This paper outlines the sociolinguistic situation in the smallest country of mainland
Africa, The Gambia. Very little has been published about the languages and sociolinguistic
situation in The Gambia and it was upon discovering this dearth of reliable
published sources that led the authors to pool knowledge garnered during independent
doctoral research. In this paper we have coupled language shift with a detailed description
of the dynamic sociolinguistic profile of The Gambia and trust that it contributes
to an understanding of changing ecologies of language in West Africa. Following a
portrayal of the indigenous and exogenous languages of The Gambia, with attention
to hybrid, overlapping and shifting ethnolinguistic identities, the role of language in
several social institutions in a changing society is identified and discussed. The paper
culminates in a discussion of linguistic and cultural diversity and appeals for more
research in this sociolinguistically unexposed country