Ivory Coast - Côte d'Ivoire (CI)

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  1.   1.  Language information / Données sur les langues
    1.   1.1  Languages spoken / Langues parlées
    2.   1.2  Language policy / Politique de langue
    3.   1.3  Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes
    4.   1.4  Other comments / Autre commentaire :
  2.   2.  ICT situation / Situation des TIC
    1.   2.1  Infrastructure / Infrastructure
    2.   2.2  Computer & internet access / Accès aux ordinateurs et à l'internet
    3.   2.3  ICT policy / Politique de TIC
    4.   2.4  ICT4D/E & ICT training / TIC pour le développement/éducation, et formation en TIC
    5.   2.5  Resources / Ressources
  3.   3.  Localisation situation / Situation de localisation
    1.   3.1  Country web content / Contenu web du pays
    2.   3.2  Web content in indigenous languages / Contenu web en langues indigènes
    3.   3.3  Software localisation / Localisation de logiciel
    4.   3.4  Projects & organisations / Projets et organisations
    5.   3.5  Localisation policy / Politique de localisation
  4.   4.  References / Références

1.  Language information / Données sur les langues

1.1  Languages spoken / Langues parlées

a) Official / Officielle(s) :

French, as stipulated in the constitution (Aménagement linguistique)

b) National, indigenous / Nationale(s), indigène(s) :

Ethnologue lists 78 living languages for Cote d'Ivoire at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=CI

Apparently none are specifically mentioned in legislation.

According to Dutcher (2004), the main languages of Côte d'Ivoire (with % of the population that speak them) are:

  • Baoulé: 14%
  • Senoufo (all varieties): 8%
  • Anyin: 4% (estimated additional 10,000 to 100,000 second language users)
  • Wè (all varieties): 3 percent
  • Bete: 3 % (language use is widespread)
  • Attié: 2 %
  • Mahou: 2%
  • Jula (Dyula): 1 % (trade language)
  • Abé: 1%
  • Abron: less than 1%
  • Kulango: less than 1%
  • Jula, Odienné: less than 1%
  • Adioukrou: less than 1%
  • Soninke: less than 1%
  • Lobi: less than 1%
  • Other: 59 % (includes French; estimates are 30,000 first language speakers, but there are no figures for second language use.)

c) Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report / Pages appropriées dans la section de ce rapport sur les Langues principales :

Anyi/Baule, Manding (Jula/Dioula), Senufo (Senari), Kru/Bassa

1.2  Language policy / Politique de langue

a) Laws/legislation / Lois/législation :

The site L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde has a page on Côte d'Ivoire at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/cotiv.htm

b) Agencies / Agences :

Three institutions "involved in or responsible for African Language research" in Côte d'Ivoire (UNESCO 1985). Updated information is needed:

  • Institut de linguistique appliquée - Université d'Abidjan, B.P. 8887 - ABIDJAN
  • Société internationale de linguistique [SIL], B.P. 88557 - ABIDJAN
  • Institut de recherches pédagogiques, B.P. 8795 - ABIDJAN

c) Languages in education/literacy / Langues dans l'éducation/l'alphabétisation :

French is the language of education although Jula and Senufo have been taught in preschool and the first two years of primary before switching to French. (Dutcher 2004)

The Centre Scolaire Intégré du Niéné (CSIN) has developed programs in Jula and Senufo (the history of this is described in more detail by Dutcher [2004])

UNDP (2006) gives a literacy figure (without reference to which language[s]) of: 48.7%

1.3  Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes

a) Orthographies / Orthographes :

National languages are written in the Latin alphabet with some additional modified letters (extended characters) and diacritics. A chart showing the extended Latin characters and diacritics used in some Ivoirian languages is available at: http://www.bisharat.net/A12N/COTE-table.htm

b) Print publications / Editions imprimées :

1.4  Other comments / Autre commentaire :

Myers-Scotton (1990) quotes a 1987 report saying that 5.3% spoke standard French, 29% "popular French" and the majority spoke Jula in interethnic interactions. Not sure how this may have changed over time or in the face of the recent de facto division of the country.

