Profiles of Multilingualism in Kampala: an Analysis of Language Biographies and Linguistic Repertoires of University Students
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PROFILES OF MULTILINGUALISM IN KAMPALA: AN ANALYSIS OF LANGUAGE BIOGRAPHIES AND LINGUISTIC REPERTOIRES OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS By FLORENCE TENDO BAYIGA Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in General Linguistics in the faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Prof. Christine Anthonissen Co-supervisor: Dr. Ondene Van Dulm March 2016 Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za DECLARATION By submitting this dissertation, I declare that I understand what constitutes plagiarism, that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights, and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. ................................................................................. .......................................................... Name Date Copyright ©2016 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved i Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my three children who persevered staying without mummy for months as I was away for studies. I pray that they have the charisma to persevere even more challenges to achieve great goals in life. ii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za ABSTRACT This is a sociolinguistic study that investigates the language biographies and repertoires that underpin the kinds of linguistic knowledge students in Kampala, Uganda have acquired by the time they enter university. The study relates such biographies and repertoires to the status of the various languages represented in the study. The concepts of ‘multilingualism’ and ‘linguistic repertoire’ are central to this study as they are relevant to multilingual African communities where a wide variety of indigenous languages are recorded. The study highlights the difficulties of applying standard definitions of these concepts to speakers and communities in countries that have a highly mobile multilingual population. Insight into the linguistic resources students bring to the tertiary classroom could assist in explaining much of the communicative practices encountered among multilingual students, and in developing their linguistic resources for adequate use in academic and professional domains. An overarching objective of this research is to characterise the nature of multilingualism(s) of selected students at a Ugandan university. It also considers how their language biographies gave rise to and shaped their linguistic repertoires, and it shows how these are related to the status of different languages in local communities. The project recorded manifestations of multilingualism among University students in Kampala, investigated how various skills associated with the respective repertoires developed, and analysed how language biographies and linguistic repertoires disclose particular effects of different languages with different kinds of status in Uganda. Research data of three kinds was collected among a group of students at Makerere University, namely (i) meta-data and biographical information for which a questionnaire was used, (ii) multimodal figures in the form of coloured body shapes which participants annotated, and (iii) narratives of a selected number of participants, speakers of different L1s, collected in interviews. The triangulation of data provided by these instruments gave a holistic image of the individuals as social actors, and of the languages they use in the different social contexts in which they enact their lives. The findings of the study give an impression of the variety of languages represented amongst a sample of University students in an urban, tertiary educational setting. It also gives an indication of the mobility of the participants, which had an effect on when and how their iii Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za linguistic repertoires were acquired. Perceptions of and attitudes towards the official and indigenous languages including their home languages have been recorded. Informally assigned status of the languages in the country has emerged as part of the detailed profile of the multilingualism of the participants. The study indicates that many conventional definitions of ‘multilingualism’ and how it manifests in individual and community language practices need to be revised to fit linguistic realities as they exist in an African community such as in the urban setting of Kampala. iv Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to greatly honour and praise the almighty God who allowed for this opportunity to materialize. He has seen me through all the challenges both academic and social making it possible for me to persevere and overcome all the stumbling blocks. My God is awesome. Secondly, I express my gratitude to the Graduate School of Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences for granting me a scholarship that enabled to me pursue this PhD. The Director of the Graduate School, Dr. Cindy Steenkamp, thank you for all that you are and all that you do. Then to my two supervisors: Prof. Christine Anthonissen and Dr. OndeneVan Dulm, thank you for aiding the progress and success of this research and for enhancing my academic growth. Your guidance helped me to learn so much in the field of ‘multilingualism’ which is very pertinent in understanding my own local environment, and in enhancing my research and teaching career at university. I must acknowledge how much you made me improve my academic style. Thank you my supervisors. Thirdly, I wish to appreciate my dear little ones. My children Melvin, Ethan and baby Katrina are my stars shining so bright upon my progress. These gave their best support as children by keeping strong at all times and praying for me every day while I was away from them for many months. May God shower their lives with unending blessings. To all my friends, in and out of Stellenbosch, you motivated and assisted me in different ways. I cannot mention names because you are quite a number. For all of you my friends who were there for me, may you find favour in all your endeavours ahead and may you prosper where you need to. Lastly, I thank my parents and siblings who kept the communication flowing at all times. You made loneliness a myth for most of the time and kept me going on. Thank you Mr. Matovu Daniel for taking care of the little ones as I pursued this PhD. May God reward you. v Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ACALAN: African Academy of Languages L1: First language L2: Second Language L1s: First languages Lotl: Language of teaching and learning MT: Mother Tongue SIL: Summer Institute of Linguistics SLA: Second Language Acquisition UBOS: Uganda Bureau of Statistics UNESCO: United Nations Educational Scientific Organisation vi Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration ................................................................................................................................. i Dedication .................................................................................................................................. ii Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... v List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................. vi Table of contents ...................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER ONE 1.0 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ........................................................................ 3 1.2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES...................................................................................... 4 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ....................................................................................... 4 1.4 THEORETICAL POINTS OF DEPARTURE .......................................................... 5 1.4.1 Defining multilingualism .......................................................................................... 6 1.4.2 A brief overview of multilingualism in research ....................................................... 7 1.4.3 Urban multilingualism illustrated at a University in Kampala ................................ 11 1.4.4 Language as local practice ...................................................................................... 12 1.4.5 Communities of practice ......................................................................................... 15 1.5 CENTRAL CONCEPTS INVESTIGATED IN THIS STUDY .............................. 17 1.5.1 Linguistic biographies ............................................................................................. 17 1.5.2 Linguistic repertoire ................................................................................................ 17 1.5.3 Language Status ...................................................................................................... 18 1.6 SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................