Language choices reflecting social changes: multilingualism in the popular music of Guinean jelis

Figures & data

Table 1. Interviewed musicians.

Civil name	Stage name	Year of birth	Ethnic identity	Current residence	Music genre
Mamadou Kouyaté	Moh! Kouyaté	1977	Maninka, griot	Paris, France	Manding music
Falle Nioke	Falle Nioke	1987	Coniagui	London, UK	Electronic
Souleyman Bangoura	Soul Bang’s	1992	Susu	Conakry, Guinea	RnB, dance hall
Jean Richard Balamou	Légendaire (group)	1994	Kpelle	Conakry, Guinea	Hip-hop
Faba Kessing Fanoh	Légendaire (group)	1993	Koranko	Conakry, Guinea	Hip-hop

Table 2. Languages of the Syliphone recordings.

Language	Overall in Guinea	Conakry
Maninka	4833 (51.56%)	1373 (63.56%)
Susu	919 (9.78%)	320 (14.81%)
Pular	1076 (11.45%)	50 (2.31%)
Kpelle	347 (3.69%)	17 (0.78%)
French	230 (2.44%)	42 (1.94%)
Spanish	130 (1.38%)	62 (2.87%)
English	76 (0.81%)	10 (0.46%)
Other languages (including mixed)	1296 (13.8%)	169 (7.82%)
Instrumental	491 (5.22%)	119 (5.5%)
Total	9394	2160

Table 3. The structure of the song ‘Hors de la zone de couverture’ by Manamba Kanté (2021).

Part	Language
Intro	Maninka
Verse 1	Susu
Hook	Susu, French
Refrain	Maninka
Verse 2	Susu, Pular
Hook	Susu, French
Refrain	Maninka
Epilogue	French

Kanté, M. (2021). Hors de la zone de couverture. Single. RnB Boss Musik. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8IksUMZxPk Accessed 09/06/2023

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