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Item Animacy-based concord in Chiyao(Taylor & Francis Group, 2022-07-16) Taji, Julius; Riedel, KristinaChiyao (Bantu, P21) allows animate concord and/or grammatical agreement for subject and object marking, depending on the type of noun. This article offers an initial description of the relevant patterns in Tanzanian Chiyao. We examine animacy effects in Chiyao grammar, focusing on subject and object marking. We show that the choice of animate concord over class concord is determined by a complex combination of factors, including formal grammatical features like noun class and number, semantic features of the referent such as size, and pragmatics. These findings contribute to the literature on Chiyao, our understanding of agreement systems in Bantu languages and the typological and comparative literature on animacy as a grammatical and/or pragmatic feature.Item VARIATION IN DOUBLE OBJECT MARKING IN SWAHILI(2020-06-20) Gibson, H; Mapunda, Gastor; Marten, L; Shah, S; Taji, JThere is a high degree of morphosyntactic microvariation with respect to the number and position of object markers found across Bantu languages. This paper examines variation in object marking in Swahili, against the backdrop of variation in object marking in Bantu more broadly. Verb forms in Standard Swahili are well-known to typically only permit one pre-stem object marker. However, here we show that there are isolated cases of post-verbal marking of objects from both a synchronic and diachronic perspective. The paper focuses on two case studies. Firstly, ‘Old Swahili’ – that is, the language of classical Swahili poetry – where examples of typologically unusual emphatic object marker doubling are found. Secondly, we show that post-verbal object marking is in fact also found in Standard (Modern) Swahili, namely in second person plural marking, in post-verbal locative markers and with non-verbal predication. However, we also show that the relationship between these forms, the Old Swahili paradigm of object marker doubling, and post-verbal object marking in Bantu more widely – in particular post-verbal plural addressee marking – is complexItem ‘Languages don’t have bones, so you can just break them’: rethinking multilingualism in education policy and practice in Africa(Oxford University Press, 2022-06-21) Reilly, C; Bagwasi, MM; Costley, T; Gibson, H; Kula, N; Mapunda, Gastor; Mwansa, JMultilingualism is widespread amongst individuals and communities in African countries. However, language-in-education policies across the continent continue to privilege monolingual approaches to language use in the classroom. In this paper we highlight the colonial origins of these monolingual ideologies and discuss the detrimental effects which arise when learners’ linguistic repertoires are not welcomed within the education system. We draw attention to major themes within education across a range of contexts: policy vagueness, teachers as policy implementers, and the creation and imposition of boundaries. We advocate for a language-in-education approach which brings the outside in, which welcomes individuals’ lived multilingual realities and which values these as resources for learning. We highlight the ways in which translanguaging could represent a positive shift to the way in which multilingual language practices are talked about, and can contribute to decolonising language policy in African contexts. We conclude by calling to action those working on education and policy to ensure that learners and teachers are better supported. We call ultimately for a rethinking of multilingualism.Item Morphosyntactic variation in Bantu: Focus on East Africa(The Claremont Colleges Library, 2022-06-30) Edelsten, P; Gibson, H.; Guérois, R.; Mapunda, G.; Marten, L.; Taji, J.Recent studies have developed a systematic approach to morphosyntactic variation among Bantu languages, taking well-known and widely attested construction types as a starting point and sketching their distribution across the family. One such approach, Guérois et al. (2017), utilises 142 morphosyntactic parameters or features, across a sample of some 50 Bantu languages (Marten et al. 2018). The present paper builds on this work and focusses on 10 parameters of variation where there is a significant difference between the values for East African Bantu languages and non-East African Bantu languages of the sample. The parameters relate to areas such as noun class morphology, agreement, and word order and so cover a wide range of morphosyntactic structures. The paper shows that the differences overall can be used for an initial characterisation of East Africa as a morphosyntactic area, with its own specific language change and language contact dynamics.Item Lexical Innovation through Swahilisation of English Lexicon in Online Advertisements(BRILL, 2022-06-24) Mapunda, Gastor; Ilonga, EmmanuelMorpho-phonological nativisation and syntactic applications of Kiswahili loanwords appear throughout telecommunication businesses’ advertisements, as can be