Language Vitality of Spanish in Equatorial Guinea

Language Use and Attitudes

Bibliographic Data

ID20249384
AuthorsGrace A Gomashie (0000-0002-5823-8199, Western University, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume8
Issue1
Pages33
Publication date2019-02-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueHumanities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2076-0787 • E-ISSN: 2076-0787
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/h8010033
OpenAlexW2915296519
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited16

This study investigates the use of and attitudes towards, Spanish in the multilingual Republic of Equatorial Guinea, the only African country with Spanish as an official language. The Spanish dialect of Equatorial Guinea is an understudied area, although descriptive research on the Spanish language spoken there began in the 1950s. Very few research studies have been carried out on the sociolinguistic dynamic of this multilingual country. Four scales of language vitality were utilized and it was demonstrated that Spanish in Equatorial Guinea is not endangered and continues to thrive. An online survey was also performed to assess Spanish language use and attitudes towards the Equatoguinean variety of Spanish. Respondents were highly educated, middle-class and spoke at least two languages. It was observed that Spanish was the functional language in almost all the sociocultural contexts or domains. Equatorial Guineans share that Spanish is important to their identity as the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa

Art · Ethnology · Geography · Language shift · Linguistics · New guinea · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · Vitality · Anthropology · Computer Science · Hispanic-African Historical Relations · History · Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology