Changing language, remaining pygmy |
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Authors: | Bahuchet Serge |
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Institution: | Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Unité de recherche éco-anthropologie et ethnobiologie (UMR 7206 MNHN-CNRS-Université Paris Diderot) CP 135, 57 Rue Cuvier, 75,005 Paris, France. bahuchet@mnhn.fr |
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Abstract: | In this article I am illustrating the linguistic diversity of African Pygmy populations in order to better address their anthropological diversity and history. I am also introducing a new method, based on the analysis of specialized vocabulary, to reconstruct the substratum of some languages they speak. I show that Pygmy identity is not based on their languages, which have often been borrowed from neighboring non-Pygmy farmer communities with whom each Pygmy group is linked. Understanding the nature of this partnership, quite variable in history, is essential to addressing Pygmy languages, identity, and history. Finally, I show that only a multidisciplinary approach is likely to push forward the understanding of African Pygmy societies as genetic, archeological, anthropological, and ethnological evidence suggest. |
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