DOCSLIB.ORG

The Neuter in Bantu a Systemic Functional Analysis

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Neuter in Bantu a Systemic Functional Analysis Ghent University Master of Advanced Studies in Linguistics 2013-2014 The neuter in Bantu A Systemic Functional analysis Promoter: Miriam Taverniers Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master in Advanced Studies of Linguistics by Sebastian Dom. Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to thank Deo Kawalya for his enthousiastic collaboration and his dedication and time invested in this study (even though he had to work on his PhD pro- ject), and for his permission to use his Ganda corpus. An important part of this research would not have been possible without his help. My gratitude also goes to my promoter, professor Miriam Taverniers, thanks to whom I discovered the exciting and interesting theory of Sys- temic Functional Grammar, and who unintentionally gave me the idea of working on the neu- ter in Bantu. I am also thankful to George Mertens, for helping me evaluate my Swahili data, and to professor Michael Meeuwis, for his detailed report on the zone C languages. Finally, I would like to thank Koen Bostoen for reviewing a preliminary presentation of this project, and for pointing out to me that the neuter suffix is reconstructed for Proto-Bantu with a sec- ond degree vowel. i ii Contents Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................. v Conventions ............................................................................................................................... vi Part 1. Introduction and background .......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research questions and objectives ................................................................................... 3 1.3 The Bantu languages ........................................................................................................ 5 1.4 Theoretical framework ..................................................................................................... 9 1.4.1 Systemic Functional Grammar .................................................................................. 9 1.4.1.1 General overview ............................................................................................... 9 1.4.1.2 Experiential structure ....................................................................................... 11 1.4.1.3 The ergative model ........................................................................................... 14 1.4.1.4 Interpersonal structure ...................................................................................... 16 1.4.2 The Typological framework .................................................................................... 19 1.4.2.1 Anticausativity ................................................................................................. 19 1.4.2.2 Ergativity .......................................................................................................... 21 1.4.2.3 The middle domain ........................................................................................... 22 1.4.3 Government and Binding ........................................................................................ 23 1.4.3.1 Causative/anticausative alternation .................................................................. 23 1.4.3.2 Unaccusativity Hypothesis ............................................................................... 25 1.4.4 Summary ................................................................................................................. 25 1.5 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 26 Part 2. The neuter in Bantu ....................................................................................................... 33 2.1 The neuter extension ...................................................................................................... 33 2.1.1 Ergative alternation ................................................................................................. 34 2.1.2 Agentless passive derivation ................................................................................... 39 2.1.3 Potential derivation ................................................................................................. 44 2.1.4 Idiosyncratic derivation ........................................................................................... 56 2.1.5 Summary ................................................................................................................. 59 2.2 The neuter in combination with other extensions .......................................................... 62 2.2.1 Suffix ordering in Bantu .......................................................................................... 62 2.2.2 Causative-neuter ...................................................................................................... 63 2.2.3 Neuter-causative ...................................................................................................... 69 iii 2.2.4 Applicative-neuter ................................................................................................... 69 2.2.5 Neuter-applicative ................................................................................................... 70 2.2.6 Neuter-reciprocal ..................................................................................................... 72 2.2.7 Passive-neuter .......................................................................................................... 78 2.2.8 Neuter-passive ......................................................................................................... 78 2.2.9 Neuter-extensive in zone S languages ..................................................................... 79 2.2.10 The separative intransitive: a case for separative-neuter combination ................. 81 2.2.11 Summary ............................................................................................................... 83 2.3 Languages lacking a reflex of the neuter extension ...................................................... 84 2.3.1 Zone A languages .................................................................................................... 85 2.3.2 C10-70 languages .................................................................................................... 86 2.3.3 Summary ................................................................................................................. 