In the traditional theory of conversation, the phenomenon of so called “dispersing voice,” which I have described, is usually regarded as a deviation from conventional conversation styles. However, it has been incorporated into Bongando society without any strain, and serves a purpose for them. When I come across cases like this, what always strike me is how much we have allowed the Western-oriented communication style (which is deemed ideal) to be a coordinate axis in formulating theories of communication. We have not yet come far enough to establish a new framework in contraposition to traditional theories. However, if we continue to record similar cases, the accumulation may help expand the possibilities of communication studies, and in time allow the traditional framework to shift.

For instance, in recent years, the spread of new communication media such as cell phones and the Internet, has changed the way we relate to one another in our own society. However, we are not yet fully equipped with methods to describe such relations. The culture of “dispersing voice” may not directly provide a model for analyzing these changing social relations, but recording the way it was culturally forged will give us significant clues for examining our own communications in the 21st century.

(This short thesis is a summary of a report I contributed to the book, Towards a Multi-centered Framework -Looking at African Language and Society (in Japanese), Motoji Matsuda and Masaoki Miyamoto, eds. Jimbun Shoin Publishing Co. 2002.)