Department of Languages and Literature

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Structural Analysis of Code-switching in Tanzanian Swahili-English Online Telecom Adverts
(Journal of Education, Humanities and Sciences, 2001-12-01) Ilonga, Emmanuel
This study analyses structural configurations of code-switching from Swahili-English online business-related advertisements in Tanzania. The study uses advertisements disseminated by telecom corporations on Facebook. Through the matrix language frame (MLF), and the 4–M models of code-switching, the study discloses the dominance of Swahili as the matrix language (ML), supplying a relatively higher quantity of content morphemes (CM) in clauses; whilst English becomes the embedded language (EL). The Swahili’s supremacy in larger mixed language structures reflects the higher application of Swahili in day-to-day interactions in Tanzania, while English ‘chips in’ at times. In bundle names, which are phrases in structure, the study shows English as the ML; and Swahili as the EL. Further analyses indicate that both early system morphemes (early SMs), which are bound in nature, and bridge late system morphemes which are free in nature, come from Swahili. Similarly, coming from Swahili too, outsider late system morphemes are attached to content morphemes. Generally, Swahili and English partake in mixed language constructions with variations in terms of quantity, types, morpheme properties, and the syntactic properties of linguistic structures.
Samatengo noun phrase structure
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2006) Ndomba, Rodrick Gregory
THE study on Samatengo Noun Phrase Structure draws experiences from earlier works on the nominal morphology of the nouns in Bantu languages. The morphology of the nouns has been one of the leading factors in classifying Bantu languages and at the same time grouping nouns into gender classes. Studies by Johnston (1919, 1922) and Guthrie (1948, 1967 – 1971, 1970) based on the morphological analysis of the noun in the Bantu languages. Recent studies like that of Maho (1999), Katamba (Nurse and Philippson, 2003:103 - 120), Kahigi (2005) and Rugemalira (2005, 2006a, 2006b) have gone further looking into concordial patterns of the noun classes with the aim of analyzing the noun class markers in more broad parameters. This study, however, has made a leap forward by including an analysis of different elements in the entire structure of the noun phrase. Besides looking solely at noun classification and their concords, this study describes the noun phrase structure in terms of noun class dependents – their forms and semantic characteristics, agreement forms, derivation processes and the ordering and co-occurrence of the noun and its dependent elements. The study reveals that noun pairing in Samatengo has great variability, which can be attested to particular semantic roles. Overlaps come to defeat semantic criteria for noun class analysis. In terms of the derivation process, nouns in Samatengo are productive showing different ways of deriving new nouns. Included in the analysis is the order of elements – dependents – that co-occur with the noun head in a phrase structure. The study establishes flexibility in terms of some dependents while others seem to have more restricted occurrences.
The Structure of the Nyakyusa Noun Phrase
(Nordic Journal of African Studies, 2009) Lusekelo, Amani
This article articulates the structure of the noun phrase in the Bantu language Nyakyusa. The aim of the study is to move a step ahead from the focus on concords across Bantu languages to the analysis of the order of elements within the noun phrase. As scholars have paid less attention to the syntax of the noun and its dependents (Rugemalira 2007), then the analysis of the order of elements in the Nyakyusa noun phrases is necessary. This study found the following: (i) the dominant attested order of the elements in a Nyakyusa noun phrase is N > [(Poss)(Dem)] > [(Num)(Quant)(A)] > [(Int)(Rel)], (ii) both the possessive and demonstrative may occur immediately after the head noun, but when the possessive immediately follows the head noun it must drop a pre-prefix. Also, the demonstrative can not precede the head noun if so, the meaning changes; (iii) hypothetically, with recurrence, more than seven elements can co-occur within a single noun phrase.
Bongo Fleva Inapotosha Jamii: Je ni Dai Jipya katika Maendeleo ya Fasihi ya Kiswahili?
(Kioo cha Lugha No. 10 Vol. 10, TUKI: Dar es Salaam., 2012) Samwel, Method
Muziki wa Bongo Fleva umepitia kipindi kigumu cha kihistoria kwa kukataliwa na kuonekana kwa unapotosha jamii. Japo kwa sasa muziki huu unaoneana kukubalika, bado kuna baadhi ya watu wanauona kwamba unapotosha jamii. Miongoni mwa mambo yaliyoufanya muziki huu ukataliwe na kuhusishwa na upotoshaji wa jamii ni mavazi ya wasanii wake, maneno ya kihuni yanayotumika, tabia za wasanii, matumizi ya madawa ya kulevya, pombe na mengine ya aina hiyo. Makala haya yanapitia na kuangalia ikiwa dai kwamba kazi za fasihi hasa muziki wa Bongo Fleva unapotosha jamii ni jipya au la. Aidha, makala haya yanatoa mwelekeo mpya wa kufuatwa na wanajamii katika kuzihukumu kazi za fasihi za aina hiyo.