89 2.4 Remaining issues ............................................................................................................ 89 Part 3. The neuter in Ganda ...................................................................................................... 91 3.1 Introduction to Ganda ..................................................................................................... 91 3.2 Ergative alternation ........................................................................................................ 93 3.3 Agentless passive derivation .......................................................................................... 97 3.4 Potential derivation ...................................................................................................... 100 3.5 Idiosyncratic derivation ................................................................................................ 102 3.6 Frequency of neuter verbs in the corpus ...................................................................... 110 3.7 Summary ...................................................................................................................... 113 Part 4. General conclusion ..................................................................................................... 115 4.1 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 115 4.2 Further research ............................................................................................................ 116 References .............................................................................................................................. 119 Appendix ................................................................................................................................ 127 iv Abbreviations AN animate REFL reflexive APPL applicative REL relative ATTRx attributive prefix (number of REM remote past marker class indicated in subscript, REP repetitive/continuative here ‘x’) S subject AUGx augment SBJ subjunctive C consonant SEP separative CAUS causative SMx subject marker CLx nominal prefix/class marker SG singular CLTx clitic SVB simple verb base CND conditional marker TA tense and/or aspect marker CNJ conjunct V vowel (in phonological con- CON connective text); verb (in all other con- COP copula texts) DEMx demonstrative VP verb phrase DO direct object EMPH emphatic marker EVB extended verb base FOC focus marker FUT future tense marker FV final vowel LOCx locative prefix INAN inanimate NAR narrative tense marker NEG negative NP noun phrase NT neuter OMx object marker PASS passive PL plural PPx pronominal prefix POSS possessive PRF perfect PROG progressive aspect marker PRON pronoun PRS
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Identity, Territory, and Power in the Eastern Congo Rift Valley Institute | Usalama Project
    RIFT VALLEY INSTITUTE | USALAMA PROJECT UNDERSTANDING CONGOLESE ARMED GROUPS SOUTH KIVU IDENTITY, TERRITORY, AND POWER IN THE EASTERN CONGO RIFT VALLEY INSTITUTE | USALAMA PROJECT South Kivu Identity, territory, and power in the eastern Congo KOEN VLASSENROOT Published in 2013 by the Rift Valley Institute 1 St Luke’s Mews, London W11 1DF, United Kingdom PO Box 52771 GPO, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya THE USALAMA PROJECT The Rift Valley Institute’s Usalama Project documents armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project is supported by Humanity United and Open Square, and undertaken in collaboration with the Catholic University of Bukavu. THE RIFT VALLEY INSTITUTE (RVI) The Rift Valley Institute (www.riftvalley.net) works in Eastern and Central Africa to bring local knowledge to bear on social, political, and economic development. THE AUTHOR Koen Vlassenroot is Professor of Political Science and director of the Conflict Research Group at the University of Ghent. He is associated to the Egmont Institute and a RVI fellow. He co-authored Conflict and Social Transformation in Eastern DR Congo (2004) and co-edited The Lord’s Resistance Army: Myth or Reality? (2010). He is the lead researcher on the DRC for the Justice and Security Research Programme. CREDITS RVI ExECUTIVE DIRECTOR: John Ryle RVI PROgRAMME DIRECTOR: Christopher Kidner RVI USALAMA PROJECT DIRECTOR: Jason Stearns RVI USALAMA DEPUTY PROJECT DIRECTOR: Willy Mikenye RVI Great LAKES PROgRAMME MANAgER: Michel Thill RVI Information OFFICER: Tymon Kiepe EDITORIAL consultant: Fergus Nicoll Report DESIgN: Lindsay Nash Maps: Jillian Luff, MAPgrafix PRINTINg: Intype Libra Ltd., 3/4 Elm Grove Industrial Estate, London SW19 4HE ISBN 978-1-907431-25-8 COVER CAPTION Congolese woman carrying firewood in the hills of Minembwe, South Kivu (2012).
    [Show full text]
  • Trilingual Codeswitching in Kenya – Evidence from Ekegusii, Kiswahili, English and Sheng
    Trilingual Codeswitching in Kenya – Evidence from Ekegusii, Kiswahili, English and Sheng Dissertation zur Erlangung der Würde des Doktors der Philosophie der Universität Hamburg vorgelegt von Nathan Oyori Ogechi aus Kenia Hamburg 2002 ii 1. Gutachterin: Prof. Dr. Mechthild Reh 2. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Ludwig Gerhardt Datum der Disputation: 15. November 2002 iii Acknowledgement I am indebted to many people for their support and encouragement. It is not possible to mention all by name. However, it would be remiss of me not to name some of them because their support was too conspicuous. I am bereft of words with which to thank my supervisor Prof. Dr. Mechthild Reh for accepting to supervise my research and her selflessness that enabled me secure further funding at the expiry of my one-year scholarship. Her thoroughness and meticulous supervision kept me on toes. I am also indebted to Prof. Dr. Ludwig Gerhardt for reading my error-ridden draft. I appreciate the support I received from everybody at the Afrika-Abteilung, Universität Hamburg, namely Dr. Roland Kießling, Theda Schumann, Dr. Jutta Becher, Christiane Simon, Christine Pawlitzky and the institute librarian, Frau Carmen Geisenheyner. Professors Myers-Scotton, Kamwangamalu, Clyne and Auer generously sent me reading materials whenever I needed them. Thank you Dr. Irmi Hanak at Afrikanistik, Vienna, Ndugu Abdulatif Abdalla of Leipzig and Bi. Sauda Samson of Hamburg. I thank the DAAD for initially funding my stay in Deutschland. Professors Miehe and Khamis of Bayreuth must be thanked for their selfless support. I appreciate the kind support I received from the Akademisches Auslandsamt, University of Hamburg.
