S OCIOLINGUISTICS URVEYR EPORT FOR THEK USAAL L ANGUAGE

SOCIOLINGUISTIC SURVEY REPORT
FOR THE KUSAAL LANGUAGE

W RITTEN BY: JOHN BERTHELETTE

SIL International
2001

2

Contents
0 Introduction and Goals of the Survey
1 General Information
1.1 Language Classification
1.1.1 Language Location
1.1.2 Description of Location
1.2 Population
1.3 Accessibility and Transport
1.3.1 Roads: Quality and Availability
1.3.2 Public Transport Systems
1.3.3 Trails

1.4 Religious Adherence
1.4.1 Spiritual Life
1.4.2 Catholic Activity
1.4.3 Protestant Activity
1.4.4 Language Use Parameters Within Church Services
1.5 Schools/Education
1.5.1 Types, Sites, and Size
1.5.2 Attitude toward the Vernacular in Public Schools
1.6 Facilities and Economics
1.6.1 Supply Needs
1.6.2 Medical Needs
1.6.3 Occupations and Commercial Ventures
1.7 Traditional Culture
1.7.1 Social and Religious Practices
1.7.2 Attitude toward Culture
1.8 Linguistic Work in the Language Area
1.8.1 Materials Published in the Language
1.8.2 History of Literacy in the Agole and Tonde
1.8.3 Suitability of Existing Written Materials in the Tonde Dialect Area
2 Methodology

2.1 Sampling
2.2 Lexicostatistic Survey
2.3 Dialect Intelligibility Survey
2.4 Questionnaires
3 Comprehension and Lexicostatistical Data (between villages)
3.1 Reported Dialect Groupings: Results from Questionnaires and
Interviews
3.2 Results of the Recorded Text Tests
3.3 Lexical Similarity Results: Percentages of Apparent Cognates
3.4 Summary
4 Multilingual Issues
4.1 Language Use Description
4.1.1 Children's Language Use

3
4.1.2 Adults’ Language Use
4.2 Language Attitudes as Reported
5 Recommendations with Regards to a Language/Literacy Project
Appendix
1

Population Data
2
Questionnaire Responses
3
A Word List of Kusaal Dialects
Bibliography
1
References
2
Other Materials about Kusaal
3
Materials Published in Kusaal
4
Contacts for Further Information

4

The Kusaal Survey Report
0 Introduction and Goals of the Survey
This report deals with the findings of a survey carried out by Carol and John

Berthelette and Sonja Anderhalden among the Kusaal language group in April 1996.
The Burkina Faso administration of the Société Internationale de Linguistique has
for a number of years considered Kusaal's western dialect (known as tonde)1 a
definite candidate for language development, despite Kusaal's eastern dialect
(known as agole) already having been developed in Ghana. The survey had as its
goal to gather certain information on the Kusaal ethnic group, such as:
♦ finding out more about their geographic and demographic setting;
♦ determining the inherent intelligibility between the agole and tonde dialects as
well as insights into the attitudes of tonde (western) speakers towards agole
(eastern);
♦ discovering their attitudes toward their own language variety, the vitality of the
language, and the presence of other dialects.
1 General Information
1.1 Language Classification
Kusaal falls under the following classification: “Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo,
Volta-Congo, North, Gur, Central, Northern, Oti-Volta, Western, Southeast, Kusaal”
(Grimes 1992:175). In the Ethnologue, a book published by the Summer Institute of
Linguistics including information on all of the known languages of the world, its code
is “KNU”. The language is most closely related to Dagbani and Mampruli (Naden
1989:145), but is also closely related to Frafra (also known by the names Ninkaré or

Gurenne) and Mooré. According to Prost, the similarity to Mooré is great, much
more similar to Mooré than is Dagaara (Prost 1979:2).
1.1.1 Language Location
The Burkina Faso Kusaal region is located in the country's southeastern
corner, in the province of Boulgou. However, the great majority of the Kusasi (the
name given to the speakers of the language) are found in northeastern Ghana. In
Burkina Faso, the neighboring language to the west is Ninkarsé (a related dialect of
Frafra); and to the north and east the Bissa. In Ghana, the Kusaal ethnic group is
located in the Upper East district, and north of the Gambaga Scarp (Spratt 1968:1).
The Kusasi's neighboring languages to the west are the Frafra, Nabdem, and
Talensi; to the south is the Mamprusi; and to the east are the Bimoba and Moba.
The Kusaal language area in Burkina Faso is roughly 700 km2, while in Ghana it is
approximately 3,300 km2. See the map in figure 1.1.2.1 for further details.

1Père

Mélançon referred to the dialect as “twen”. In later research, A. Prost found that
his informants had not heard of the term; he concluded that they felt that they were the true
Kusasi, and thus did not have a dialect name (Prost 1979:1).

