Paper short abstract:

After summarizing the complex language ecology of the UNHCR Minawao refugee camp in the Far North Region of Cameroon, in this paper we will present the initial results of our documentation of an emergent sign language that is used by hearing refugees to overcome communicative barriers.

Paper long abstract:

The UNHCR Minawao camp, in the Far-North Region of Cameroon, hosts ca. 60,000 refugees coming from areas of northeastern Nigeria that have been profoundly impacted by violent attacks of Boko Haram armed groups over the past ten years. The high linguistic diversity of these areas is reflected in the complexity of the camp's linguistic situation.Here one finds not only one finds communities associated with as many as fifteen different languages representing three of the four phyla of African languages, but also representing three of the four phyla of African languages an impressive diversity of individual also an impressive diversity of individual multilingual repertoires. On the one hand, competence in originally neighboring languages implies localized repertoires; on the other, even competence in languages of wider communication appears to seldom overlap between members of different communities. For example, people coming from the northernmost areas are used to Kanuri as a language of intercommunity communication, whereas those coming from other areas those coming from other areas are used to Fulfulde, Hausa, Nigerian Pidgin English or varied combinations thereof. In a camp whose language ecology also includes French and English, the resulting scenario is one of extreme complexity to navigate for refugees. Overcoming this complexity is the main factor that is leading Minawao refugees to develop a sign language. In this paper, we present the initial results of our documentation of this signed code, thus contributing to the understanding of emerging multimodal communication in environments of forced cohabitation between linguistically diverse populations.