2.  ICT situation / Situation des TIC

2.1  Infrastructure / Infrastructure

a) Telephones / Téléphones :

  • Fixed lines:
    • Telephone mainlines: 18 per 1000 people (APC)
    • Telephones - main lines in use:
      • 257,900 (2004) (CIA)
      • 328,000 (2003) (Wikipedia)
    • According to Wikipedia the system is "well-developed by African standards but operating well below capacity"
  • Mobile subscriptions:

b) Radio stations / Stations de radio :

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 3 (1998)

c) Connectivity / Connectivité :

  • International internet bandwidth / Bande passante internationale d'internet :
  • ISPs / FSI : 2, Africaonline and Aviso (Wikipedia)
  • Internet hosts on .ci domain: 2580 (ISC 2007)
  • Geographic coverage / Couverture géographique :

2.2  Computer & internet access / Accès aux ordinateurs et à l'internet

a) Computers & points of access / Ordinateurs et lieux d'accès :

  • Number of computers / Nombre d'ordinateurs: 7.2 per 1000 people
  • Cybercafés / Cybercafés:
  • Project telecentres / Télécentres de projets:

b) Internet / Internet :

  • Dial-up subscribers / Abonnés par ligne téléphonique :
  • Internet users / Utilisateurs de l'internet :
    • 300,000 Internet users as of Sept/05, 1.5% of the population, per ITU (Internet World Stats)
    • 160,000 Internet users as of Sept/06, 0.8% of the population, per ITU (Internet World Stats)

c) Other / Autre :

  • Digital Opportunity Index (DOI): 0.19 (ITU 2006); 0.20, ranked 145 (ITU 2007)
  • ICT Opportunity Index (ICT-OI?):
  • ICT Development Index (IDI):

2.3  ICT policy / Politique de TIC

Côte d'Ivoire developed a National Information and Communication Infrastructure (NICI) plan in 2000: "Plan de Développement de l'Infrastructure Nationale de l'Information et de la Communication, 2000-2005" http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/Documents/cote_d_ivoire_niciplan.doc

More information relating to Côte d'Ivoire's NICI policy process is available at:

The APC page, "ICT Policy in Côte d'Ivoire" has some information and links:

2.4  ICT4D/E & ICT training / TIC pour le développement/éducation, et formation en TIC

WikiEducator has a page on ICTs and education, including table on enabling and constraining factors, at http://www.wikieducator.org/ICT4Africa/Country_Report_Ivory_Coast

2.5  Resources / Ressources

Institutions:

  • Institut Africain d'Informatique (IAI), Cameroon (also serves Côte d'Ivoire)

Internet:

3.  Localisation situation / Situation de localisation

3.1  Country web content / Contenu web du pays

3.2  Web content in indigenous languages / Contenu web en langues indigènes

(See also specific language pages.)

3.3  Software localisation / Localisation de logiciel

Not aware of any software localization activities.

(See also specific language pages.)

3.4  Projects & organisations / Projets et organisations

3.5  Localisation policy / Politique de localisation

4.  References / Références

APC, "ICT Policy in Côte d'Ivoire," Africa ICT Policy Monitor, http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21825e_1 ("Politiques de TIC en/au Côte-d'Ivoire," Observatoire des politiques des TIC en Afrique, http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21825e_1

Dutcher, Nadine. 2004. Expanding Educational Opportunity in Linguistically Diverse Societies, 2nd. ed. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. http://www.cal.org/resources/pubs/expand.html

International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 2004. African Telecommunication Indicators 2004. Geneva: ITU.

______. 2006. World Information Society Report 2006. Geneva: ITU. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2006/wisr-web.pdf

______. 2007. World Information Society Report 2007. Geneva: ITU. https://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2007/WISR07_full-free.pdf

Internet Systems Consortium (ISC), "Distribution of Top-Level Domain Names by Host Country, Jan 2007" http://www.isc.org/index.pl?/ops/ds/reports/2007-02/dist-bynum.php

Internet World Stats: Africa. 2006, 2007. http://internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "Côte d'Ivoire," http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/cotiv.htm

Myers-Scotton, Carol. 1990. "Elite Closure as Boundary Maintenance: The Case of Africa." In B. Weinstein, ed. Language Policy and Political Development. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. Pp. 25-42.

SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Languages of Côte d'Ivoire," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=CI

UNDP. 2006. ''Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006.'' New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). [Human development index Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) (HDI) http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/3.html ]

UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa. 1985. African Community Languages and Their Use in Literacy and Education: A Regional Survey. Dakar: UNESCO.

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), "The World Factbook: Cote d'Ivoire" https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/iv.html

Vodafone. 2005. "Africa: The Impact of Mobile Phones." The Vodafone Policy Paper Series, Number 3, March 2005. http://www.vodafone.com/assets/files/en/GPP%20SIM%20paper.pdf

WikiEducator, "ICT4Africa/Country Report Ivory Coast," http://www.wikieducator.org/ICT4Africa/Country_Report_Ivory_Coast

Wikipedia, "Communications in Côte d'Ivoire," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communications_in_C%C3%B4te_d%27Ivoire

______, "Languages of Côte d'Ivoire," http://en.wikipedia.org/Languages_of_Côte_d'Ivoire

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