DOCSLIB.ORG

Comparative Tense and Aspect in the Mara Bantu Languages

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Comparative Tense and Aspect in the Mara Bantu Languages COMPARATIVE TENSE AND ASPECT IN THE MARA BANTU LANGUAGES: TOWARDS A LINGUISTIC HISTORY by JOHN B. WALKER A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES LINGUISTICS We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard ……………………………………………………. Jamin Pelkey, PhD; Thesis Supervisor ……………………………………………………. Sean Allison, PhD; Second Reader ……………………………………………………. Oliver Stegen, PhD; Third Reader TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY October 24, 2013 © John B. Walker Abstract The Mara region of Tanzania is a densely populated area that contains at least 22 Bantu speech varieties in addition to the Nilotic languages Luo and Taturu (Hill et al. 2007; Mitterhofer & Robinson 2012). In Maho’s updated version of Guthrie’s geographically influenced classification system, the Bantu speech varieties of the region are divided into the JE25 and JE40 groups (Maho 2009). To a large degree this classification corresponds with the proposed genetic linguistic sub-groups of “Mara” (most of JE40) and “Suguti” (JE25), which are purportedly related to each other under the East Nyanza branch of Great Lakes (GL) Bantu based on lexical similarity in core vocabulary, shared lexical innovation/borrowing, and insight from other scientific fields like archaeology and palynology (Schoenbrun 1990). Additionally, Schoenbrun’s (1990) study on GL Bantu further subdivides “Mara” into North Mara and South Mara groups. More recent studies interested in comparative linguistics amongst the Mara languages have focused on vowel systems (Higgins 2011: 267-275) and discourse (Rundell 2012). The primary goal of this current research is to compare the TA systems amongst the Mara languages with the aim of finding any shared “individual-identifying” innovations (Nichols 1996); these can then serve as a basis for subgrouping linguistic varieties and gaining a better understanding of historical relationships between them. A secondary goal is to provide a preliminary linguistic description of the TA systems of the Mara languages, which is an area of study that has previously been lacking. The five core speech varieties under examination are Ikizu (JE402, [ikz]), Ikoma (JE45, [ntk]), Kabwa (JE405, [cwa]), Simbiti (JE431, [ssc]), and Zanaki (JE44, [zak]). Additional data is drawn from previous studies (Nurse 2007: 127-129 based on Whiteley 1960; Cammenga 2004; Mwita 2008) on two other Mara languages, Gusii (JE42, [guz]) and Kuria (JE43, [kuj]), to broaden the scope of the comparative analysis. The primary data for this study was gathered in each of the five core languages through the elicitation of 91 Swahili sentences and an oral text based on events in a short film called “Pear Story” (University of California at Berkeley 1975; Chafe 1980). Based on other TA studies in Bantu (Nurse 2008; Botne 2013; Botne & Kershner 2008), this data is presented and compared in three sections. The first section covers various degrees of past and non-past tenses, as well as referential tenses referring to sequential events in a narrative. Following this, a number of aspectual properties of Bantu (including Anterior/Perfect, Progressive/Continuous, Habitual, Persistive and Inceptive) are observed in the Mara languages. The third section looks at several modal categories (Subjunctive, Conditional, Hypothetical and Potential) and other related verbal categories (Negation and Relatives). This mass of data is then analyzed in light of other comparative studies in GL Bantu (Schoenbrun 1990; Nurse & Muzale 1999; Nurse 2008) to determine whether there is evidence from TA comparisons to support the hypothesized Mara genetic grouping and also to ascertain the relationship between the North Mara and South Mara languages. The final conclusion of the study is that, although the languages all show evidence of a TA system related to Proto-GL, there is not a sufficient base of shared individual-identifying innovations that unite the TA systems of all the Mara languages. Instead, there is stronger evidence for a split between the North Mara (Kuria, Simbiti, and Kabwa) and the South Mara (Ikizu, Zanaki, and Ikoma) sub-groups, with some overlap between the systems of Simbiti (North Mara) and Ikoma (South Mara). This lends favor to an interpretation of a short-lived Proto-Mara language that soon became a dialect chain with Proto-North and Proto-South