Abdulai Bendu interview slc0001_BenduInterview Documenting the Sherbro Language and Culture

Abdulai was interviewed about his background and growing up - the first interview of the project A three-year project 2016-19 documenting the Sherbro / Bolom language and culture of Sierra Leone. Our first recording! I interviewed Abdulai in English and he responded in Bolom – after the introductory bits, he related the story of his life, all in about five minutes – I noticed a fair amount of English inside, especially connectives like “so” and “because”. The room had some bare walls, so there might have been some echoing – otherwise the recording was fine. He was a sickly child and was sent away to Freetown for early treatment but returned to the farm to help his father every year. His father is a prosperous farmer and madrasa instructor who has been asked to run for political office but has refused every time. Abdulai did not get enough passes to be admitted to university but has since made up all but the English one. Research assistant to the Sherbro project (slc). PI