What French for Gabonese French Lexicography?

Abstract

This paper is a response to Mavoungou (2013a) who has pleaded for the production of a dictionary of Gabonese French as variant B of the French language. The paper intends to comprehend the concept of "Gabonese French". It gives an outline of the situation of French within the language diversity of Gabon as a contribution to the theoretical perspective toward the inception of Gabonese French lexicography. Answers are given to the following questions: What French is described in existing Gabonese French studies? What French is and should be presented in Gabonese French dictionary production?

Keywords

• gabonese lexicography
• french
• gabonese languages
• language diversity
• dictionaries