varieties still in contact with each other. After a while these became distinct languages with their own internal dialect variation, but the varieties closest to the contact zone (pre-Simbiti and pre-Ikoma) shared some common features with each other. iv Acknowledgements The process of writing a thesis has been full of frustrations and joys, but the journey has also produced great personal growth. This study is by far the biggest single task I have ever set out to accomplish and its completion is due to the input, advice and encouragement of many people. First of all, I am very grateful to my thesis advisor, Dr. Jamin Pelkey, under whose tutelage I have had the privilege of learning many important lessons both in linguistics and in life. His teaching has provided me with a solid philosophy of language that undergirds a more holistic approach to my work in linguistics. Additionally, his advice on specific matters of detail on this thesis has improved the final product. I am also appreciative of the input I have received from my other readers, Dr. Sean Allison and Dr. Oliver Stegen. They have brought their distinctive areas of expertise to bear on this thesis, which has stretched me beyond where I would have otherwise gone. I thank Sean for his comments on descriptive linguistic standards and ideas for how to incorporate that into this research. I thank Oliver for his suggestions about academic writing as well as his wealth of knowledge on Bantu languages that far exceeds my own. I also am grateful to both men for their recommendations on further background research that has proven invaluable in increasing the academic quality of the thesis. I am incredibly thankful for the five Tanzanian language consultants I worked with from the Ikoma, Ikizu, Kabwa, Simbiti, and Zanaki language groups. Unfortunately, due to confidentiality agreements required by research ethics, I cannot disclose their names. Without their help there would be no thesis, so I look forward to working with them more in the future and giving them full credit for further input on their languages. v I also received input from linguistic experts on the Mara languages and I thank them heartily. I thank Holly Robinson ( née Higgins) for her general encouragement and also for her insight into the Ikoma language, which has proven difficult to analyze. I thank Hazel Gray for sharing her knowledge on the Ikizu and Zanaki languages, even in the midst of working on her own thesis. I also thank Tim Roth for spurring me on in the task and for giving input on how to integrate and apply theoretical insight to Bantu historical and comparative linguistics. Additionally, I want to thank those who were instrumental in facilitating different aspects of my Thesis Defense so that a teleconference could be held from three different locations on two continents. These people include Rod Casali, Dave Jeffery, Diane Beaton and Andrew Sweet. On the non-linguistic side of things, I have received invaluable emotional support from my family. My parents, Doug and Marilyn Walker, and my brother and sister-in-law, Kevin and Janelle, have continually shown an interest in my work and prayed for me. Most of all, I thank my dear wife, Ellen, for her unceasing support of me in the seemingly endless task. Though I know she was often tired of my busy schedule and ready for me to be finished, she still helped me to set aside time to work on the thesis. I love you dear and appreciate you more than you can imagine! Most importantly, abundant thanksgiving is due to the One, creator and king, who enabled me to think and write in the first place and to whom all true theoretical insight points. With His enabling, I hope that this is the foundation for a fruitful academic career in linguistics. vi List of Figures Figure 1: Nurse’s Conceptual Framework for Analyzing TA in Bantu (2008: 10-14) ................. 16 Figure 2: The Slots on the Bantu Verb (adapted from Nurse 2008: 40) ...................................... 19 Figure 3: The Hierarchical Structure of the Verbal Word (adapted from Nurse 2008: 42) .......... 20 Figure 4: Map of the Speech Varieties in the Mara Region of Tanzania ..................................... 28 Figure 5: Great Lakes Bantu and its Sub-groups (adapted from Schoenbrun 1990: 136) ............ 32 Figure 6: Possible Relationships between P 3 and P 4 in Kabwa and Gusii ................................... 66 Figure 7: Possible Links Between - a(a) - and - á- Formatives in Ha and Kabwa .......................... 