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Arabic Bilinguals in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State

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Arabic Bilinguals in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES LANGUAGE USE AND ATTITUDE AMONG BERTA- ARABIC BILINGUALS IN BENISHANGUL GUMUZ REGIONAL STATE DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS BY EYILACHEW TAMIR NOVEMBER , 2020 ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA i Language Use And Attitude Among Berta-Arabic Bilinguals in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State Dissertation Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Dcotor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics By Eyilachew Tamir Supervisor(s): Eyasu Hailu (Ph.D) NOVEMBER , 2020 ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA i Addis Ababa University School of Graduate Studies Language Use and Attitude Among Berta-Arabic Bilinguals in Benishangul Gumuz Regional State By Eyilachew Tamir Deparetment of Linguistics and Philology Approved By Advisor Signature Date Candidate Signature Date NOVEMBER , 2020 ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA i Abstract Language Use and Attitudes usually govern people‟s inter- and intra-communication situation. In bilingual or multilingual speech community, it is their language attitude that determines the language use, language learning of the speech community. The main objective of this study is to investigate language attitude and language use situations among the Berta community of Benishangul Gumuz Region. The Berta speech community is living around the border of Sudan and Ethiopia where both Berta and Arabic are spoken. So 1, What attitude do they have towards Berta as opposed to Arabic? 2, Which language do they use in different domains, with different interlocutors, for different purposes? and 3, How do they use the two languages under these various circumstances? are the concerns of this study. Both primary data collected via questionnaire, interview, focus group discussion FGD, key informant interview KII and observation and secondary data gained from books, dictionary and other articles have been used as sources of data. The data was collected from the two sites Maiyu and Undullu varieties in three rounds. A majority of the questionnaire contains closed ended questions which ask respondents to replay according to scales ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The Likert scale was the main technique to measure language attitude. Both qualitative and quantitative data analysis methods have been used to analyze the data. To analyze the data collected in qualitative methods like interviews and FGD, a descriptive/ conversation analysis method of data analysis was used. The results regarding language attitude towards Berta are mixed, but it inversely correlates with their feeling of Arabic as more prestigious, beautiful and functional than Berta. The respondents argued that they would like to be proficient more in Arabic than in Berta. They have positive attitudes towards bilingualism, in terms of speaking the two languages as well as towards code- mixing which is an indicator of mixed language usage. In the religious domain, the Berta speech communities use only Arabic whereas in other domains like the market, home and school, they use both languages. They mix codes of Arabic with Berta in their daily conversations. The Berta speech community is utilizing both cultural and core borrowings rom Arabic to Berta. In some language use domains and for a few puposes like religious domain and for counting, the Berta use Arabic exclusively. i i Acknowledgements I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to the following bodies who put their finger print to make this study possible. First and for most, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Eyasu Hailu for his invaluable advice and encouragement throughout this project and his patience in correcting and commenting innumerable drafts. Next, my compliment goes to Dr. Gerald Heusing who had advised me from my proposal to my upgrading. My thanks is also for the Department of Linguistics and Philology at Addis Ababa University for providing me access to resources and services while I researched this topic. Then, my gratitude is for Assosa University for giving me an additional budget to run this research. I also would like to thank the staff of Addis Ababa University who help me directly or indirectly for the successful accomplishment of this research. I would like to offer sincere thanks for the Berta speech community in Benishangul Gumuz. They have provided me not only the data for this study, but also they welcomed me warmly and they also protected me from dangerous events during times of chaos and disorder in the area. I am indebted to Abdulnasir Ali without whose help, this project could not achieve this level of scholarship. ii Table of contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... ii Table of contents ............................................................................................................................ iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ vi List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii Chapter One .................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Statement of the Problem ..................................................................................................... 3 1.2. Objectives of the Study ........................................................................................................ 5 1.2.1. General Objective ....................................................................................................... 5 1.2.2. Specific Objectives ..................................................................................................... 5 1.3. The Study Area ..................................................................................................................... 6 1.3.1. Berta People ................................................................................................................ 7 1.3.2. Berta Language ......................................................................................................... 10 1.4. Significance of the Study ................................................................................................... 16 1.5. Scope of the Study .............................................................................................................. 16 1.6. Limitations of the Study ..................................................................................................... 17 Chapter Two.................................................................................................................................. 18 Review of Related Literatures ...................................................................................................... 18 2.1. Language Attitudes............................................................................................................. 18 2.1.1. What is Language Attitude?...................................................................................... 18 2.1.2. Language attitude, Language Use and Language Maintenance ................................ 23 2.1.3. How Can We Investigate Language Attitude? .......................................................... 25 2.2. Language Use Patterns ....................................................................................................... 27 iii 2.2.1. Domain ...................................................................................................................... 31 2.2.2. Interlocutors .............................................................................................................. 33 2.2.3. Topic ......................................................................................................................... 33 2.3. Language Contact Phenomena ........................................................................................... 34 2.3.1. Code-Switching......................................................................................................... 38 2.3.2. Borrowing ................................................................................................................. 40 2.3.3. Language Maintenance and Shift.............................................................................. 43 2.3.3.1. Types of Language Shift .......................................................................................... 46 2.3.3.2. Causes of Language Shift ........................................................................................ 47 2.5. Research Models ................................................................................................................ 52 2.6. Related Works .................................................................................................................... 54 2.6.1. Sociolinguistic Works on some Ethiopian Languages.............................................
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