collected from such companies’ Facebook pages. Word-by-word and line-by-line coding and analysis reveal a richness in the borrowing process and its implications for the contemporary Kiswahili lexicon. Apparently, nouns are more inclined to be borrowed than words from other grammatical categories, with loanwords from English expanding the meaning of items, and in some cases substituting those items in the lexicon of the receiving language. Phonologically, accommodation of loanwords includes syllabic adjustments, vowel addition, consonant assimilation, and consonant deletion – these and other linguistic strategies play an important role in the nativisation process of ubiquitous items in the online vocabulary familiar to users of the world wide web. Syntactically, loanwords appear in interrogatives, conditionals, and imperatives, as well as in non-sentential constructions. In turn, these borrowings constitute a significant portion of the ongoing nativisation processes that contribute to the future of the Kiswahili lexicon.Item Names of Contemporary Wooden Boats of Coastal East Africa: Origins and Meanings(Taylor & Francis, 2022-04-12) Ichumbaki, EB; Mapunda, Gastor; Cooper, JP; Mark, SR; Mjema, EA; Blue, L; Biginagwa, TJThe coast of eastern Africa, commonly referred to as the Swahili coast, has a rich artisanal heritage of boats — both in their building and use. This iconic history is marked by the presence of various boat types that have historically been used for fishing and transporting people and cargo between coastal settlements (of eastern Africa), the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, Mafia, Comoros, Madagascar, and other distant parts of the Indian Ocean world. Currently, the sailing boats such as the double-outrigger logboat (ngalawa), various plank-built craft, and several other types, line the shores of Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia and the islands of Zanzibar, Mafia and the Comoros. Some of these boats, almost all locally built, have names, decorations, and engravings. However, the boats’ names, decorations and engravings alongside the conveyed message(s) have remained undocumented. Thus, taking a maritime-heritage perspective, and by focusing on the nineteenth century historic port town of Bagamoyo in Tanzania, this paper documents the boats’ names and the messages they carry.Item On the suitability of Swahili for early schooling in remote rural Tanzania: do policy and practice align?(Oxford University Press, 2022-06-21) Mapunda, Gastor; Gibson, HannahThis article explores the use of Swahili for education in Tanzania, focusing on rural areas where Swahili is not the main language of the community. Current language policy mandates Swahili as the exclusive Medium of Instruction at primary level throughout the country. However, findings reported here show that in parts of rural Tanzania, children learn Swahili only after a substantial period of being at school, meaning that Swahili does not support early childhood education nor equality of outcomes. Children experience difficulties with progression in learning and teacher-dominated classes can be observed. The study also finds unequal performance in national examinations based on the language of the community, and a prevalence of grade repetition in some settings. It calls for a policy which appreciates the role of community languages and an approach which sees multilingualism as a resource to be harnessed both inside and outside the classroom.Item Revisiting the English-Swahili debate on Tanzania’s medium of instruction policy at secondary and post-secondary levels of education(Università degli studi di Napoli L'Orientale, 2022-05-18) Mapunda, GastorLike in other African countries, in Tanzania the debate on the medium of instruction has focused on the use of either English or Swahili in secondary and post-secondary education. During British colonialism, the focus of the debate was on ethnic languages, Swahili and English at primary level of education. Swahili was used in lower primary education and English in upper primary, middle, and in secondary education. After independence, pedagogical-cum-nationalist opinions wanted a complete changeover from English to Swahili. In 1967 Swahili replaced English in primary education, and speaking English in public was frowned on. Consequently, mastery of English declined. Swahili was also to replace English in secondary and post-secondary education, but it has not happened until now. Whilst it is true that most children have not mastered English to be able to use it comfortably in their studies, similar problems apply to children in remote rural Tanzania who have not mastered Swahili, especially in beginner classes at the primary level of education. Yet, the problem with Swahili and ethnic languages is never seriously debated. Nevertheless, English still commands symbolic and material value. Using a translanguaging perspective, we find that the merits of English in education outshine its demerits. It is recommended that the debate take a pragmatic-cum-utilitarian