Controversies Underlying the Genre of Short Story: A Critique of Perceptions on Kiswahili Written Short Story
(DUCE, 2013) Samwel, Method
The genre of short stories has been viewed by scholars as being very controversial and conflicting (e.g. Msokile 1992; Madumula 2009; Samwel 2012). The debates are on proper way of defining short stories, their classification with supporting examples, and their actual distinctive features. This paper, though acknowledges a need to analyze literature into genres and even sub-genres, shows how controversial a genre of short stories can be. It mainly focuses on controversies pertaining to short story as a genre of Kiswahili literature. It presents varied perceptions of various scholars on issues related to Kiswahili written short story. It also presents the “best” way of resolving the controversies.
Muziki si Majigambo, Muziki ni Sanaa si Sawa na Sanaa ya Urembo”: Uhakiki wa Dhima za Majigambo katika Fasihi
(TUKI, 2013) Samwel, Method
Majigambo no moja ya vipangele maarufu katika nyimbo za muziki wa Bongo fleva au muziki wa kizazi kipya. Hata hivyo matumizi ya majigambo katika ushairi wa Bongo fleva yamekuwa yakikemewa na baadhi ya wasanii, wadau na hata hadhira ya ushairi wenyewe. Mmoja wa wasanii waliosimama kidete kupinga majigambo katika ushairi huu ni Selemani Msindi (phk Afande Sele) katika wimbo wake uitwao “Mayowe Part II”. Katika wimbo huo msanii huyo anadai kwamba ushairi wa Bongo Fleva, na muziki wenyewe kwa ujumla, haupaswi kuwa na majigambo bali unaaswa kutoa ujumbe mzito wenye manufaa kwa jamii. Afande Sele anadai kwamba si busara kujigamba juu ya mambo ambayo hujawahi kuyafanya huku kuna matatiizo mengi katika jamii kama vile njaa, UKIMWI, umiskini, uongozi mbaya na kadhhalika ambayo wasanii wangeweza kuyashughulikia katika nyimbo zao. Makala haya yanajaribu kutathmini ikiwa ni kweli majigambo si muhimu katika ushairi wa Bongo fleva. Halikadhalika, yanajadili dhima ya majigambo katika muziki huo.
African Philosophy: A Link Between Modern and Traditional African Poetry,
(Journal of Education, Humanities and Sciences, Volume 3 Nos. 1 & 2, 2014:27-44, 2014) Samwel, Method
This article argues that traditional and modern praise poetry do relate. This relationship is from the fact that the two are similar in several aspects ranging from content to form. Only one similarity among them, similarity in philosophy, is discussed here. The article, therefore, presents how different kinds of African poetry of different generations can never diverge totally from African philosophy. That is to say, both traditional and modern praise poetry carry similar beliefs; how Africans see things is viewed in similar way in the two kinds of poetry. Traditional praise poetry used here is Bahaya’s praise poetry, ebyebugo, and the praises seen in Basukuma songs while modern poetry used here is Bongo Flavor praise poetry. Bahaya and Basukuma are people who live in North – Western and Lake Zone in Tanzania. Bongo Flavor is Tanzanian youth music which is characterized by self praises. Therefore, we can simply say this article picks Tanzanian traditional and modern praise poetry as samples of African traditional and modern poetry respectively.