    [Show full text]
  • Cover Page the Handle Holds Various Files of This Leiden University Dissertation. Author: Lima
    Cover Page The handle http://hdl.handle.net/1887/85723 holds various files of this Leiden University dissertation. Author: Lima Santiago J. de Title: Zoonímia Histórico-comparativa: Denominações dos antílopes em bantu Issue Date: 2020-02-26 729 ANEXO 1: TABELA RECAPITULATIVA DAS PROTOFORMAS Nas protoformas provenientes do BLR (2003) e nas reconstruções de outros autores (majoritariamente, Mouguiama & Hombert, 2006), as classes nominais em negrito e sublinhadas, são sugestões da autora da tese. Significados Reconstruções Propostas Propostas do BLR e de de correções (De Lima outros autores Santiago) *-bʊ́dʊ́kʊ́ °-bʊ́dʊ́gʊ́ (cl. 9/10, 12/13) °-cénda (cl. 12/13) Philantomba °-cótɩ́ monticola (cl. 12/13) *-kùengà > °-kùèngà (cl. 11/5, 7/8) °°-cécɩ/ °°-cétɩ (cl. 9/10, 12/13) *-pàmbı ́ °-pàmbɩ́ (cl. 9/10) °-dòbò Cephalophus (cl. 3+9/4, nigrifrons 5/6) *-pùmbɩ̀dɩ̀ °-pùmbèèdɩ̀ (cl. 9/10, 9/6) 730 Significados Reconstruções Propostas Propostas do BLR e de de correções (De Lima outros autores Santiago) *-jʊ́mbɩ̀ (cl. 9/10, 3/4) °°-cʊ́mbɩ (cl. 9/10, 5/6, 7/8, 11/10) *-jìbʊ̀ °-tʊ́ndʊ́ Cephalophus (cl. 9/10) (cl. 9/10) silvicultor °°-bɩ́mbà °-bɩ̀mbà (cl. 9/10) °-kʊtɩ (cl. 9, 3) *-kʊ́dʊ̀pà/ °-bɩ́ndɩ́ *-kúdùpà (cl. 9/10, 7/8, (cl. 9/10) 3, 12/13) Cephalophus dorsalis °°-cíbʊ̀ °-pòmbɩ̀ (cl. 7/8) (cl. 9/10) °°-cʊmɩ >°-cʊmɩ́ °-gindà (cl. 9) Cephalophus (cl. 3/4) callipygus °°-cábè >°-cábà (cl. 9/10, 7/8) °°-bɩ̀jɩ̀ (cl. 9) 731 Significados Reconstruções Propostas Propostas do BLR e de de correções (De Lima outros autores Santiago) *-bengeda >°-bèngédè °-cégé (cl.9/10) (cl. 9/10) °°-àngàdà >°-jàngàdà Cephalophus (cl.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Parameters of Morpho-Syntactic Variation
    This paper appeared in: Transactions of the Philological Society Volume 105:3 (2007) 253–338. Please always use the published version for citation. PARAMETERS OF MORPHO-SYNTACTIC VARIATION IN BANTU* a b c By LUTZ MARTEN , NANCY C. KULA AND NHLANHLA THWALA a School of Oriental and African Studies, b University of Leiden and School of Oriental and African Studies, c University of the Witwatersrand and School of Oriental and African Studies ABSTRACT Bantu languages are fairly uniform in terms of broad typological parameters. However, they have been noted to display a high degree or more fine-grained morpho-syntactic micro-variation. In this paper we develop a systematic approach to the study of morpho-syntactic variation in Bantu by developing 19 parameters which serve as the basis for cross-linguistic comparison and which we use for comparing ten south-eastern Bantu languages. We address conceptual issues involved in studying morpho-syntax along parametric lines and show how the data we have can be used for the quantitative study of language comparison. Although the work reported is a case study in need of expansion, we will show that it nevertheless produces relevant results. 1. INTRODUCTION Early studies of morphological and syntactic linguistic variation were mostly aimed at providing broad parameters according to which the languages of the world differ. The classification of languages into ‘inflectional’, ‘agglutinating’, and ‘isolating’ morphological types, originating from the work of Humboldt (1836), is a well-known example of this approach. Subsequent studies in linguistic typology, e.g. work following Greenberg (1963), similarly tried to formulate variables which could be applied to any language and which would classify languages into a number of different types.