5
1.1.2 Description of Location
In Burkina Faso, the Kusasi people are found to the south and east of the
central (Mossi) plateau. The area is somewhat hilly, and the general impression is
that farmlands in the region are only fair. Laclavère, in his atlas of Burkina Faso,
places the Kusaal in the range of the tree- vs. bush-marked areas of the country
(Laclavère 1993:18), although this area may have certain patches of rather dense
“dry” wooded areas. Regarding rainfall, the Kusaal area averages between 900 and
1,000 mm annually (Laclavère 1993:16).
The farmland in Ghana appears to be somewhat better, and to be sure, has a
slightly higher annual rainfall. What is most striking about the Ghanaian region is
that the White (Nakanbé) and Red (Nazinon) Volta Rivers pass through it, the White
Volta being in general the boundary between the tonde and agole regions.
Figure 1.1.2.1
Map of the Kusaal Region

6
1.2 Population
To our knowledge, there are 15 Kusasi villages in Burkina Faso, all of which
are located in Boulgou Province's Zabré and Zoaga Departments. Simply

calculating the Burkina Kusasi population according to the 1985 Burkina census
(INSD 1991), and assuming a 2.68% population growth rate (Laclavère 1993:24),
one arrives at a rounded figure of 17,000. It is extremely doubtful, however, that all
of the Kusasi villages are made up only of Kusaal speakers: at the villages visited,
we learned of the presence of members of neighboring people groups. Therefore,
the total Kusasi-speaking population probably does not exceed 16,000. See table
1.1 in the appendix for a list of known Kusaal-speaking villages in Burkina Faso and
their populations, as listed in the 1985 Burkina Faso Census Report.
The great majority of the Ghanaian Kusasi live in the Upper East Region.
Nevertheless, we have two unresolved problems with the statistics available to us.
We are forced to assume first that the White Volta River functions as the general
boundary throughout the Ghanaian Kusaal territory; and are forced to use
population statistics which date from 1988. What is more reliable in these statistics
is the more precise breakdown of ethnic groups for each locality. Thus, we calculate
there were approximately 245,000 Kusasi in the Bawku Administrative District
(Ghana Evangelism Committee 1988:4/1–4/30). In the Upper East Region, there is
an estimated 3.09% growth rate (Adams 1993:105), which would put the Kusasi
current population at least 353,000. It would seem that around 72% of the total
Kusasi population in Ghana are agole speakers. Table 1.2.1 contains a summary of
the population statistics. See table 1.2 in the appendix for a list of Kusaal-speaking

villages in Ghana and their populations.
Table 1.2.1
Population Estimates for the Kusasi

Eastern Kusasi (agole) in Ghana
Western Kusasi (tonde) in Ghana
Western Kusasi (tonde) in Burkina
Faso
Total Western Kusasi (tonde)
Totals

2Projected

Burkina Faso.

Percent of
Total
Kusasi
Population
71.6%

Population from
the mid 1980s

Projected 1997
Population2

184,671

253,646

60,686
12,463

83,353
17,118

23.5%
4.8%

73,149

100,471

28.4%

330,969

454,588

1997 population with a growth rate of 3.09% in Ghana and 2.68% in

7
1.3 Accessibility and Transport
1.3.1 Roads: Quality and Availability
In Burkina Faso, travel into the general Kusaal-speaking area is possible via
Route 12 (from Zabré). In Ghana, access is provided mainly through the east/west
Bolgatenga/Bawku and north/south Nakpanduri/Bawku roads. All of these roads
appear to be fairly well-maintained. However, direct travel between the majority of
Kusaal villages—which are a distance from main roads—can be difficult for a car or

truck, as the interior roads are not always regraded each year. Aside from the
villages located close to the major roads, travel within the area by 4-wheel vehicles
is limited, especially during the wet season.
1.3.2 Public Transport Systems
Bush taxis are rare along Route 12 between Burkina Faso and Ghana. There
is, however, fairly easy transportation along the Bolgatenga/Bawku road in Ghana,
providing a good possibility for contact between the agole and tonde regions.
1.3.3 Trails
Trails join many of those villages not near the major roads. A trail, for example,
exists from Youngou (Burkina Faso) to Bawku (Ghana), 25 kilometers away. These
trails are mainly used for those on foot and on bicycle. 4-wheel vehicles often have
quite a difficult time on these trails.
1.4 Religious Adherence
1.4.1 Spiritual Life
In both Burkina Faso and Ghana, the traditional religion continues to have a
very strong influence among the Kusasi. In both Youga and Binaba, respondents to
our questionnaires affirm that followers of the traditional religion are more numerous
than both Christians and Muslims. We must also presume that among Christians
and Muslims, there are those who continue to practice the traditional ancestral
devotion and sacrifices. More quantitative estimates are available for Ghana.
According to the Ghana Evangelism Committee's statistics for the Upper East and
West Districts, 73% of the population still practice the traditional religion (Adams
1993:103).
In Burkina Faso, the Kusasi have only begun to adopt Islam in the middle part
of this century, according to the Catholic catechist in Youga. They are a quite small
minority, numerically a much smaller group than both followers of traditional
religions and Christians. Among the statistics for the Ghana Kusaal area, the Ghana
Evangelism Committee estimates that in the Upper East and Upper West Districts,
13% of the population is Muslim, although it is unclear what proportion of these are
Kusasi (Adams 1993:90). See table 1.4 in the appendix for a list of Ghanaian
villages with mosques in the Kusaal region.