Affinity between Poetry and Philosophy: Investigation of Muzale’s Nakuomba
(Kioo cha Lugha, Vol. 12, 2014:113-130, 2014) Samwel, Method
Poetry is a literary work which, as other genres of literature, performs two main functions in the society, educating and entertaining. In so doing, poetry, like philosophy, questions existing concepts and ideas, clarifies them, critically analyses those concepts and ideas and formulates a world view in a logical manner. Also, poetry, just like philosophy, is filled with wisdom which if accepted and utilized by the society, is likely to enhance socio-economic and political development. This paper is of the view that what philosophy and poetry do is similar to the extent that philosophy and poetry can be treated the same. That is to say, poets are philosophers of some kind. To present that, the paper analyses philosophical values of Muzale’s Nakuomba poems. Ushairi ni kazi ya fasihi ambayo, kama tanzu nyingine za fasihi, una dhima kuu mbili katika jamii, kuelimisha na kuburudisha. Katika kutimiza dhima hizo, ushairi, kama ilivyo falsafa, huhoji dhana na mawazo yaliyopo, hufafanua, na kuhakiki dhana na mawazo yaliyopo katika jamii, na huunda mtazamo mpya wenye mantiki zaidi. Aidha, ushairi, kama tu ilivyo falsafa, umejaa mambo mbalimbali ya busara ambayo kama yatakubaliwa na kutekelezwa na jamii, yanaweza kuleta maendeleo ya kijamii, kiuchumi na kisiasa. Makala haya yanaibua hoja kuwa ushairi na falsafa zina majukumu yanayofanana sana katika jamii kiasi kwamba ushairi na falsafa huweza kuchukuliwa kama vitu vinavyofanana sana. Hii ni kusema kuwa, washairi ni wanafalsafa kwa namna fulani. Ili kubainisha hilo, makala yanachambua masuala mbalimbali ya kifalsafa yanayobainika katika mashairi yaliyomo katika diwani ya Muzale ya Nakuomba.
Are we experiencing a ‘post-method’ era in second language teaching?
(Journal of Education, Humanities, and Sciences, 2015) Ndomba, Rodrick Gregory
Approaches to Second Language teaching have been changing over time. The pivotal force behind the changes globally has been the quest for the best approach. New methods have emerged as old ones are discarded, with less prospects to achieve the best. This paper revisits the chronology of events characterizing the war of methods globally, and highlights key current issues underlining English language teaching in Tanzanian secondary schools. Central to the battle on methods is the need for proper preparation of English language teachers amid claims that their linguistic and methodological standards have been on the decline over decades. Indeed, the switch to competence-based curriculum (CBC) in the current English language curriculum in the Tanzanian system of education invariably calls for an assessment of the Second Language teaching profession in the ‘post-method’ era.
A Comparative Study of Headedness in Ruhaya Compounds
(Journal of Education, Humanities and Sciences, 2016) Ilonga, Emmanuel
This paper presents endocentric and exocentric compounds in Ruhaya, with specific focus on their lexical properties, position of headwords, semantic relation between headwords and modifiers, and the semantic classification of noun-noun compounds. It offers a comparison between Ruhaya and other Bantu languages on these aspects, and extends the comparison to Indo-European languages (English, Dutch and French). It was found that Ruhaya has left-headed compounds, and words from the same and different lexical categories can combine to make up compound words. In the case of headed compounds, there is a kind of semantic relations through which modifiers slightly change the meaning of headwords. With an exception of Northern Sotho, in which a prefix of the left-most word becomes the head, the left-most word in Ruhaya, Bemba and Kiswahili is the head. In comparison with Indo-European languages, French is left headed in this regard, while Dutch and English are right-headed.
The nature of conditional sentences in Kinyakyusa
(Journal of Education, Humanities and Sciences, 2016) Lusekelo, Amani; Lusekelo, Amani
The mechanisms utilized to introduce conditional construction in Nyakyusa are partly similar to the patterns available in some Bantu languages because its protasis is introduced by the word lıınga. The counterfactual marker angali introduces the apodosis of the counterfactual sentences, similar to Zulu and Swahili. The main difference is that Nyakyusa differentiates reality and unreality situations primarily through TAM formatives. For instance, realistic situations manifest in future and present tenses while unrealistic events are primarily indicated by remoteness in past tense.
Additive and Substitutive Borrowing against Semantic Broadening and Narrowing in the Names of Architectural Structures in Tanzanian Bantu Languages
(UJAH, 2017) Lusekelo, Amani
The thrust of this paper lies on semantic changes associated with additive and substitutive borrowing in Bantu-speaking communities in Tanzania. Due to contact of languages, semantic differences of the terms related to architectural structures emanate. Apart from data from a few elderly native speakers, research was carried out with the help of undergraduate students of linguistics. Further linguistic materials analysed herein come from dictionaries and lexicons. Although retention of the proto- Bantu words are apparent, findings indicate that cases of additive borrowing are obvious for new concepts associated with new architectural structures. The additive Swahili names incorporated into Tanzanian Bantu tend to designate specific concepts associated with modern (contemporary) architectural senses such as mulango ‘modern door’ vs. luigi ‘traditional entranceway’. Cases of substitutive borrowing are rare, as demonstrated by the Swahili word dirisha ‘window’ which replaces chitonono in Chimakonde, echihúru in Runyambo, ilituulo in Kinyakyusa etc.
