The languages of the Mbuti tribe are Central Sudanic languages, which is a group of about 60 different languages, and the Bantu languages, which is composed of about 250 languages. The Pygmies (Mbuti) are known more for their use of the Central Sudanic language, as two of the 3 main groups of Mbuti use it, the Efé, for their use of the language called Lese, and the Asoa, who use their own language called Asoa which is related to Mangbetu, the language of one of their patrons. The third main group, the Kango, use the Bantu language Bila.
2009 The Pygmies of Africa Electronic document
http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/ethnoatlas/hmar/cult_dir/culture.7865
I feel that in the case of language, every culture has their own, very distinct feelings about the way they speak. The Mbuti have a very special conceptualization of sound and silence in the sense that they do not view silence and no sound, as they feel that the forest is always "talking", but in the sense of quiet, the absence of noise. Noise is conflict, and sound has spiritual and magical properties according to the Mbuti.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much you could have added in terms of language Sam. You can still do it for the final section, but this is so brief. I said a paragraph, but this could be done more comprehensive. It is interesting and important, but you can add more information. For the ethnographic post, you need references too, and for the reflection, why not use the material from class, from the video we watch in class. Great topic, and plenty of room for more here, and again, does not have to be tons of writing, just one or two paragraphs that have more information, including course content. Thanks
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