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7 - Exploring Hybridity in Ivorian French and Nouchi

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 August 2021

By
Akissi Béatrice Boutin
Edited by
Rajend Mesthrie ,
Ellen Hurst-Harosh  and
Heather Brookes
Rajend Mesthrie
Affiliation:
University of Cape Town
Ellen Hurst-Harosh
Affiliation:
University of Cape Town
Heather Brookes
Affiliation:
University of Cape Town
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Summary

Nouchi is studied from a formal point of view as hybrid or mixed speech. From a sociolinguistic point of view, it is seen as slang or youth language. Hybridity is interpreted as a symbol of the coming together of all the languages of Côte d’Ivoire, like a combination of all the ethnic groups of the nation itself. However, hybridity is mostly approached from a lexical point of view, wherein the authors attempt to analyse the heterogeneous lexicon of Nouchi. Regarding the lexicon, the big distinction with Ivorian French is the massive incorporation of words, or morphemes in the case of hybrid words, of the Niger–Congo languages of the Ivory Coast and others. The questions posed in this chapter are (1) whether Nouchi also employs hybridity in syntax, phonology or spelling; and (2) whether Ivorian French, which acts as the base language, is not already largely hybrid. My hypothesis is that a hybrid language like Nouchi emerges in a social context where the process of hybridisation has already begun by pooling various social resources to build a space welcoming diversity.

Keywords

linguistic hybridityIvorian FrenchNouchiFrançais Populaire Ivoirienyouth languagecultural diversitylanguage contactanalytical languageemphatic ideophones
Type
Chapter
Information
Youth Language Practices and Urban Language Contact in Africa , pp. 159 - 181
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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