120. Speaking Duala & Abo

Speaking Tongues

Hello Language Lovers! Thank you for joining me for this episode of Speaking Tongues- the podcast in conversation with multilinguals. This week, I’m joined by Diane and Epée, architects and coauthors of The African Dwelling: From Traditional to Western Style Homes about their languages of Duala and Abo.

Diane and Epée are both polyglots with many languages spoken between them and this was an exciting conversation for me to hear them switch so effortlessly between several of them. In this episode Epée explains naming traditions in Duala and how he was given his names - and several other names he has been called throughout his life. We learn the similarities and differences between Duala and Abo which other language Abo has more in common with. We learn about the grammar of Duala and even how communication happens using the slit drum and whistles – and why these practices are fading. We learn about cultural celebrations taking place on a disappearing island, we explore Camfranglais and Cameroonian Pidgin and the beauty of the dynamic musical genre of Makossa. Stay tuned to hear about what happened with Diane met Manu Dibango and to get a lesson in Duala tonality at the end of this episode.

Big thank you to Diane and Epée for this conversation and for your work in documenting Duala language and African vernacular architecture. If you enjoy episodes of Speaking Tongues, don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review the Speaking Tongues Podcast on Apple Podcasts and like and subscribe on YouTube so that other language lovers like ourselves can find the show! If you’ve been a long time listener of the show or a recent listener, you can now pledge ongoing support for the show on Buy Me a Coffee dot com or on Patreon dot com. And as you know, I wrote a book! My food ‘zine of international language and cuisine, Taste Buds Vol 1. is available now for purchase! Check social media for the sneak peek inside of the book and make sure you purchase for yourself and your friends! Links to all platforms are below! Ok, Let’s chat!

To Purchase The African Dwelling: From Traditional to Western Style Homes

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/African-Dwelling-Traditional-Western-Style/dp/1476673802

McFarland Books: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-african-dwelling/

Find Diane on Medium here

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