Jeux et enjeux de la catégorisation: entre dénomination, discours social et développement éd. par Ambemou Oscar Diané et Jean-Baptiste Atsé N'Cho

Abstract

Reviewed by: Jeux et enjeux de la catégorisation: entre dénomination, discours social et développement éd. par Ambemou Oscar Diané et Jean-Baptiste Atsé N'Cho Amanda Dalola Diané, Ambemou Oscar, et Jean-Baptiste Atsé N'cho, éd. Jeux et enjeux de la catégorisation: entre dénomination, discours social et développement. L'Harmattan, 2020. ISBN 978-2-343-19371-7. Pp. 538. This collection of 32 articles, comprising the proceedings of a conference at Université Alassane Ouattara in Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire, explores the social and linguistic processes underlying the practice of categorization through naming and discursive practices. Divided into three sections, the volume approaches the notion of categorization from different vantage points: on the one hand, examining the linguistic terms used to carve out categories in social milieus; on the other, considering the real-world repercussions of such labels in different strata of society. Collectively, the work investigates the consequences of social categorization on multiple levels: the linguistic categorization of society from within societies and the reflexive discourse that societies use to talk about themselves in relation to other host and migrant populations. The articles serve as a series of case studies expanding upon these objectives, each exploring different social, professional, and discursive practices from within traditional African societies, European migrant audiences, or sampled from literature. Part One treats topics of categorizing discourse as it pertains to issues of integration: Anthroponyms (human naming practices) in Godie, Guro, and Baoulé communities, the criminalization of "enfants microbes" in Abidjan, styles of dress in Adjukru assemblies and several studies on the definition of women, among Baoulé and Senufo communities and in Côte d'Ivoire's Banque mondiale. Part Two focuses on notions of prototypical and stereotypical representation: color terms in Wolof and how they map onto natural phenomena in the environment, the Ivorian stereotype of the "enfant microbe" (a child in conflict with the law), the aesthetic of wearing chains around one's ankle, and a comprehensive identification of Ivorian sociolinguistic groups. Part Three focuses on media and socio-professional categorizations—the description of local languages in Ivorian news, awareness, and advocacy campaigns to better educate Ivorians about people living with albinism, and the role of excision in defining women in We and Guiglo communities. Part Four examines specific instances of categorization from within literary works—the different semantic realizations of the lexical item enfant in local languages and the treatment of endogenous languages as a forgotten category in the development and homogenization of the third world. From the outset, this collection not only deconstructs the linguistic forms involved in the process of society-level categorization but completes the discussion by querying the social and communicative realities brought about by their very existence. As a compilation of articles organized into thematic sections, the volume lends itself to modular consumption and is well-suited for audiences with interests in Francophone culture [End Page 278] and/or linguistics. An added treat to studying multiple texts is the ability to witness firsthand various methodologies put to work in the rigorous investigation of the same construct: survey, textual analysis, semantic decomposition, etc. This robust and eclectic volume is a comprehensive and multi-layered reminder that the words we choose to describe the designations we make have consequences at every level of society. [End Page 279] Amanda Dalola University of South Carolina Copyright © 2021 American Association of Teachers of French