RESEARCH PROPORSAL FOR THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON THE ETHNO-LINGUISTIC TRANSFORMATION OF SOME GAMBIAN FAMILIES

RESEARCH PROPORSAL FOR THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION ON THE ETHNO-LINGUISTIC TRANSFORMATION OF SOME GAMBIAN FAMILIES

Introduction

Ethnicity is a sense of ethnic uniqueness which entails the subjective or symbolic use by a group of people of any aspect of culture in order to differentiate themselves from other groups. [1] Ethnic groups are, therefore identified on the basis of cultural differences such as language, attitude toward marriage and parenting, food habits, and so forth. Ethnic groups are recognized based on their distinctive traits which usually originate from the “homeland”; the prominent in the Gambian societies being language. The other important symbol of ethnic identity in the Gambian societies is the family name which is due to the fact that surname is usually used as an indicator of ethnic background.[2] Surnames are used in the Gambian societies for ethnic identification because they are indicators of parentage and place of origin.

As migration is not merely a relocation of people but is a process which modifies the area of origin, the area of destination and the way of life of the migrant[3], many families in the Gambia experienced transformation of their ethno-linguistic identity due to migration. Ethnic identity is assumed to change depending on social context and is strongly activated by migration across culture. Migration of peoples into the present day Gambia has been going on for centuries, the detail of which is beyond the scope of this study, but the ethno-linguistic transformation of the Gambian families is related to this process of migration. This is due to the liberal outlook of the Gambian societies and their capacity to take within their fold people of varying cultural and linguistic hues. The most significant manifestation of this is the spread of the surname across different ethno-linguistic groups.

The Research Objective and methodology

Scholarship on the ethno-linguistic transformation of families in the Gambia is largely absent due to lack of research concerning the ethno-linguistic transformation of families in the Gambia. This constitutes a gap in our understanding of the Gambian society. Through case studies on the transformation of different families, this research aims at improving our understanding of the fact that the Gambia is a “melting pot” of ethno-linguistic groups and thus encourages the appreciation of our diversity in unity. Through the case studies of different families, this research will demonstrate that ethnic differences in the Gambia should not be a source of discord as the same families are spread among different ethno-linguistic groups.

In order to establish the relationship between people of the same surname found in different ethno-linguistic groups, case studies will be conducted concurrently on the Njies of Kolli Kunda in Kiang West, Jobes of Karantaba in Jarra west, and Jammehs of Bakau. Field work will be carried out at the places of study through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews about families’ history and place of origin. Some of the research questions will include among others, what are reasons for the migration of their forebears? How did changes in the ethno-linguistic identities occurred? What are the effects of these changes? To what extent did the transformed families maintained links with their siblings at their place of origin? How are they perceived by their siblings at their place of origin? Etc

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[1] De-Vos G, Romanucci-Rose L(1975): Ethnic Identity: Cultural Continuities and Chance, May Field Population Company, Palo Alto California

[2] Waters MC, (1989): The everyday use of surname to determine ethnic ancestry, Qualitative Sociology, volume 12, issue 3, pp. 303-324

[3] Beaujeu-Garnier, J. (1966) cited in Chandna (2008): Geography of Population Concept Determinants and Patterns, Kalyani Publishers, New Delhi