angle that multilingualism can unlock opportunities for learners.Item Imagined Futures and New Technology: Youths’ Language Attitudes in Songea, Tanzania(Taylor & Francis, 2021-05-07) Mapunda, Gastor; Rosendal, Tovesecondary school students in Songea, Tanzania, with a focus on identity and access to digital technology. The study involved 467 secondary school students aged 14–21 years. The data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Less than half of the students had access to digital technology. Most of them lacked the required linguistic resources. English, a challenge to most students, and, to some extent, even Swahili, are seen as tools for future possibilities and success. Students invest in learning English and want to go abroad. Lack of resources notwithstanding, students’ decisions to invest in learning a particular language is mostly influenced by imagined possibilities. Structural inequalities and socioeconomic differences impact both language skills and the use of digital tools. Consequently, digital resources using mainly English and difficult Swahili terminology become an exclusion mechanism for many Tanzanian secondary school students.Item Complementarity of communicative modes on meaning making in Tanzania’s digital telecom marketing: A social semiotic multimodal perspective(Taylor and Francis, 2022-03-07) Ilonga, Emmanuel; Mapunda, GastorThis article examines the complementarity of the communicative modes for making meaning in digital telecom advertisements. Using a social semiotic multimodal approach in its data analysis, we utilise the metafunction and composition frameworks for the interpretation and discussion. The study shows that advert makers incorporate various modes which represent real-life objects and experiences to promote products and services. The modes establish and reinforce marketing and social relationships between makers and potential customers. In the adverts, visual modes are often elaborated on through texts. In composition, the study shows that advertisers utilise various patterns in organising the modes. The makers also use various compositional properties to indicate the prominence of the modes. In addition, they deploy discrete frames to separate units of information. As such, the combination of all these modes as an integrated system in the digital telecom advertisements enables the makers to negotiate meaning with consumers.Item Mechanisms of Structural Borrowing in Chimalaba(2012) Mreta, Abel Y.; Amani, HamisiThe paper aims to describe mechanisms through which various structural items were borrowed from Kiswahili into Chimalaba. It is an attempt to illustrate how various linguistic constraints seem to determine the borrowing of structural features in a given language contact situation. The primary data for this paper, are based on the research project by Amani (2010) on the Influence of Kiswahili in Chimalaba. There are, approximately 16 structural items borrowed from Kiswahili into Chimalaba as listed in Amani (2010: 58). The main focus is on whether the cases of structural borrowing identified are the result of direct or indirect borrowing and in displaying either of the two, what linguistic constraints are typically at work. Structural borrowing in Chimalaba reveals that Chimalaba has put a stiff resistance to direct structural borrowing, as there are only three items out of 16 structural items that have been directly borrowed from Kiswahili. This has also been possible only in the relevant sub-parts that seem to be more or less similar between Kiswahili and Chimalaba. Most of structural features in Chimalaba have been indirectly borrowed through lexical transfer, constraints of language system and blending. This paper therefore presents indirect and direct structural borrowing and the mechanisms of borrowing used in each category.Item Ideophones in Chasu(2012) Mreta, Abel Y.It can be noted in the literature that scholars seem to recognize the existence of ideophones in their languages, but no one among them finds it easy to define ideophones with precision. They have remained the subject of debate for years. For instance, in earlier works, prior to 1935, ideophones were labeled as ´interjections´, ´descriptive adverbs´, `picture words´ and `onomatopoeic adverbials´ (see Welmers 1973:460). The term ´ideophone´ seems to have been first suggested or coined by C. M. Doke (1935:118). He defined or at least described an ideophone as ´a vivid representation of an idea in sound´. On the one hand, it is maintained by some linguists that ideophones denote a complete utterance and as such have a sentence-like character. On the other hand, reports from other languages (Yoruba, Ewe etc.) disapprove that statement, showing instead that ideophones can be fully integrated into sentences, just like ordinary verbs and nouns. Yet there are some linguists who maintain that the concept `ideophone` makes sense only within the context of an individual language, while others hold the view that ideophones are a universal category. This difference of opinions, is