    [Show full text]
  • Swahili and the Dilemma of Ugandan Language Policy*
    ASIAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES, 5, 1996, 2, 158170 SWAHILI AND THE DILEMMA OF UGANDAN LANGUAGE POLICY* Viera PAWLIKOVÁ-VILHANOVÁ Institute of Oriental and African Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia The language situation in East Africa is characterized by the widespread use of Swahili. While both in Tanzania and Kenya Swahili has been systematically promoted in all spheres of everyday life, Uganda has lacked a coherent government policy on language development and the position of Swahili in Uganda has always been very ambiguous. The continued vacil- lation over language policy and the Luganda/Swahili opposition threatening to carve the country into two major camps of language choice which is characteristic of the Ugandan lan- guage situation suggests that the language issue is not likely to be solved in the near future. Africa probably has the most complex and varied language situation in the world. It is a well known fact that the national boundaries of African countries drawn arbitrarily by the colonial powers at conferences in Europe during the time of the imperial partition of the African continent, pay little regard to the historical, cultural and linguistic affinity of the Africans. Few African states are known for their linguistic homogeneity.1 Given a very complex language situa- tion in Africa south of the Sahara with African languages co-existing and com- peting with European languages as well as with various lingua francas, Pidgins and Creoles, multilinguism and hence multilingualism is a feature of most Afri- can countries and it seems that it will remain the norm for a long time to come.
    [Show full text]
  • Local Referenda on Fisheries Futures for Lake Tanganyika
    RESEARCH FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FISHERIES ON LAKE TANGANYIKA GCP/RAF/271/FIN-TD/91 (En) GCP/RAF/271/FIN-TD/91(En) February 1999 BUILDING MANAGEMENT PARTNERSHIPS: LOCAL REFERENDA ON FISHERIES FUTURES FOR LAKE TANGANYIKA Edited By: J.E. Reynolds FINNISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Bujumbura, February 1999 The conclusions and recommendations given in this and other reports in the Research for the Management of the Fisheries on the Lake Tanganyika Project series are those considered appropriate at the time of preparation. They may be modified in the light of further knowledge gained at subsequent stages of the Project. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of FAO or FINNIDA concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or concerning the determination of its frontiers or boundaries. PREFACE The Research for the Management of the Fisheries on Lake Tanganyika project (LTR) became fully operational in January 1992. It is executed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and funded by the Finnish International Development Agency (FINNIDA) and the Arab Gulf Program for the United Nations Development Organization (AGFUND). LTR's objective is the determination of the biological basis for fish production on Lake Tanganyika, in order to permit the formulation of a coherent lake-wide fisheries management policy for the four riparian States (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia). Particular attention is given to the reinforcement of the skills and physical facilities of the fisheries research units in all four beneficiary countries as well as to the build-up of effective coordination mechanisms to ensure full collaboration between the Governments concerned.
    [Show full text]
  • 1646 KMS Kenya Past and Present Issue 46.Pdf
    Kenya Past and Present ISSUE 46, 2019 CONTENTS KMS HIGHLIGHTS, 2018 3 Pat Jentz NMK HIGHLIGHTS, 2018 7 Juliana Jebet NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS 13 AT MT. ELGON CAVES, WESTERN KENYA Emmanuel K. Ndiema, Purity Kiura, Rahab Kinyanjui RAS SERANI: AN HISTORICAL COMPLEX 22 Hans-Martin Sommer COCKATOOS AND CROCODILES: 32 SEARCHING FOR WORDS OF AUSTRONESIAN ORIGIN IN SWAHILI Martin Walsh PURI, PAROTHA, PICKLES AND PAPADAM 41 Saryoo Shah ZANZIBAR PLATES: MAASTRICHT AND OTHER PLATES 45 ON THE EAST AFRICAN COAST Villoo Nowrojee and Pheroze Nowrojee EXCEPTIONAL OBJECTS FROM KENYA’S 53 ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES Angela W. Kabiru FRONT COVER ‘They speak to us of warm welcomes and traditional hospitality, of large offerings of richly flavoured rice, of meat cooked in coconut milk, of sweets as generous in quantity as the meals they followed.’ See Villoo and Pheroze Nowrojee. ‘Zanzibar Plates’ p. 45 1 KMS COUNCIL 2018 - 2019 KENYA MUSEUM SOCIETY Officers The Kenya Museum Society (KMS) is a non-profit Chairperson Pat Jentz members’ organisation formed in 1971 to support Vice Chairperson Jill Ghai and promote the work of the National Museums of Honorary Secretary Dr Marla Stone Kenya (NMK). You are invited to join the Society and Honorary Treasurer Peter Brice receive Kenya Past and Present. Privileges to members include regular newsletters, free entrance to all Council Members national museums, prehistoric sites and monuments PR and Marketing Coordinator Kari Mutu under the jurisdiction of the National Museums of Weekend Outings Coordinator Narinder Heyer Kenya, entry to the Oloolua Nature Trail at half price Day Outings Coordinator Catalina Osorio and 5% discount on books in the KMS shop.
