Background

English came to Gambia through colonialism and has since stayed. It was a minority
language then and though more widespread now, still is. Despite the fact that it is
the official language: language of government, language of the courts, the media as
well as the language of instruction, over 80% of Gambians do not speak it home.
It is not the 24/7 language. That is the preserve of the native tongues, namely,
Mandinka, Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Serer and so on. In spite of the fact that English has a
small population of both native and secondary speakers, it enjoys a prestigious
ranking. It is the language of prestige and power among others. This apparent
complex position of English in the Gambia is perhaps best characterised by Judds
categorisation. Her categorisation places non-native speaker languages into four
classes:

English Language as a Second Language (ESL)

English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
English as an Additional Language (EAL)
English as a Language of Wider Communication (ELWC)

Each of the four classes has been thoroughly described by Judd. ESL is explained
as English to people who are living in an English speaking country and
who need to learn English to live and scale the social ladder in that
country (e.g. find work visit the doctor, etc). EFL Simply put, this is
English to people who live in a non-English speaking country and who
want to learn English for business or to take an exam, etc. In countries such
as Senegal, English is generally not a local medium of communication. French is.

While the latter does not apply in our context to English it seems so for
French. A closer look at the ESL definition however will reveal that it is
based on the assumption that English is the language of the community
and the school and that it is the second language. For many though ,
English is not the second or third but the forth language. Many Gambians
have native-level competency in several indigenous languages excluding
their mother-tongue. So to simply state that English is their second
language is gross misreading of the complex language terrain.

The status of English in the Gambia appears to bestride English as an additional

language (EAL) and English as a language of wider communication (ELWC) It
serves as an additional language rather than as a second language as in, say, Zambia,
where it is more widely spoken among Zambians themselves. It is not generally
used as a lingua franka, (Wolof serves this purpose in the urban areas while
elsewhere Mandinka or a regional vernacular predominates). English tends to be
used in the more formal registers in the areas of commerce, industry, government
affairs, education and the mass media. English also serves as a language of wider
communication in the expanding tourist industry, in trade and commerce, for
Gambians in further study and training and for the many who travel abroad for all
sorts of reasons.