8
1.4.2 Catholic Activity
The Roman Catholic Church has been in the region for a number of years. Yet
in Burkina Faso, there are only three villages with a Roman Catholic chapel, and in
Ghana approximately 30 (out of 260 villages). There is thus not a great amount of
Roman Catholic influence among the Kusasi. See table 1.3 in the appendix for a list
of Roman Catholic Churches among the Kusasi in Burkina Faso, and table 1.4 for a
list of those in Ghana.
1.4.3 Protestant Activity
We know of Protestant congregations in Bingo, Bougouré, Youga, Zama, and
Zoaga, as well as in Youngou, where there is a Kusasi minority.
In Ghana, a large number of denominations work among the Kusasi. See table
1.3 in the appendix for a list of Protestant churches among the Kusasi in Burkina
Faso, and table 1.4 for a list of those in Ghana.
1.4.4 Language Use Parameters Within Church Services
Among both the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches in Burkina Faso,
Mooré and Kusaal are both used during the services. In the case of the Roman
Catholic and Assemblies of God congregations at Youga, Mooré is used for the
reading of the Scripture portions, for prayer and for some singing. As for the
Assemblies of God congregation in Bingo, Kusaal plays a more central role.
Regarding the situation in Ghana, we do not have information on language use.
1.5 Schools/Education
1.5.1 Types, Sites, and Size
While there are encouraging signs in the area of primary education
nationwide, it is available to a somewhat limited number of Burkina Faso Kusasi
children. Of the 15 Kusaal villages in the southern area, only 4 have primary
schools. While other areas of Burkina Faso have had many schools opened since
1980, there has been only one opened in the Kusaal region. According to MEBAM
statistics of 1994–1995, 37.3% of Boulgou Province's boys attended school, while
only 24.6% of girls attended.3 See table 1.5 in the appendix for a list of primary
schools in Kusaal-speaking villages in these provinces.
In primary education, a great deal remains to be done in Burkina Faso both in
encouraging the attendance of girls as well as in increasing the number of places for
children. As is the case throughout the country, middle and high schools are much
less common. The closest middle and high schools for Kusasi children are in Zabré.

3Boulgou

Province lies on the lower end of the scale if one is to compare their rate of
scolarisation with that of the other provinces of Burkina. While their rate of scolarisation is
double that of Gnagna Province's 11%, for example, it is much lower than Kadiogo's 80%,
and even neighboring Nahouri's 40%.

9
In the Kusaal region of Ghana, the primary education situation appears
somewhat more encouraging. Just over 100 of the 260 villages/towns have primary
schools, and some of these towns have more than one. It appears as well that
Ghanaian students have greater opportunities to attend junior secondary school
than do Burkina Faso students leaving CM2, judging from the responses of school
teachers in Binaba.
Concerning adult literacy in Kusaal, none is carried out in Burkina Faso. The
organization Pag-La-Yiri is involved in literacy in the Kusaal area, and its classes
are in Mooré. Despite the use of Mooré in these centers, the program's coordinator
in the department of Zabré, Molle Sarato Gouba, states that the program has had
good response. Seven Kusaal villages were known to have Initial Literacy classes
and 4 have classes in Advanced Literacy. Two-thirds of those enrolled are women,
and of those enrolled, 75% pass (Gouba 1996, personal conversation). The Pag-LaYiri program is not necessarily tied to Mooré, however. Again according to the
Director, if there were teaching guides, primers, and post-literacy materials, Pag-LaYiri would be very willing to help in Kusaal literacy.
Across the border, it appears that various agencies are involved in literacy in
the vernacular. As we shall see later, at least some villages carry out a period of
primary education in Kusaal. Furthermore, at least two organizations carry out adult
literacy. It appears that the Bawku East District's Non-formal Educational Program
has had a fair amount of success. In the West District, the organization Action Aid
has been involved in adult literacy. In carrying out their program, Action Aid
concluded that materials should be developed in tonde; that decision has had much
influence in the Kusaal literacy scene. In summary, the Ghana Institute of
Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translations (GILLBT) reported in 1996 that there
were 120 teachers of Kusaal in two levels, Basic and Advanced, with over 3670
students enrolled (GILLBT 1996).
1.5.2 Attitude toward the Vernacular in Public Schools
As is the case elsewhere in Burkina Faso, schoolmasters in the public school
system do not use the vernacular in their classes; French is the language of
instruction. Only with the very beginning students will teachers use Kusaal,
according to a teacher in Bingo.
In Ghana, however, at least certain villages and perhaps many, conduct
beginning primary education in the vernacular, in what is apparently a similar
program to the recently developed Ecoles Satellites program in Burkina Faso.
1.6 Facilities and Economics
1.6.1 Supply Needs
Within the Burkina Faso Kusaal-speaking region, major markets are at Burkina
Faso's Bougouré (tonde) and Zabré (Bissa-speaking), as well as in Ghana's towns
of Zebilla (tonde region) and Bawku (agole region). Residents of Youga, located in
the region's eastern zone, state that they go to market in Bawku at least 3 or 4 times

10
per month, despite the fact that Bawku is 25 km away. Bingo residents go to market
in Zebilla.
Access to these market towns is quite easy for those on two-wheel
transportation. As for villages further from major roads, we can only assume that
they become very difficult to reach, especially in the wet season.
1.6.2 Medical Needs
Pharmacies are located in the larger towns, such as Mong Naba and Youga.
The closest hospital is in Zabré, a Bissa town.
1.6.3 Occupations and Commercial Ventures
There are very few Kusasi who are not farmers; for the most part, extra income
comes only from selling any cash crops (such as cotton) which one may have
planted. Very few villagers have work on the side.
1.7 Traditional Culture
1.7.1 Social and Religious Practices
There are certain cultural differences between the agole and tonde Kusasi,
examples cited being the number of days for the celebration of a funeral ceremony
and traditional dances (Abenim 1996, personal conversation). Marriages are
permitted between agole and tonde speakers, as well as with Mossis and Bissa.
Comparing the Kusasi with other ethnic groups, Robert and Nancy Schaefer believe
the former are rather decentralized (Schaefer 1996, personal conversation).
1.7.2 Attitude toward Culture
The Kusasi have a positive attitude towards their culture; they appear to be
content with their cultural practices. Both agole and tonde are proud of the
distinctness of their cultures. Nevertheless, tonde speakers report that there has
been a certain amount of outside influence which has penetrated into agole
language and customs (Abenim 1996, personal conversation). The tonde assert that
they are the keepers of the purer forms. This is not unlikely, as Bawku is a
multicultural center. Another difference concerns the agole area in general having
more wealth than the tonde area, as well as having a larger core of educated
Kusasi. A final difference appears to be less of a “spirit of volunteerism” among the
tonde; they do not come together as readily to accomplish goals (Awimbille 1996,
personal conversation).
In general, it is certain that some cultural change is taking place in both
regions with ease of transportation. It appears that some young people prefer
settling in towns in order to earn money.