The structure and derivation of the Swahili Determiner Phrase
(University College Dublin, 2017) Ndomba, Rodrick Gregory
This study investigates the configuration of the Determiner Phrase (DP) of Swahili. The study is guided by three main objectives. The first objective is to map Swahili nouns into a DP structure. The study has revealed that the Swahili DP structure is underlyingly the same as the English DP except that in Swahili DP nP raises to Spec DP (XP movement). The study has shown that the raising of nP to Spec DP is motivated by the Extended Projection Principle. The derivation based on XP movement allows D to be occupied by a functional category functioning as the definite article, eloquently explains agreement pattern on modifiers (elements), and provide plausible accounts of varied order of elements in DP structure. The second objective is to determine the order of elements in the Swahili DP structure. The study has revealed that the underlying order of the elements in Swahili DPs have the same underlying structure relations as the English demonstrative, numeral, adjective, and noun – those three beautiful children. However, the head noun-initial surface structure of Swahili elements stems from nP movement to the initial position, Spec DP, which results in the opposite order – children those three beautiful. The study has also revealed that variations in the canonical order derive from the possessive which appears have no fixed place in DP hierarchy. The third objective is to determine the agreement pattern of elements in Swahili DPs. The study has revealed that agreement between nP and other elements in DP structure emanates from cyclical raising of nP followed by feature checking in a Spec head relation at each stop of raising in a bottom-up fashion. The study has used a cartographic approach to investigate the Swahili DP structure and derivation. The study has revealed that Swahili DP is headed by a functional category – XP, which interacts with other elements of DP via step-by-step movement to Spec DP. The analysis based on XP movement has made it possible to draw structural contours or maps for the order of elements in Swahili DP as this study has revealed.
The Definite Article in Swahili
(University of Dar es Salaam, 2017) Ndomba, Rodrick Gregory
This paper contributes to the debate on whether or not Swahili nominals have overt determiners to qualify for DP analysis. It has been concluded in some circles that Swahili nominals are not amenable to DP analysis for lacking determiners – definite articles. It is assumed in this paper that what appear to be articleless DPs in Swahili are underlyingly headed by the D node which always remains empty except in cases when D is occupied by the prenominal demonstratives base generated in a lower position inside the DP structure. The strongest evidence in Swahili comes from asymmetries between prenominal and postnominal demonstratives whereby the prenominal demonstratives are said to be anaphoric and postnominal demonstratives deictic. Assuming that the prenominal demonstrative is base generated below D, the conclusion must be that the demonstrative appears in the prenominal position following the raising.
Agreement between nPs and modifiers in Bantu DPs
(Dar es Salaam University College of Education, 2018) Ndomba, Rodrick Gregory
Agreement is one of the conspicuous characteristics of structural relations holding among the categories or elements in syntactic constituents—clauses and phrases—in Bantu languages. This paper focuses on agreement relations in nominal phrases, specifically agreement between nouns (nPs) and respective elements, also called modifiers, in Bantu languages. The paper is premised around the Noam Chomsky’s minimalist approach, which assumes that items or elements in a phrase or clause standing in an agreement configuration are arranged via successive Merger binary operations taking place in a bottom-up fashion. Using evidence from Kiswahili, the paper argues that the agreement between head nouns and its modifiers of DP in Bantu languages stem from the raising of the head noun – nP. The approach to deriving agreement in Bantu DPs pursued departs from head specifier relations via government and the raising of N to class prefix via probe goal relations. The paper has assumed that proper agreement is a function of syntactic operations, specifically the raising of XP (nP) to Spec DP.
Naming practices in contemporary Machame-Chagga culture
(International Journal of Modern Anthropology, 2018) Lusekelo, Amani
Naming practices were cherished in African communities and personal names bestowed to children used to carry some semantic content usually determined by circumstances at birth. An examination of formal names of school children from the Machame-Chagga families exhibits an increasingly diminishing trend of naming practices. Most names of pupils are of English and/or Christian origin and just a fraction of names from a sample of 421 full names appear to be the typical Machame-Chagga names. In addition, Islamic names are numerous, which is another testimony that religion has dismantled the traditional naming system of the Machame-Chagga community. During the integration of foreign religious names, two patterns emanate. On the one hand, many Christian names are expressed in words with semantic content, e.g. Aikaeli „thank you God‟, Aminaeli „thank you God‟ and Ndumiakunde „the Lord tends to love‟. On the other hand, Islamic names in Hai District have been Swahilized, for example Azizi and Mustafa. All in all, the imposition of foreign religion in Machame-Chagga community has eroded the indigene naming system.