90 Figure 8: Compounding/Inflection Cycle for Combined TA Forms ......................................... 114 vii List of Tables Table 1: Various Degrees of Past Reference in the Mara Languages .......................................... 59 Table 2: Various Degrees of Non-Past Reference in the Mara Languages .................................. 78 Table 3: Various Forms Related to the Present Tense in the Mara Languages ............................ 94 Table 4: Present, Past, and Future Progressives in the Mara Languages ................................... 103 Table 5: Persistive Marking in the Core Mara Languages .......................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Rift Valley Bibliography Version 1.3
    Griscom, Richard, Andrew Harvey, and Anne Kruijt (eds.). 2020. Rift Valley Bibliography Version 1.3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4300224 Rift Valley Bibliography Version 1.3 December 1st, 2020 1 Introduction This document is a bibliography of the languages of the Rift Valley Area of Tanzania, which is home to dozens of distinctive ethnic groups and languages. Uniquely, it is the meeting place of languages from three of the largest language families in Africa—Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo, and Afro-Asiatic—as well as Sandawe, a language with possible affinity with the so-called 'Khoisan' group, and Hadza, a language isolate, which means that it is not known to be related to any other languages currently spoken. The Rift Valley Bibliography is compiled by members of the Rift Valley Network and is hosted on the network website at the Rift Valley Bibliography page. This is a text version of the bibliography, but other formats of the bibliography are available on the website for those who use reference manager software (e.g. Zotero, EndNote, or Mendeley), and a Zotero Group is used to make additions and changes to the bibliography. A PDF Collection of selected entries is available for members of the Rift Valley Network only, and release notes are made available for each release. For comments or questions related to this bibliography, please send an email to [email protected]. 1 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Introduction.............................................................................................................................................1
    [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]
  • LCSH Section K
    K., Rupert (Fictitious character) Motion of K stars in line of sight Ka-đai language USE Rupert (Fictitious character : Laporte) Radial velocity of K stars USE Kadai languages K-4 PRR 1361 (Steam locomotive) — Orbits Ka’do Herdé language USE 1361 K4 (Steam locomotive) UF Galactic orbits of K stars USE Herdé language K-9 (Fictitious character) (Not Subd Geog) K stars—Galactic orbits Ka’do Pévé language UF K-Nine (Fictitious character) BT Orbits USE Pévé language K9 (Fictitious character) — Radial velocity Ka Dwo (Asian people) K 37 (Military aircraft) USE K stars—Motion in line of sight USE Kadu (Asian people) USE Junkers K 37 (Military aircraft) — Spectra Ka-Ga-Nga script (May Subd Geog) K 98 k (Rifle) K Street (Sacramento, Calif.) UF Script, Ka-Ga-Nga USE Mauser K98k rifle This heading is not valid for use as a geographic BT Inscriptions, Malayan K.A.L. Flight 007 Incident, 1983 subdivision. Ka-houk (Wash.) USE Korean Air Lines Incident, 1983 BT Streets—California USE Ozette Lake (Wash.) K.A. Lind Honorary Award K-T boundary Ka Iwi National Scenic Shoreline (Hawaii) USE Moderna museets vänners skulpturpris USE Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary UF Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline Park (Hawaii) K.A. Linds hederspris K-T Extinction Ka Iwi Shoreline (Hawaii) USE Moderna museets vänners skulpturpris USE Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction BT National parks and reserves—Hawaii K-ABC (Intelligence test) K-T Mass Extinction Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline Park (Hawaii) USE Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children USE Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction USE Ka Iwi National Scenic Shoreline (Hawaii) K-B Bridge (Palau) K-TEA (Achievement test) Ka Iwi Shoreline (Hawaii) USE Koro-Babeldaod Bridge (Palau) USE Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement USE Ka Iwi National Scenic Shoreline (Hawaii) K-BIT (Intelligence test) K-theory Ka-ju-ken-bo USE Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test [QA612.33] USE Kajukenbo K.
    [Show full text]
  • Lunyole Phonology Statement App 1.Doc
    Date: 4 th September, 2006 Issue: 1 Status: Approved SIL Uganda-Tanzania Branch Lunyole Project Lunyole Phonology Statement Author: Rev. Enoch Wandera Namulemu Approvers: Steve Nicolle – Linguistics Consultant © SIL International 2006 Document Title: Lunyole Date:4 th September, 2006 Phonology Statement Issue: 1 Status: Approved Table of Contents 1 Distribution List ............................................................................................................................ 5 2 Document Storage: ........................................................................................................................ 6 3 Document History Log .................................................................................................................. 6 4 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... 7 5 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 8 5.1 Name of the Language and its speakers ................................................................................ 8 5.2 Geography ............................................................................................................................. 8 5.3 Demography .......................................................................................................................... 8 5.4 Language family ...................................................................................................................
    [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]
  • Contributions to the Study of African Languages from the Nordic Countries Arvi Hurskainen
    Contributions to the study of African languages from the Nordic countries Arvi Hurskainen 1 Introduction This chapter gives an outline of the study of African languages in various Nordic countries. The description is limited to the work of individual researchers as far as it was financed by these countries. Therefore, the work of each researcher is included only as far as the above criterion is fulfilled. Research of African languages has often been carried out as part of study on general linguistics, or other such research area that has made it possible to study also African languages. Only the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has a professorship dedicated to the study of African languages. In Norway and Denmark, African languages have been studied mostly in departments of general linguistics. In Finland, the professorship at the University of Helsinki is defined as African studies, that is, the wide research field makes it possible to study also such subjects that normally would be studied in other departments - anthropology and history, for example. 2 Early initiatives The motivation for studying African languages emerged initially as part of missionary activities. There was a need to be able to communicate using local languages. Missionaries had to learn the languages, and this was made possible by producing grammars and dictionaries. The pioneers had seldom formal linguistic training. Yet they produced valuable resources for many languages, which up today have remained standard language resources of those languages. The work of missionaries also included the creation of orthographies and production of teaching materials for schools. Finally, their contribution extends to such achievements as the translation of Bible or its parts to local languages.
    [Show full text]
  • The Oxford Guide to the Bantu Languages
    submitted for The Oxford Guide to the Bantu Languages Bantu languages: Typology and variation Denis Creissels (3rd draft, August 12 2019) 1. Introduction With over 400 languages, the Bantu family provides an excellent empirical base for typological and comparative studies, and is particularly well suited to the study of microvariation (cf. Bloom & Petzell (this volume), Marlo (this volume)). This chapter provides an overview of the broad typological profile of Bantu languages, and of the major patterns and parameters of variation within the family. Inheritance from Proto-Bantu and uninterrupted contact between Bantu languages are certainly responsible for their relative typological homogeneity. It is however remarkable that the departures from the basic phonological and morphosyntactic structure inherited from Proto-Bantu are not equally distributed across the Bantu area. They are typically found in zone A, and to a lesser degree in (part of) zones B to D, resulting in a relatively high degree of typological diversity in this part of the Bantu area (often referred to as ‘Forest Bantu’), as opposed to the relative uniformity observed elsewhere (‘Savanna Bantu’). Typologically, Forest Bantu can be roughly characterized as intermediate between Savanna Bantu and the languages grouped with Narrow Bantu into the Southern Bantoid branch of Benue-Congo. Kiessling (this volume) provides an introduction to the West Ring languages of the Grassfields Bantu group, the closest relative of Narrow Bantu. Departures from the predominant typological profile
    [Show full text]
  • Ruaha Journal of Arts and Social Sciences (RUJASS), Volume 7, Issue 1, 2021
    RUAHA J O U R N A L O F ARTS AND SOCIA L SCIENCE S (RUJASS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences - Ruaha Catholic University VOLUME 7, ISSUE 1, 2021 1 Ruaha Journal of Arts and Social Sciences (RUJASS), Volume 7, Issue 1, 2021 CHIEF EDITOR Prof. D. Komba - Ruaha Catholic University ASSOCIATE CHIEF EDITOR Rev. Dr Kristofa, Z. Nyoni - Ruaha Catholic University EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Prof. A. Lusekelo - Dar es Salaam University College of Education Prof. E. S. Mligo - Teofilo Kisanji University, Mbeya Prof. G. Acquaviva - Turin University, Italy Prof. J. S. Madumulla - Catholic University College of Mbeya Prof. K. Simala - Masinde Murilo University of Science and Technology, Kenya Rev. Prof. P. Mgeni - Ruaha Catholic University Dr A. B. G. Msigwa - University of Dar es Salaam Dr C. Asiimwe - Makerere University, Uganda Dr D. Goodness - Dar es Salaam University College of Education Dr D. O. Ochieng - The Open University of Tanzania Dr E. H. Y. Chaula - University of Iringa Dr E. Haulle - Mkwawa University College of Education Dr E. Tibategeza - St. Augustine University of Tanzania Dr F. Hassan - University of Dodoma Dr F. Tegete - Catholic University College of Mbeya Dr F. W. Gabriel - Ruaha Catholic University Dr M. Nassoro - State University of Zanzibar Dr M. P. Mandalu - Stella Maris Mtwara University College Dr W. Migodela - Ruaha Catholic University SECRETARIAL BOARD Dr Gerephace Mwangosi - Ruaha Catholic University Mr Claudio Kisake - Ruaha Catholic University Mr Rubeni Emanuel - Ruaha Catholic University The journal is published bi-annually by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Ruaha Catholic University. ©Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Ruaha Catholic University.