11
1.8 Linguistic Work in the Language Area
1.8.1 Materials Published in the Language
In the area of linguistics, the agole dialect of Kusaal has received the most
attention. Researchers by the name of G. Cansdale and R. S. Rattray carried out
initial analysis (Spratt 1968:2). Père Mélançon did research in the field of etymology
and comparatives (Prost 1979:2). André Prost did a phonological analysis, this on
the tonde dialect.
David and Nancy Spratt of the Summer Institute of Linguistics began work
among the Kusasi in 1962 (Spratt 1968:2), initially spending at least two years in the
tonde region, before moving on to the agole dialect region. There they helped in the
development of basic reading materials, a short Kusaal-English dictionary, a
phonological summary, as well as translations of Christian Scripture. At this time,
the following post-literacy books have been published: a beginning and advanced
primer, two books on folk tales, two on proverbs, one on riddles, a how-to book, and
one publication for bridging into English. In 1995, a revision of the New Testament
was completed.
In the late 1980s, Action Aid published a primer in the tonde dialect. There are
apparently certain other materials that have been produced in that dialect.
Unfortunately, the bibliographical material is not available for many of these
materials. Furthermore, information on any research carried out by university
students is unavailable. See section 2 of the bibliography for a list of certain
materials for which we have bibliographical references.
There is a noticeable lack of materials—especially in the way of teaching
helps—in French.
1.8.2 History of Literacy in the Agole and Tonde
Michael Awimbille, an agole speaker, has been working in Kusaal literacy for
the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation (GILLBT) for the
last 15 years. He offers the following history of literacy work in Kusaal and offers his
interpretation of the present state of affairs.
In the 1960s, the Spratts first settled in a Zebilla, a tonde village. After 3 years,
they moved their work to the agole region for the following reasons: they realized
that the majority of Kusasi were speakers of agole; that the majority of Kusasi
Christians were agole; and that the economic and political center was Bawku, an
agole village. During their stay in the Kusasi region—from the late 1960s to 1977—
little was done in literacy. When they left, they passed down the literacy task to the
churches of the area.
Literacy was carried out on a small scale in the far eastern agole area until the
late 1970s, then for 3 years came to a halt. It was in 1982 when a real effort in
literacy began. The first teacher training course involving tonde speakers took place
at this time; two tonde speakers even became literacy supervisors. At that point,
according to Awimbille, the dialect difference was not seen as a problem area. Until

12
1989, both agole primers and the New Testament were used throughout in the tonde
area without major questions raised.
Awimbille states that the certain government/administrative decisions began to
create a desire for materials in tonde. The 1989–1990 creation of the Western
Bawku District, a new political division, was one factor. The Western Bawku District
in general comprises the tonde region. Apparently, this autonomy helped to fuel the
desire for materials in tonde. Another factor, mentioned previously, was the
involvement of both a government functional literacy program and a NonGovernment Organization, Action Aid, in the Western Bawku District. (Indeed, in the
case of the government literacy organ, its publishing certain materials in a second
dialect of a language is rare in Ghana. It is noteworthy as well that its practice of
paying teachers will be hard for GILLBT, which does not pay, to overcome.)
Further accentuating factors are: first, the present District Executive is quite
strongly pro-tonde; second, the Ghanaian government has elevated a tonde chief to
the level of paramount chief, a privilege reserved before 1997 to the agole; and
third, the revolution in Ghana has created a certain independent spirit, resulting in
the tonde feeling justified in asserting their desires. As a final observation, the
medium of radio is carried out in both tonde and agole.
In general, Awimbille believes that the tonde's negative attitudes toward the
agole speech variety have grown stronger in recent times. He believes that this is in
part due to the tonde speakers having the availability of written materials in tonde.
But he also ties in a certain desire of tonde speakers to enjoy advantages that the
agole have had. With Bawku as the provincial capital, hospitals and schools were
built in the agole region. The tonde are now seeking to gain some of these same
benefits. He believes that one is more likely to say “I'm tonde” or “I'm agole” than to
say “I'm Kusasi”.
To sum up, Awimbille feels that in the present state of affairs it would be very
hard for tonde to accept agole written materials. Yet he states that GILLBT would be
very reticent to develop materials in tonde, due to its policy of working in only one
dialect of a language.
It may be helpful to note that the tonde/agole debate is not necessarily recent.
David Spratt has stated that the tonde view their speech variety as being the purer
form of Kusaal. He affirmed that the tonde did not widely accept the original New
Testament. As may be expected, some tonde speakers were upset that the Spratts
moved to the agole region (Spratt 1994, correspondence).
1.8.3 Suitability of Existing Written Materials in the Tonde Dialect Area
Several people consulted offer opinions about agole materials.
♦ The Anglican pastor in Binaba, Ghana claims to have problems in reading
the Agole 1976 version of the New Testament; he is hoping that there is an
improvement with the revised version. He claims that certain church
leaders have talked of working on a purely tonde version of the Old

