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1.6 Previous research on Mono
The Mono language has received some attention in the literature. Three previous
studies of Mono phonology and morphology exist: an unpublished study by Kamanda
(1985) which discusses the Bubanda dialect, and Olson & Schrag (1997) and Kamanda
(1998) which both discuss the Bili dialect. Of these, Kamanda (1998) is the most
detailed. In addition, Tisserant (1931) and Olson (1996) provide some lexical data for
Mono.
The present study contributes to our understanding of Mono in several ways.
First, the study includes documentation which is not available in previous studies,
including a significant number of lexical items and texts. Second, this dissertation
includes a discussion of typological issues which is absent from previous studies. Third,
this study provides acoustic evidence to support the phonological analysis of Mono.
Finally, it should be pointed out that the fieldwork and analysis for Kamanda (1998) and
this study were performed independently of each other, an important point for descriptive
studies. When two independent studies corroborate each other’s data, we can raise our
level of confidence that the data are indeed accurate. The few places where the data differ
highlight items for future research.
The Banda language family as a whole has a limited but growing body of
available literature. Grammars include Tisserant (1930) on Banda, Tingbo (1978) on
Mbandja, and Cloarec-Heiss (1986) on Linda, with the latter being the most
comprehensive. Phonologies include Cloarec-Heiss (1967, 1969) on Linda, Robbins
(1984) on Mbandja, and Sampson (1985) on Tangbago, in addition to those mentioned
above for Mono. Finally, documents which contain additional lexical information on
Banda include Toqué (1906), Cotel (1907), Giraud (1908), Eboué (1918, 1933), Tisserant
(1950), Santandrea (1965), Cloarec-Heiss (1978), and Moñino (1988).
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