Babanki literacy classes and community-based language research

International audienceMost of the linguistic work on Babanki, a Central Ring Grassfields Bantu language of Northwest Cameroon has been for the scientific world and not directly beneficial to the community. Such work on the language include Hyman (1979, 1980), Menang (1981, 1983), Tamanji (1987), Phubon (1999, 2002, 2007, 2014), Brye (2001), Mutaka and Phubon (2006), Akumbu (1999, 2008, 2009, 2011), and Akumbu and Chibaka (2012). Community participation in the above projects has been limited to providing information while the linguists have analyzed and published the findings. Efforts to give back research products to the community have met several obstacles including the lack of interest in reading and unavailability of electricity. This study draws from experiences in recent language documentation projects on Babanki (Akumbu 2013, 2014) and argues that in addition to using modern information and communication devices where possible, literacy classes present the best opportunities for the Babanki community to utilize research products