    [Show full text]
  • Name Language E-Mail Phone City French Swahili Lingala Hemba Kiluba Kirundi Kinyarwanda Swahili French French Swahili Lingala 4
    Name Language E-mail Phone City French Swahili 1 Beatrice Mbayo Lingala [email protected] 859 -457 -7205 Lexington Hemba Kiluba Kirundi Kinyarwanda 2 Brigitte Nduwimana [email protected] 859-913-1419 Lexington Swahili French French 3 Christine Yohali Swahili [email protected] 859-368-2276 Lexington Lingala 4 Durar Shakir Arabic [email protected] 618-924-0629 Lexington Kinyarwanda 5 Lodrigue Mutabazi [email protected] 615-568-1689 Lexington Swahili Swahili 6 Modest M Bittock Kinyarwanda [email protected] (859)285-3740 Lexington Kirundi 7 Ranuka Chettri Nepali [email protected] 859-312-8216 Lexington 8 Shaza Awad Arabic [email protected] 606-215-9571 Lexington Kirundi Kinyarwanda 9 Tite Niyonizigiye [email protected] 859-368-3167 Lexington Swahili French Somali 10 Abdirizak Mohamed [email protected] 502-450-1346 Louisville Mai-Mai Dari Farsi Urdu Persian 11 Abdul Hasib Abdul Rasool [email protected] 502-337-4550 Louisville Hindi Russian Ukrainian Pashto Somali Swahili 12 Amina Mahamud [email protected] 207-415-5118 Louisville Mai Mai Hindi Dari Persian 13 Aneela Abdul Rasool Farsi [email protected] 502-337-5587 Louisville Urdu Hindi Nepali 14 Buddha Subedi [email protected] 502-294-1246 Louisville Hindi 15 Chandra Regmi Nepali [email protected] 502-337-5524 Louisville Kinyarwanda Swahili 16 Chantal Nyirinkwaya French [email protected] 502-299-4169 Louisville Kirundi Lingala Burmese 17 Hnem Kim [email protected] 502-298-4321 Louisville Chin Kinyarwanda 18 Jean de Dieu Nzeyimana Kirundi
    [Show full text]
  • Learning Swahili Morphology, with Fidele Mpiranya. 2018
    Learning Swahili morphology John Goldsmith and Fidèle Mpiranya July 23, 2018 1 Introduction In this paper we would like to explain some of the things that we have learned from a project on the learning of morphology. “Learning of morphology” in this context means using an algorithm which takes a large amount of text from a language, and draws conclusions about what are the roots, affixes, and principles of word construction (from roots and affixes) in this particular language. The crucial fact to bear in mind is that the algorithm is to have no prior knowledge of the language that we give to it. If the language is English or is Swahili, the learning algorithm starts from the same point; any differences that it draws between the two derive entirely from the data, and not from anything that we have given to the algorithm. That sounds like a tall order, and in some ways it is. But we can offer the following as motivation for this work. When we teach an introductory course on linguistics, we always reserve the second class on morphology for an experiment. We begin by putting a word on the board: ninasema, but we do not tell them this is from Swahili. We ask if anyone knows what it means or what language it comes from; if someone does know, we tell them to be quiet for the rest of the class. Then we ask everyone else to divide it into morphemes. There is silence, of course, because the students think they have no idea what the right answer is.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ruzizi Plain
    The Ruzizi Plain A CROSSROADS OF CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE Judith Verweijen, Juvénal Twaibu, Oscar Dunia Abedi and Alexis Ndisanze Ntababarwa INSECURE LIVELIHOODS SERIES / NOVEMBER 2020 Photo cover: Bar in Sange, Ruzizi Plain © Judith Verweijen 2017 The Ruzizi Plain A CROSSROADS OF CONFLICT AND VIOLENCE Judith Verweijen, Juvénal Twaibu, Oscar Dunia Abedi and Alexis Ndisanze Ntababarwa Executive summary The Ruzizi Plain in South Kivu Province has been the theatre of ongoing conflicts and violence for over two decades. Patterns and dynamics of con- flicts and violence have significantly evolved over time. Historically, conflict dynamics have largely centred on disputed customary authority – often framed in terms of intercommunity conflict. Violence was connected to these conflicts, which generated local security dilemmas. Consequently, armed groups mobilized to defend their commu- nity, albeit often at the behest of political and military entrepreneurs with more self-interested motives. At present, however, violence is mostly related to armed groups’ revenue-generation strategies, which involve armed burglary, robbery, assassinations, kidnappings