13
Testament, though finding the personnel required is a major stumbling
block.
♦ Lesli Reitzeger, a literacy worker in the early 1980s in Bawku, reports tonde
speakers having problems with agole materials (Groff 1983:7).
♦ A further problem was cited by Robert and Nancy Schaefer,
linguist/translators in the area. They claim that before a translation was
carried out in Kusaal, the Mooré New Testament was used. During this
time, certain Mooré terms became entrenched in church language. It is
unclear to what extent the revised New Testament corrected this outside
influence.
♦ Related to the above, a difficult area to evaluate is the potential confusion
caused by influences of the country's official language. This factor may
affect comprehension and possibly attitudes toward the message, and
apparently has the greatest influence through proper names. (A Kusasi
teacher in Burkina Faso mentioned this problem.) For example, in Ghana,
where the official language is English, proper names may be anglicized to a
degree in its translations. Likewise, in Burkina Faso, names may have a
French influence. Furthermore, what confusion is caused by differences in
the accepted orthography and alphabet of Ghana, which differ in certain
respects from what is practiced in Burkina Faso?
♦ A Kusasi Protestant pastor in Bingo, fluent in Mooré, feels Mooré materials
are more effective in reaching Burkina Faso Kusasi than the older agole
materials. (We tried an informal experiment with an excerpt of revised
materials and he still appeared to have difficulties, while he showed no
difficulties in reading from either his Mooré New Testament or a tonde ABC
pamphlet.) This pastor states that he would enthusiastically help in a
project to translate Scripture materials into tonde.
♦ Finally, we were able to ask certain questions to a group of 30 literacy
teachers during a workshop in Zebilla. They stated that certain words in the
agole teaching materials were different, as was the intonation. These
problems were not insurmountable; they nevertheless increased the time it
took to teach the material. The instructors at the same time noted attitude
problems. Students question why they must learn another language.
On the other hand, Awimbille offers something of a counter-argument. He
states that among the Assembly of God pastors, 50% of the tonde pastors work in
the agole region, and report few problems with agole materials. Timothy Azuma,
District Organizer for Ghana's Non-Formal Educational Program in the Bawku-east
District, sees no problem of using agole materials in the tonde region (Azuma 1996,
personal conversation). Furthermore, as mentioned above, a revision of the New
Testament was completed in 1995. The team, including two agole and one tonde
speaker, had as their goal to resolve some of the problem areas with the older
edition.

14
A final note concerns written materials in Mooré. According to Catholic and
Protestant church leaders in Burkina Faso, certain groups of the Kusasi have
difficulties in understanding Mooré.
2 Methodology
2.1 Sampling
In this survey, we wished to gather most of our information from the tonde
Kusaal region, as this was the region without written materials. With this goal in
mind, we visited the villages of Youga and Bingo in tonde/Burkina Faso and Binaba
in tonde/Ghana. We also recorded a text in Bugri, an agole village to the southeast
of Bawku, for the intelligibility tests. To explain further, we wished to discover the
extent of inherent intelligibility (that is, understanding which is not as a result of
learning) between the tonde and agole Kusaal speeches. The key point of the
survey would be the testing of the Bugri text in the tonde region.
2.2 Lexicostatistic Survey
To determine the degree of lexicostatistic similarity, we elicited a 230 word
word list, a tool which includes words from various parts of speech. These lists were
checked by comparing the data given with data received from other Kusaal villages.
Section 3 in the appendix contains the data from these word lists.
2.3 Dialect Intelligibility Survey
In order to measure the degree of inherent intelligibility between speakers of
the various dialects, we followed the methodology developed by E. Casad (1974),
commonly referred to as the Recorded Text Test. The various steps are as follows:
1. A text is elicited from a native speaker of Village A, a text as free as
possible from objectionable subject matter and words borrowed from
another language.
2. A group of 12–15 questions are developed based on the text. These
questions are recorded in the dialect of Village A and inserted into the text.
From six to ten native speakers of the dialect of Village A listen to the text
and respond to the questions, in order that any bad or misleading questions
can be isolated and removed. The 10 best questions, to which almost all
native speakers have responded correctly, are chosen for the final form of
the test.
3. The refined text/test of Village A is played in Village B, having recorded
Village A's questions in the dialect of Village B. At least 10 speakers in
Village B listen to the text, responding to the questions. Their cumulative
scores on the recorded test are taken as the percentage of their intelligibility
with the dialect of Village A.
A note about sampling: in the testing process in Village B, it is very important
to be aware of and guard against the influence of factors that may skew the results,
and in particular, factors which may allow respondents to achieve higher scores. For
example, it is important to choose candidates with very little or no previous contact

