Eegimaa Linguistic Data

Sagna, Serge (2018). Eegimaa Linguistic Data. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Archive. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-852158

The goal of this project is to contribute to research in cognitive sciences by investigating the categorisation of actions, events and states in Gujjolaay Eegimaa, a language spoken in southern Senegal. Research in Cognitive Psychology (eg Rosch 1978) and Cognitive Linguistics (eg Lakoff 1987) has shown that categorisation is a mental process by which humans organise entities and their experience. Such mental categorisation is reflected in some languages by grouping nouns (names of entities) into classes. This research aims at showing that Eegimaa also has unusual strategies for categorising actions, event and states in speakers’ lives, by grouping nonfinite verbs (the equivalent of English infinitives) into classes. To investigate the categorisation strategies with verbs and their correlations with noun categorisations in Eegimaa, Serge will carry out fieldwork during which he will collaborate with speakers to collect data through experiments, elicitation (asking questions to speakers), participant observation, and by examining language material from dirge songs, narratives and conversations. Serge will also use material from his research to produce manuals on health issues to contribute to the on-going literacy programme, and translate school material for children, to contribute to the revitalisation of the Eegimaa language.

Data description (abstract)

This is a collection of interlinearised grammatical data in Gújjolaay Eegimaa, an endangered language of the Atlantic family spoken by some 10,000 speakers who originate from a former kingdom of ten villages called Mof-Ávvi. Mof-Ávvi is located West/Southwest of Ziguinchor in the South of Senegal . The data archived here are a selection of transcribed and interlinearised text with translation and explanations in some place. Most of the data in the archive were collected during several fieldwork trips in the villages of Mof-Ávvi for the project 'Verb classification in Gújjolaay Eegimaa funded by the ESRC under the Future Research Leaders Scheme.

Data creators:

Creator Name	Affiliation	ORCID (as URL)
Sagna Serge	University of Surrey

Sponsors:

Economic and Social Research Council

Grant reference:

ES/K001922/1

Topic classification:

Education

Keywords:

linguistic analysis, linguistics, Grammatical description, Niger-Congo, Senegal, Gújjolaay Eegimaa, Jóola/Diola, Atlantic languages, African linguistics, Verb classification

Project title:

Verb classification in Gjjolaay Eegimaa (Atlantic; Niger-Congo)

Grant holders:

Serge Sagna

Project dates: