Playing with Language: Three Language Games in the Gulf of Guinea

We present a description and an analysis of three related language games in Africa’s Gulf of Guinea: Fa d’Ambô’s Fa do Vesu, Lung’Ie’s Faa di Vesu, and São Tomé and Príncipe Portuguese’s P-language. We show how these language games can be used to investigate the linguistic features of their main languages and as learning resources for second language learners. First, we defend the common origin of these language games and that they emerged from contact with Portuguese settlers’ Língua do Pê’s varieties. Second, we discuss phonological issues, such as syllable structure, focusing on the loci of onglides, offglides, syllabic nasals, and word prosody. Finally, we discuss how these ludlings can help speakers, learners, and linguists perceive phonological properties as well as the contribution of describing and analyzing language games for language documentation. National Foreign Language Resource Center agostinho__araujo.pdf 16a.wav 16b.wav 16c.wav 16d.wav 16e.wav 16f.wav 16g.wav 4a Fa d'Ambô.wav 4a Lung'Ie.wav 4b Fa d'Ambô.wav 4b Lung'Ie.wav 5a.wav 5b.wav 5c.wav 5d.wav 5e.wav 5f.wav 5g.wav 5h.wav 5i.wav 5j.wav 8a.wav 8b.wav 8c.wav 8d.wav 8e.wav 8f.wav 8g.wav 8h.wav