15
with speakers of Village A. Such exposure may allow them to score higher on this
test designed to measure inherent (natural) intelligibility. In table 3.2.1, it is the
standard deviation column which signals high contact, and therefore learned
intelligibility. A high (above 1.6) standard deviation, a result of a wide range of test
scores, suggests that some testees have “learned” to understand the speech tested.
Conversely, it is just as important to find candidates who can master the
question/answer technique of the Casad methodology. It is sometimes not an easy
task among those who have not gone to school. Therefore, in our testing, we took
advantage of the presence of CM2 level students in Binaba and Bingo; they were
our testees.
Linguists have debated the threshold of comprehension a speaker of one
dialect must attain if he is to be reasonably expected to profit from literacy materials
and a translation of the Scriptures. An accepted minimum threshold for the Summer
Institute of Linguistics is 75% (Bergman 1990:9.5.2).4
In the village of Youga, we also conducted less formal Recorded Text Tests,
known as the Rapid Appraisal Recorded Text Test. This procedure, like the one just
described, involves playing recorded (and transcribed) stories. However, Rapid
Appraisal Recorded Text Test differs in major ways with the methodology just
described. First, the test is conducted not individually but in a group setting, with five
or six people listening at once. Second, instead of responding to specific questions
drawn from the story, one person of the group is randomly selected to provide a
summary of what he/she has heard. In the case of a doubtful response or mistaken
facts, a second (and third) person can be chosen to summarize that part of the
story. As a third difference, the scoring of the story is not as quantitative: rating is
done on a three point scale of very well, partial, or very poor.
2.4 Questionnaires
During the Kusaal survey, both group and individual questionnaires were
administered. Concerning the group questionnaire, we questioned two to four men
from Bingo concerning both general demographic and general sociolinguistic
matters; in Youga and Binaba, we asked only questions dealing with the dialect
issue. The subject matter covered by the questionnaires ranged from the ethnic
composition and facilities in the area to perceived dialect differences, bilingualism,
and language use. The men were chosen by the village’s government
representative, and sometimes the representative himself was included. Due to the
surveyors’ not knowing the trade language and a desire to better monitor the
questioning process, the questionnaires were carried out in French in Burkina Faso
and in English in Ghana.

4In

1989, the Summer Institute of Linguistics' Area Directors and Vice Presidents
established the language assessment criteria for the organization. This work is a set of
standards for such domains as dialect intelligibility, bilingual ability, etc., in an attempt to
guide decision-making as to the need for language development in specific situations.

16
The individual questionnaire was a modified form of the group sociolinguistic
questionnaire; the relevant subject matter concerned self-appraisal of competence
in Mooré, domains of language use, and language attitudes. Regarding the
administration procedures, 13 subjects were tested, with 9 from Zoaga and 4 from
Youga. Please note that in our evaluation of responses, data from the two sites are
grouped together due to the small number of subjects from Youga.
As a final point, when possible we also interviewed available school teachers
and religious leaders using prepared questionnaires.
Results of these questionnaires form the basis of much of our succeeding
discussion on dialect attitudes (3.1) and multilingualism (4). Table 2.1 in the
appendix contains a summary of responses to these questionnaires.
3 Comprehension and Lexicostatistical Data (between villages)
3.1 Reported Dialect Groupings: Results from Questionnaires and Interviews
The issue of comprehension between the two dialects is quite divided, and in
many cases, divisive. In section 1.8.3, dealing with the suitability of agole written
materials in the tonde region, certain opinions were offered. Dealing specifically with
the Burkina Faso Kusasi at Bingo and Youga, respondents note that certain words
are different in the different speech varieties; a tonde speaker will sometimes need
to have agole repeated in order to understand it. From responses to the individual
questionnaire, the Kusasi recognize the tonde/agole division. Concerning how well
they understand the tonde speech variety from Zebilla, 10 of 13 state that they
understand this dialect very well; one subject states that he understands it
somewhat well; while two understand it “a little”. The answers are almost exactly the
opposite when asked about the agole speech variety of Bawku: 3 of 13 respondents
from the Burkina tonde region state that they understand this dialect very well; two
subjects stated that they understand it somewhat well; while 8 understand it “a little”.
Finally, dealing with a question targeting attitudes, all 13 subjects state that their
preferred dialect is tonde.
On another level, the tonde dialect apparently has less variation from region to
region than the agole (Spratt n.d.:1).
3.2 Results of the Recorded Text Tests
Table 3.2.1 shows the results of the Recorded Text Tests (RTT). In short, the
Kusasi of Binaba had little difficulty with the stories played, even the agole (Bugri)
text. In questioning the test takers afterwards, they recognized in general that the
speech variety was different and had less confidence in what they heard. One girl,
however, said she had a harder time with the Youga story. In questioning certain
adults after the testing, they stated that there are more isolated villages than
Binaba. A certain amount of agole is heard in the village, though the low standard
deviation does not confirm there being much learned intelligibility.
Concerning the testing at Bingo, scores were lower, but still above the
threshold of 75%. At Bingo there was a higher standard deviation, signifying a wider

17
range of scores and therefore presumably some learned intelligibility. Yet the
standard deviation is not excessively high. Residents from Bingo had little trouble
with the Binaba (tonde) story.
Table 3.2.1
Results of the Recorded Text Tests in the Kusaal Area
Test
Conducted
in:

Text of
Which
Village:

Number of
Females
Tested

Number of
Males
Tested

Percent
Comprehension

Standard
Deviation5

Binaba

Binaba
Bugri
Youga

2
2
2

8
8
8

100
94.5
94

0.00
0.57
0.80

Bingo

Youga
Bugri
Binaba

2
2
2

8
8
8

94.5
80.5
93

0.69
1.23
0.51

In RTT testing conducted in 1983 by Randy Groff and Ole Kristensen, similar
results were obtained for one of the villages tested (Zoaga, whose score was
77.5%). In the other village tested, the scores were at 89%, which the team took to
be the result of hearers being given second chances to listen to segments of stories
(Groff 1983:6). As stated above, we were able to carry out a Rapid Appraisal
Recorded Text Test in Youga. In this situation, we had four boys and one girl, all
CM2 students at the local elementary school. The results are shown in table 3.2.2.
In short, the test takers had little difficulty with either story.
Table 3.2.2
Results of the Rapid Appraisal Recorded Text Test in Youga
Text of Which How Well the
Village:
Stories Were
Understood:
Binaba
Very well. Missed
only one or two
details.
Bugri
Very well. Missed
only one or two
details.