attributable to the fact that languages vary in the manner they make use of ideophones. It is the intention of this paper to firstly, provide an overview of the attempts already made in defining the notion ideophone in some African languages. The definitions provided in the literature vary in terms of scope, depth and precision. The classical and oft-cited definitions including that of Doke (1935) and that of his later works (1967) based on his study of the Southern Bantu languages is reviewed. Other definitions include Kunene (1978) for dialects of Sotho, Moshi (1993), based on her studies of Kivunjo-Chaga, Kimenyi´s account of ideophone (from his Website) for Kinyarwanda, Kulemeka (1997) for Chichewa and finally, Dingemanse (2011) based on his study of Meaning and Use of Ideophones in Siwu. Each of these definitions emphasizes one or two salient properties of ideophones based on phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic characteristics. Secondly, the paper outlines the main characteristics of Chasu ideophones in the light of what has been said about other African languages. Thirdly, it evaluates the contribution that ideophones from Chasu can offer to the existing studies. Fourthly, it holds the view that the definition and consequently the meaning of a particular ideophone are largely determined by its functions in the language. Finally, the paper concludes tentatively that Chasu ideophones are a lexical category distinct from verbs, adverbs and adjectives. They share some characteristics with those categories, but failed most important test of class membership.Item The Comitative/conjunctive Preposition na in Chathu (Pare), a Bantu Language of Tanzania(Taylor & Francis, 2004) Mous, Maarten; Mreta, Abel Y.The article discusses the problem of analysis of the element na in Chathu (Pare), a Bantu language of Tanzania. This element functions both as a preposition with a range of meanings and as a conjunction. A similar element with the same problem of analysis exists in most Bantu languages, and, in fact, the phenomenon of a word meaning both ‘and’ and ‘with’ is extremely common in other African languages as well. The article presents an overview of the semantics of na and proposes the most likely tines of semantic development that link the various meaning senses. After a discussion of the agreement phenomena when na is used in the conjunctive meaning, the conclusion is reached that na is a preposition in alt of its uses. A certain degree of grammaticalization has occurred in the possessive use of na.Item Kiziwi, Kipofu na Kilema: Ubaguzi au Heshima?(1997) Mreta, Abel Y.The deaf, the blind and the lame: discrimination or respect?" In this article we investigate what the assigment of these (and other) words to the KI-class means We depart from the common explanation which says that the KI-class here signals contempt since it is not the typical class for human beings in SwahilL We then analyse the surprisingly large corpus of nouns referring to people in the KI-class and show how they got assigned to this class This leads us to a more general statement about the meaning of a noun class. The final sectionItem Changamoto za Mawasiliano kwa Viziwi katika Tanzania(2009) Muzale, Henry R. T.Viziwi ni moja kati ya makundi ya watu wenye ulemavu wanaohitaji huduma maalumu, hasa shuleni. Ingawa matatizo ya kiziwi yako kwenye maumbile ya mwili wake, athari za ulemavu huo haziko katika mwili kwa maana ya kumsababishia maumivu, kama walivyo watu wenye aina nyingine za ulemavu. Matatizo aliyo nayo kiziwi humkwaza katika mawasiliano katika mazingira anamoishi na hivyo kumwathiri kwa njia nyingine mbalimbali katika nyanja za elimu, mahusiano na maendeleo ya kijamii. Aidha, kwa kuwa matatizo ya viziwi ni ya kimawasiliano, na kwa hiyo hayaonekani kwa macho, viziwi wamekuwa wakikabiliwa na tatizo la kusahaulika katika utoaji wa huduma, kama mojawapo ya makundi ya wanafunzi wanaohitaji msaada maalumu wa kielimu. Athari za mwenendo huu zinaweza kuonekana bayana kutokana na hali za viziwi kuanzia elimu ya awali hadi elimu ya juu, na hata katika maisha kwa jumla. Makala haya yanalimulika suala hili kwa undani, ikiwa ni matokeo ya utafiti alioufanya mwandishi pamoja na kujihusisha kwake na jamiii ya viziwi kwa muda mrefu. Kwa hiyo, lengo kuu la makala haya ni kubainisha hali halisi ya maisha ya jamii ya viziwi uhusiana na vikwazo vya mawasiliano vinayowakabili, hasa shuleni. Ili kutimiza lengo hilo, makala yanabainisha msingi mkuu na chimbuko la vikwazo hivyo. Msingi huo mkuu, ambao ni chimbuko la vikwazo ni mfumo wa elimu uliopo ambao unakazia matumizi ya lugha ya Kiswahili na Kiingereza kama lugha za kufundishia bila kuzingatia mahitaji muhimu ya wanafunzi viziwi. Makala yanachambua pia kasoro za mfumo wa mawasiliano darasani pamoja na matumizi ya ubao, ambavyo hukumbatia lugha za mazungumzo (Kiswahili na Kiingereza) na kuitelekeza lugha ya alama ambayo ndilo tegemeo kuu la wanafunzi wa aina hii. Kwa njia hiyo, makala haya yanachambua asili, aina na athari za vikwazo hivyo vya mawasiliano vinavyoikabili