail, telephone etc) please? Merci.

[PETER VAKUNTA]

Hi Mr.Dinga!
Thanks for your insightful comments on the interview. My email is [email protected]
Best...

[none]

Of what importance is this Peter? Some of you really have the time....

[ambergris]

Everything is worthy of study, notice, documentation, Mr and Mrs None.

[Bob Bristol]

At a time when the flames in Tunisia are till to die out, at a time when the gongs of celebration reveberates all over Egypt, at a time when the subjugated masses of the world yerns for a moral boost to ignite their push towards regime change, this is what our Doctors and Professors have to offer us: Ashutantang on the love or hatred of pets and Vakunta on the emergence of a new hybrid language.
We shall overcome.

[Va Boy]

Bob, Phd does not political courage or social justice purchase. Let us not be deceived by our seminal Phd, Bernard N Fonlon, who took on society's big issues with his pen. Getting over that dependency on any kind of authority figure and beginning to think and do for ourselves like free women, men and children is one of the vital steps towards being a free people.

What are you expecting from Vakunta, Ashuntangtang or Konde? Leadership? That is a tall order. A musician coming out with a compelling rhythm and power lyrics is more valuable right now than any of these. So please, be kind to the Phds as long as they are not creating propaganda for the man. I know some courageous and politically active Phds but for some reason they are not blogging here. Even during a struggle, people have to eat, drink, have sex and be entertained and informed and educated. These things are even more necessary for sanity than at normal times.

[Bob Bristol]

Va Boy, I feel compelled to tender an apology for Phds in my write up above. But note that they are literary figures in the field of Cameroon Literaure. This is not a time to have art for art's sake.This is not a time to use Ak 47 nor is it the time to use "town criers". It is a time to use the pens and the keyboards. It is a time to starve the body from the luxury of pleasure and heighten the anger that can push us to do the unexpected.

[Va Boy]

I hope Vakunta, Ashuntangtang and others are reading what you are saying here. They all shed tears when Bate Besong died. They need to do more than that. A lot of diaspora literati want to go back and forth from home without being picked out by the thugs of the regime. There are other professors who are wary of returning home, especially the bunch that openly support the Southern Cameroons cause. I am hoping that they make their work seen here as well.

[Va Boy]

Bob, you know somebody like Dibussi. I do not think he is a professor, but he has been very instrumental in keeping us informed and keeping the discussion at a higher and more level than what you described as the town criers. He is a treasure that these Phds and DSc people can emulate. I know I am not Dibussi, because it is not beneath me to get into the gutter with the worst of them, but he rubs off.

[Air Jordan Boss Boot]

When his weapons win he is defeated himself.

[Air Jordan Boss Boot]

When his weapons win he is defeated himself.