Sↄgↄkiré is a dialect of the Bↄbↄ language classified within the Mande languages family which constitutes a branch of Niger Congo languages family. It is spoken in the Western part of Burkina Faso specifically in the North-East (Department of Satiri) of Bobo-Dioulasso town. In the past, Sↄgↄkiré was the dominant dialect in this territory. But today, it is observed that Sↄgↄkiré dialect as well as the identity of its speakers are threatened because of the dominance of other dialects of Bↄbↄ. Besides, Dioula and Moore are other dominant languages that influence Bↄbↄ language in general (Sanogo, 2000) and Sↄgↄkiré dialect in particular in the Department of Satiri. If a language is endangered, the identity of its speakers is threatened. And this has negative implications for the socio-political development of the country. In order not to allow the negative implications of socio-political development to occur, we decided to examine the type of endangerment threat to Sↄgↄkiré and the identity of its speakers through psycholinguistics and sociolinguistics approaches. We deployed a qualitative methodology to collect in-depth information. The data were obtained through recording of native speakers’ natural speeches via structured and unstructured interview methods. Our findings will reveal the extent to which Sↄgↄkiré as well as the identity of its speakers are threatened. They will also point out the threat to the dialect and its negative implications for socio-political development of the country. Finally, possible ways will be suggested to stop this situation.
Sↄgↄkiré, identity, dialects endangerment threat, satitri department