The Source of Language Variation among Chagga People in Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18533/journal.v4i7.741Keywords:
Dialects, language, language variation.Abstract
This paper intends to find out the source of language variation among Chagga people. The study was guided by four specific objectives which were: to investigate the extent to which language variation exists among the Chagga, to examine the areas (aspects) which mark language variation among the Chagga, to find out the source of language variation among the Chagga, and to determine whether Chagga varieties constitute different languages or varieties (dialects) of the same language. In this study, three techniques were used to collect the primary data, which were sociolinguistic interview (free conversation), reading passage, and the wordlist. Results show that, despite the difficulties that Chagga people experience in communicating through their mother tongue, they understand each other. Their differences in speaking are based on some of the lexicon (vocabulary). Further, the study propounded the following as the reasons as to why Chagga people seem to differ in some vocabulary: geographical location, differences in origin, lack of common socialization, the existence of hostility among them as well as political unrest and the Mangi rule.
References
Barrow, M. (2012). British life and culture, Project Britain, http://resources.Woodlands junior.Kent.Sch. Uk /customs / questions / langdiffer.Htm (24 September, 2012).
Batibo, H.M. (1980). Review of D. Nurse, ‘‘Description of Sample Bantu Languages of Tanzania’’ in Journal of African Languages and Linguistics vol. 2. University of Dar es Salaam.
Batibo, H.M. (1985). Some Linguistic Contribution to the cultural History of the People of the Great lakes and Neighboring Regions, in Language and Linguistics Journal, vol. 2 p. 1- 28. UDSM.
Chambers, J. K. & Trudgill, P. (1998). Dialectology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Huber, M. (1999). Ghanaian Pidgin English, http: //lingweb.eva.mpg.de/apics/images/o/oo/survey Ghana.pdf (20 September, 2012).
Hudson, R.A. (1996). Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lewis, M.P (ed.) (2009). The Languages of Tanzania Project. Dar es Salaam: Languages of Tanzania Project.
Lukula, A.M. (1991). The Nature and Extent of Linguistic Change among Insular Jita in Kerewe. Unpublished M.A. Dissertation: University of Dar es Salaam.
Matondo, M. (2002). Ethnologue: Languages of the World, http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/ grads/ matondo/swahilisukuma.html. (24 September, 2012).
Mngadi, B.P. (2000). UNESCO’s World Languages Report:// www.salanguages.com/isiZulu/index.htm. (24 September, 2012).
Nerbonne, J; Gooskenkens, C; Kurschnev, S; & Van Bezooijen, R. (2008). Introduction: Language Variation Studies and Computational Humanities. International Journal of Humanities and Arts Computing, 2 (1 – 2).
Ngonyani, D.S. (1988). A Comparative Study of Kindendeule, Kingoni, and Kimatengo. M.A. Dissertation. Unpublished, UDSM.
Sarah, G. (2008). Language variation and Change. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Trudgil, P. (1983). Sociolingustics. An Introduction to Language and society. Revised Edition. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Yule, G. (2006). The Study of Language. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).