5Note:

Comments:

They recognize that the story is told in their
dialect. Adult bystanders also say that it is
well-spoken.
They say it is not as clear as the Binaba story,
and recognize that it is not their dialect. Four
out of the five say that they sometimes talk
with people who speak like that.

standard deviation is one indicator which signals high contact, and therefore
learned intelligibility. The standard deviations in the Kusaal tests were comfortably low.

18
Please note that we did not test agole speakers with a tonde text, both due to
lack of time and because it is rather a moot question, as written materials already
exist in the agole speech.
3.3 Lexical Similarity Results: Percentages of Apparent Cognates
Table 3.3.1 displays the percentages of lexical similarity between the three
Kusaal villages visited. It goes without saying that the percentages are quite high.
While the two tonde villages have a slightly higher percentage of apparent cognates
between them than between each and the agole village, it is doubtful that this
difference is statistically significant.
Table 3.3.1
Percentages of Apparent Cognates in the Kusaal Dialects
Youga: Tonde Kusaal (Burkina Faso)
92 Binaba: Tonde Kusaal (Ghana)
88 86 Bugri: Agole Kusaal (Ghana)

In the survey carried out by Groff and Kristensen, they noted approximately the
same figures: 96% apparent cognates between Zoaga and Youga, two Burkina Faso
tonde villages, and 84% apparent cognates between the agole (Bawku) and the
tonde villages (Groff 1983:5). Section 3 in the appendix contains the word list from
this survey.
3.4 Summary
On the basis of results of the Recorded Text Test and calculations of lexical
similarity alone, there is little justification for the development of the tonde dialect.
Results show that there is at least high one-way intelligibility, that is, tonde speakers
having little difficulties with the agole variety. In the final analysis, the high level of
inherent intelligibility must be weighed against attitudes of tonde speakers to agole.
4 Multilingual Issues
4.1 Language Use Description
4.1.1 Children's Language Use
In the case of both Burkina Faso and Ghana, the main language used by
Kusasi children is Kusaal. At home and in playing among themselves, the Kusasi
children speak in Kusaal. Only 1 of 13 respondents to our individual questionnaires
state that Kusasi youth use Mooré even when there are no Mossi present. The
respondents at Bingo state that Kusasi children learn to understand Mooré later in
childhood, near age 10. This fact is confirmed by a school teacher in Bingo, who
states that at the time of entering school, children do not understand Mooré at all.

19
As a further point, there appears to be little indication of Mooré infiltrating
Kusaal. Despite the fact that Zoaga supposedly has the strongest Mooré influence
only one respondent of the 13 who answered stated that young people mix Mooré
into their Kusaal. All 12 respondents who answered stated that children speak
Kusaal as they should; all 12 feel that their grandchildren will still be speaking
Kusaal in their villages.
In Ghana, the second language is English. Some children have learned
English in day nurseries before entering school.
4.1.2 Adults’ Language Use
In Burkina Faso, the adults use Kusaal for most local situations: at home, when
speaking with other Kusasi, even at the local markets. The trade language in the
area is Mooré. In general, the Kusasi use Mooré in speaking with non-Kusasi,
especially Bissa and government officials. According to the answers to the individual
questionnaires, they also use Mooré (and sometimes French) at the local
dispensary and for formal religious practice.
Eight of those interviewed state that they have opportunity to speak Mooré
every day, and in general the Kusasi affirm to have a fairly good functional ability in
Mooré. Yet it appears that in areas demonstrating greater proficiency, most Kusasi
show either a lack of ability or confidence. According to answers from the individual
questionnaires, only 4 of 12 feel competent enough to pray, to correctly use Mooré
proverbs or to do calculations rapidly in Mooré. Besides these self-appraisals, both
a Catholic catechist in Youga and a school teacher in Bingo state that the young
children and women have problems in understanding Mooré.
Some Burkina Kusasi women learn Bissa, due to market contact. There is
apparently a fair amount of intermarriage between Bissa and Kusasi in certain
villages of the Zabré region, a fact which encourages bilingualism (Monet 1989:4).
Some of the adults, too, are literate in French.
In Ghana (Binaba), English is again stated to be the second language of
adults. Nevertheless, English is not used every day; it is therefore certain that
proficiency falls after one leaves school. Women are reputed to know English better
than men.
4.2 Language Attitudes as Reported
The Kusasi are proud of their language. Of the 13 interviewed, all respondents
state that it is the most useful language of the region. Most Kusasi interviewed—12
of 13—would prefer to learn to read and write in Kusaal than in Mooré. And it
remains the language of the heart, as shown in attitudes toward the preferred
languages for religious ceremonies. According to respondents:
♦ 7 of 8 would like to see Kusaal used when communicating with ancestral
spirits; 9 of the 9 who answered would prefer to use Kusaal when sacrifices
are performed; and 8 of 9 would prefer use of Kusaal during funeral
ceremonies;