AN ACCOUNT OF INTERCULTURAL CONTACT IN NYAKYUSA PERSONAL NAMES
(African Study Monographs, 2018) Lusekelo, Amani
The impact of intercultural contact in African societies may be well articulated by examining personal names bestowed to children. The contact between different cultures yields different naming systems, apparent in the trends in personal names of children in the Nyakyusa community in Tanzania. Qualitative analysis of a sample of 220 personal names collected by the author yielded three layers: a layer of names with words and clauses with meaning in Nyakyusa language, another layer of names starting with mwa- which indicates the descent of the family, and yet another layer of nativized English, Swahili and/or Christian names. The findings were consistent with another sample of 786 names of primary school pupils in rural areas, foreign names accounted for about 60 percent of all names outnumbering, by far, the indigene names. It may follow that most parents in the Nyakyusa community opt for foreign names rather than native ones. This paper is a testimony that traditions in the Nyakyusa naming system are diminishing.
Lexical borrowing in Africa with special attention to outcomes of languages in contacts in Tanzania
(Mgbakoigba, Journal of African Studies, 2018) Lusekelo, Amani
This article provides the impact of contact of Bantu and non-Bantu languages of Tanzania. Much attention is paid to the dispersal of Swahili words into Hadzabe, Iraqw and Maasai; and exemplary cases of Bantu-to-Bantu contacts have been included. Findings indicate that a layer of Swahili and English words exist in many languages of South-Western Tanzania such as Nyakyusa, Nyamwanga, Ndali, among others. Along the coast of Tanzania, influence of Swahili lexis is massive in such languages as Maraba. The Bantu to non-bantu contacts yielded numerous loans across Greebergian language phylums in Tanzania as evidenced in, for example, Swahili loans in Burunge and Hadzabe. Findings demonstrate distinct mechanisms of incorporation of loans. In Cushitic and Nilotic languages such as Hadzabe, Iraqw and Maasai, gender marking is the primary mechanism of adaptation of Bantu loans whilst Bantu languages assign noun classifications to the loanwords from English and non-Bantu languages.
THE LINGUISTIC LANDSCAPE OF URBAN TANZANIA: AN ACCOUNT OF THE LANGUAGE OF BILLBOARDS AND SHOP-SIGNS IN DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS
(JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE, TECHNOLOGY & ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AFRICA, 2018) Lusekelo, Amani
In examination of language use in public domains in Tanzania, this paper articulates the state of multilingualism in the composition of signposts in district headquarters countrywide. The paper challenges the suggestion that Tanzania is primarily a Kiswahili speaking country. It also challenges the suggestion that Tanzania consists of English as an official language with limited domains of use. While it is claimed that ethnic community languages are a vehicular of communication in domains related to informal settings and homesteads, the paper argues for the presence of in linguistic landscape. Findings from five regions of Tanzania, namely, Arusha, Iringa, Kagera, Manyara and Mbeya indicate the dominance of bilingual Kiswahili-English signposts in urban centres. Further, findings display dominance of English-only signposts, which is a good testimony that this public domain makes use of English rather than Kiswahili. Furthermore, on the basis of font-size and font-colour, English words turn more prominent than Kiswahili words. Nonetheless, on the basis of word counts, Kiswahili is significantly used in bilingual signposts than English. Thus, this article concludes that the importance of English surpasses Kiswahili in the language use in bilingual signposts in urban Tanzania.
Motivation for Learning Chinese as a Foreign Language: Experiences from DUCE
(Journal of Education, Humanities and Sciences, 2018) Ilonga, Emmanuel
This study explores the motivation for learning Chinese language at the Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE). The major objective is to find out the reasons that motivated learners to enrol into the optional Chinese language course. The data used in the study was gathered through questionnaires and structured interviews. The presentation of findings reflected four types of motivation: intrinsic, extrinsic, integrative, and lastly, instrumental motivation. The results revealed that learners’ motivation for learning Chinese as a foreign language at the DUCE includes personal contentedness, developing base for further education abroad, integrating with the Chinese community and learning their culture, developing foundation for job opportunities in Chinese companies, and lastly, developing a base for personal businesses with the Chinese. Therefore, students are motivated by various reasons that cut across academic, social and economic reasons to learn foreign languages.

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