In some african languages, the term "tribe" refers to the language, the
region or the country -read the place where a certain language is spoken. It
is interesting to see that in some languages, the word "language" itself has
the same translation as the word "voice". And I believe this has a
psycho-sociological dimension. By this I mean that people of the same tribe
or ethnic group are expected to speak with the same voice, reflecting the
aspect of belonging and togetherness, community and assurance of partnership.
They can do business together: marriage, celebrate birth and death, share
political power, etc... The implication of this view is that the other tribes
are those which speak not only a different language, but speak with a
different voice and live in a different place. The otherness is stressed as
strangeness. Note the importance of a psychologically created distance
between tribes, even though they live in neighboring regions. This can be a
cause of conflict between people who consider themselves of different tribes.
Since they do not speak the same language, they do not, therefore, speak with
the same voice. Consequently they do not belong and may have difficulty
understanding each other socially. They critique each other. Each looking at
the other as morally unfit.
A few examples of the languages that translate the word "language" as voice:
Kikongo and Lingala (in Congo-Brazzaville and Zaire).
Guy-Maurille