20
♦ 13 of 13 state that traditional stories are best stated in the mother tongue.
A slightly lesser majority—5 of 8—would prefer to have Kusaal used in formal
group worship, such as, for example, at church.
Yet the Kusasi have no apparent negative attitudes toward their second
languages (Mooré in Burkina Faso and English in Ghana). Of the 13 who
responded, 8 stated that they are not bothered by young Kusasi using Mooré in the
home. In Burkina Faso, as stated above, literacy classes in Mooré have had a
certain degree of success, and in Ghana Kusasi would like to learn English better.
Burkina Kusasi also place fairly high importance on learning French, as it is a
symbol of prestige.
5 Recommendations with Regards to a Language/Literacy Project
Evaluating the need for development of the tonde Kusaal dialect is an
extremely difficult task. Judging from the results of the Recorded Text Test, it
appears that there is a high level of inherent intelligibility on the tondes' part toward
agole. Standardization of Kusaal would appear attainable. However, in my opinion,
the question of need hinges on attitude. Tonde speakers in part hold very positive
attitudes for the purity of their own dialect; in part have negative attitudes toward
agole; and in part simply want some of the same advantages that agole speakers
have enjoyed.
One cannot predict the result of a development project among the tonde; one
cannot pinpoint the extent to which attitudes held by tonde speakers have affected
receptivity of agole materials and desire to read. Especially drawing on the religious
situation, there are growing congregations in the tonde area, even if we limit the
discussion of need to the Kusaal region of Burkina Faso. In view of the traditional
link between religious use of a language and general literacy in the community, I
recommend that agole materials be adapted to the tonde region of Burkina Faso.6 I
believe, therefore, that the effort of developing tonde would be worth it.

6The

situation, of course, is complicated by the issue of official language, yet it seems
premature to speak of materials adapted to the tonde area of Ghana.

21
Appendix
1.

Population Data
Table 1.1
List of Kusaal Villages in Burkina Faso
Province
Boulgou
Boulgou
Boulgou
Boulgou
Boulgou

Department
Zabré
Zabré
Zabré
Zabré
Zabré

Village
Bourboko
Gonsé
Songo
Wilogo
Youkouka

Population
1269
176
1010
912
386

Boulgou
Boulgou
Boulgou
Boulgou
Boulgou
Boulgou
Boulgou
Boulgou
Boulgou
Boulgou

Zoaga
Zoaga
Zoaga
Zoaga
Zoaga
Zoaga
Zoaga (?)
Zoaga
Zoaga
Zoaga

Bingo
Bougouré de Youga
Dawéga
Koukadouré
Mong-Naba
Tabissi
Youga
Zamé
Zerbogo
Zoaga

1008
1646
347
130
656
137
917
919
167
2783

Total
Total with annual increase
of 2.68%

12,463
17,118

Table 1.2
List of Kusaal Villages in Ghana7
District
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West

7All

Section of District
North
North
North
North
North
North
North
North
North
North

villages are in the Upper East Province.

Village
Tarikom-Tili
Widinaba-Natinga
Goziesi-Zebilla
Kukogo
Kubongo
Weari
Widiguri
Kansorgo
Zorong
Teshi Natinga

Population
1024
353
655
584
851
883
755
923
689
150

22

District
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West

Section of District
North
North
North
North
North
North
North
North
North
North
North
North
North
North
Southwest
Southwest
Southwest

Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West

Southwest
Southwest
Southwest
Southwest
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast

Village
Kperigu
Namorgo
Saago-Adasiga
Agogo-Garayoga
Timonde-Nagbego
Timonde-Biringo
Tandabote
Zebila
Aneigo
Yarigu
Amkpaliga
Kosongo (Yapala)
Timpolligu I
Sakpare
Sapalugo-Tili
Gbantongo-Natinga
Zokpapaga
(Azupupunga)
Gumbare Upper
Kusanaba Natinga
Peri-Zongoiri
Buliga
Tili-Natinga
Bozunde
Kuboko
Sakom
Wiiga
Gozezi Part
Kyinadabuti
Gogogo-Natinga
Yadabute
Tuni
Akoapelliga
Yeliwojo
Kamega-Natinga
Gumbo-Binaba
Kpalisako
Boya
Kongo
Pilibiziago
Azoawera
Gumbare-Lower
Gori
Binaba-Tetako

Population
680
638
746
546
712
863
609
5103
1243
1323
808
1055
1185
1097
833
732
1063
541
667
958
1555
866
1650
1323
712
695
604
1004
1021
477
1286
856
1806
1425
1397
700
1256
450
516
1045
783
1374
2013

23
District
Bawku West
District
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West
Bawku West

Section of District
Southeast
Section of District
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast
Southeast

Village
Gabuliga
Village
Kopelia Natinga
Akuri
Apodabogo
Dagunga
Sabeogo

Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East

Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu
Tempane-Garu

Kpatuu
Sinebaga
Shishie (Sisi)
Danvonga
Boko
Bulpielise
Zari
Yapala
Tubong
Gozesi
Zotrikuom
Kwatia
Kugbliela
Duri
Denugu
Dusbuliga Dalakpaliga
Songure
Songo
Takori
Kugrasia
Waadigu
Atampodabogo
Waskugua (Kugri)
Kutiskpem
Mennatinga
Atamidabogo
Goringo (Aloko)
Siiguri
Pialogu
Gbeliginuusi
Kugri Kpalsako
Nisbuliga
Ziseri
Meliga
Benwoko
Nadigiri
Doadnyediga

Population
581
Population
728
1694
1631
567
911
60686
565
472
125
1214
81
443
437
533
242
552
1104
762
354
263
134
1336
1080
694
758
474
305
484
708
1018
507
812
504
424
1039
344
851
671
869
1110
864
566
617

24
District
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
Bawku East
B