    [Show full text]
  • An Investigation of Language Maintenance Strategies Among the Maragoli Youth of Uriri Subcounty, Kenya
    Academic Research International Vol. 9(4) December 2018 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ AN INVESTIGATION OF LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE STRATEGIES AMONG THE MARAGOLI YOUTH OF URIRI SUBCOUNTY, KENYA Nabeta K.N. Sangili¹, ²Nyandiba N. Carren and ³Sangai, E. Mohochi ¹Kaimosi Friends University College, ² Rongo University, ³Kibabii University, KENYA. ¹[email protected], ²[email protected], ³[email protected] ABSTRACT Uriri Sub County has a complex language ecology composed of Dholuo, Kuria, EkeGusii, Somali, Luhya dialects, among other languages. Some of these languages have been in contact for many years. It has been imperative that every community maintains their own language. Language maintenance is an integral part of any language survival, as espoused by UNESCO and ACALAN. UNESCO has extensively researched on language death, attrition and shift and reported that many indigenous languages across the globe are dying due to shift and disuse by the speakers, a situation that has been rendered dire. UNESCO has been of the opinion that every effort must be put in place, theoretically and in practice, to save dying languages and to maintain those that are surviving. Lullogoli, a dialect of Luhya, has been in contact with Dholuo for over 78 years and still shows signs of survival
    [Show full text]
  • Central Africa, 2021 Region of Africa
    Quickworld Entity Report Central Africa, 2021 Region of Africa Quickworld Factoid Name : Central Africa Status : Region of Africa Land Area : 7,215,000 sq km - 2,786,000 sq mi Political Entities Sovereign Countries (19) Angola Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo (DR) Congo (Republic) Equatorial Guinea Gabon Libya Malawi Niger Nigeria Rwanda South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zambia International Organizations Worldwide Organizations (3) Commonwealth of Nations La Francophonie United Nations Organization Continental Organizations (1) African Union Conflicts and Disputes Internal Conflicts and Secessions (1) Lybian Civil War Territorial Disputes (1) Sudan-South Sudan Border Disputes Languages Language Families (9) Bihari languages Central Sudanic languages Chadic languages English-based creoles and pidgins French-based creoles and pidgins Manobo languages Portuguese-based creoles and pidgins Prakrit languages Songhai languages © 2019 Quickworld Inc. Page 1 of 7 Quickworld Inc assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this document. The information contained in this document is provided on an "as is" basis with no guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness. Quickworld Entity Report Central Africa, 2021 Region of Africa Languages (485) Abar Acoli Adhola Aghem Ajumbu Aka Aka Akoose Akum Akwa Alur Amba language Ambele Amdang Áncá Assangori Atong language Awing Baali Babango Babanki Bada Bafaw-Balong Bafia Bakaka Bakoko Bakole Bala Balo Baloi Bambili-Bambui Bamukumbit
    [Show full text]