#goundo

Let’s take a journey…

The heat of the Sahara Desert lays to the south but it is not where we find ourselves. There is no place for sand in the Sudanian Savanah which is covered in the light green of grasses and shrubs. Within these grasses thrives many different animals, including many species of birds, reptiles and large mammals. There are also a number of rivers which flow through leading their way to the north where they empty into Lake Chad.

We are in southern Chad and while there may be a great many animals populating this grassy region there is also many different people who speak a many different languages. One of these languages is Goundo. Extending from the Niger-Congo family of languages, Goundo is a fleeting language.

While Goundo is similar to Besmé and Kim, other languages spoken within the area, its people have ceased teaching it to the youth. With only 30 speakers remaining, all whom are in the later stages of life, the language is on its last legs. Because of the proximity to other languages younger people have switched over to either Kabalai or Nancere, more prominent languages in the area.

The language is on its last legs and it will soon join the many other languages that have fallen out of use, it is a sad tale and one we have seen many times. But if not this language it will be another.