for ransom and cattle-looting. Violence is also significantly nourished by interpersonal conflicts involving debt, family matters, and rivalries. In recent years, regional tensions and the activities of foreign armed groups and forces have become an additional factor of instability. Unfortunately, stabilization interventions have largely overlooked or been unable to address these changing drivers of violence. They have mostly focused on local conflict resolution, with less effort directed at addressing supra-local factors, such as the behaviour of political elites and the national army, and geopolitical tensions between countries in the Great Lakes Region. Future stabilization efforts will need to take these dimensions better into account.
    [Show full text]
  • The International Status of Kiswahili: the Parameters of Braj Kachru's
    The International Status of Kiswahili: The Parameters of Braj Kachru’s Model of World Englishes by Patrick Lugwiri Okombo, MA [email protected] Nairobi, Kenya & Edwin Muna, MA [email protected] Nairobi, Kenya Abstract This paper critically examines the status of Kiswahili as an international language within the parameters of Braj Kachru’s sociolinguistic construct – “Model of World Englishes”, that works to analyze how sociolinguistic histories, multicultural backgrounds and contexts of function influence the use of English in different regions of the world. In our view, such a model yields fairly objective results. Thus, the results of this paper are that Kiswahili perfectly meets the standards of an international language within Braj Kachru’s model, albeit with few disparities. The paper concludes that Kiswahili’s growth into an international language is clearly taking the trends taken by English as examined by Kachru. Hence, the findings reinforce Kiswahili’s geo- political significance as it recommends the creation of conditions that would encourage its spread and influence in the world. Key words: Kiswahili, international language, world Englishes, native speaker 55 Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.10, no.7, September 2017 Introduction Kiswahili is an indigenous African language whose origin, according to many researchers, is the coast of Eastern Africa. Traditionally, it was regarded as the language of the coastal communities of Kenya and Tanzania. It remained the language of the people of East African coast for a long time. It is argued that the early visitors and traders, such as the Arabs and Persians who came to the East African coast, used to speak with the natives in Kiswahili.
    [Show full text]
  • Language Information LANGUAGE LINE
    Language Information LANGUAGE LINE. The Court strongly prefers to use live interpreters in the courtrooms whenever possible. However, when the Court can’t find live interpreters, we sometimes use Language Line, a national telephone service supplying interpreters for most languages on the planet almost immediately. The number for that service is 1-800-874-9426. Contact Circuit Administration at 605-367-5920 for the Court’s account number and authorization codes. AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE/DEAF INTERPRETATION Minnehaha County in the 2nd Judicial Circuit uses a combination of local, highly credentialed ASL/Deaf interpretation providers including Communication Services for the Deaf (CSD), Interpreter Services Inc. (ISI), and highly qualified freelancers for the courts in Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, and Canton, Lincoln County. We are also happy to make court video units available to any other courts to access these interpreters from Sioux Falls (although many providers have their own video units now). The State of South Dakota has also adopted certification requirements for ASL/deaf interpretation “in a legal setting” in 2006. The following link published by the State Department of Human Services/ Division of Rehabilitative Services lists all the certified interpreters in South Dakota and their certification levels, and provides a lot of other information on deaf interpretation requirements and services in South Dakota. DHS Deaf Services AFRICAN DIALECTS A number of the residents of the 2nd Judicial Circuit speak relatively obscure African dialects. For court staff, attorneys, and the public, this list may be of some assistance in confirming the spelling and country of origin of some of those rare African dialects.
    [Show full text]