jamii ya viziwi kuanzia kwenye familia hadi shuleni. Ili kutoa mwanga wa kutosha wa masuala hayo, makala yanavinjari pia aina za uziwi, mahitaji ya kila kundi la viziwi, na athari za changamoto zilizopo kwa maisha ya kiziwi. Hayo yanabainishwa kwa kuchambua hali halisi ya madarasa wanakosoma wanafunzi viziwi na mbinu za ufundishaji zilizopo. Kwanza tunaangalia hali halisi ya darasa lenye watoto viziwi pekee katika shule za msingi, ambako Kiswahili hutumika, na kisha darasa la elimu-mjumuiko katika ngazi ya sekondari ambako Kiingereza hutumika. Kwa hiyo, pamoja na kukomaa kwa matumizi ya Kiswahili kama lugha ya kufundishia katika elimu ya msingi, makala yanabainisha ni kwa kiwango gani wanafunzi viziwi wanafaidika au wanaathirika na mifumo ya elimu na mawasiliano iliyopo nchini Tanzania.Item Linguistic and Socio-Cultural Aspects in Interlacustrine Bantu Names(1998) Muzale, Henry R. T.Although naming is a natural phenomenon in all human societies, there are differences not only in the process(es) used by different societies to assign names to people, things, animals, places, or natural and supernatural phenomena, but also in what these names tend to stand for. Whereas in some societies names are either arbitrarily picked up or inherited and bear very little, if any, semantic and sociocultural significance, in many Bantu societies and Interlacustrine groups in particular, names have synchronic meanings and are intended to play a certain role in social life. This paper analyses personal names from Interlacustrine languages spoken in East Africa between Lakes Victoria, Tanganyika and Albert. Since the linguistic area referred to is extensive, the paper draws specific examples from Ruhaya and Runyambo (Rutara languages) and Kinyarwanda and Kirundi (Western Highlands languages). The basic method applied is morphological analysis, whereby names are broken into functionally meaningful morphemes (attached to roots/stems) which help to decipher the meaning of the entire name. Then, by grouping names with related forms and/or meanings, the collective sense underlying the group is determined. As a result, the paper suggests a morphological model of classifying names.Item Nafasi ya Kiswahili katika Lugha ya Alama ya Tanzania(2001) Mreta, Abel Y.; Muzale, Henry R. T.Sign language in I anzania is a relatively new field of linguistics that is yet to atttact many researchers and linguists in particulru I anzanian Sign Language (TSL) functions as a unifYing tool for the deaf in the countiy and, probably, beyond. This language, which is still at its early stage of development, is used in the same linguistic environment with Kiswahili, the national language, which is more established The situation leaves TSL disadvantaged and is thus likely to cause a one-way linguistic influence, from Kiswahili to TSL This paper, therefore, examines the nature and impact of the situation Firstly, it focuses on the question ofwhether or not TSL is an independent language that has developed as a sepruate language, quite distinct fiom the spoken languages of the communities that swround it, especially Kiswahili. Secondly, it examines the extent to which Kiswahili has influenced TSl and thus the role that the former plays in leruning and developing the latter The results of the study show that Kiswahili has had some influence on TSL but the influence is mruginal at lexical level Of all the signs studied, only 13% were directly related to Kiswahili The majmity of the signs studied were found to be iconic in nature, but only 12% of all signs were semantically tianspru·ent Even in these cases where the signs rue tiansparent, the tiansparency of the signs is not based on one's knowledge of Kiswahili Most of the tianspru·ent signs are common gestures that any person of any ethnic migin can interpret The study has thus established that TSl is more of a sign language than signed language It is an indigenous African sign language, uruelated to the Western Sign Languages, except for the IIWflUal alphabet. Finally, the study predicts that much of the tianspru·ency and iconicity in TSL will gradually fade away as the language develops across time, space, and generationsItem Chronogenetic Staging of Tense in Ruhaya(2000) Hewson, John; Nurse, Derek; Muzale, Henry R. T.The paradigm of tense and aspect contrasts in Ruhaya, an eastern Bantu language, shows considerable regularity, indication of an ordered system of contrasts. The examination of what appear to be anomalies in the system of contrasts leads to a refinement in the analysis: to the recognition of a tense system that is organised in two stages, based on a model proposed by Gustave Guillaume. Aspectual contrasts are prioritized at the first stage, tense contrasts at the second. Compound forms, which are typically combinations of Stage 2 + Stage 1 (in that order), are complex representations that are marked for both tense and aspect.Item Reduplication and Semantic Creativity: The Intensive in Bantu(2003) Rugemalira, Josephat M.Item Runyambo – Kiswahili – English and English – Runyambo – Kiswahili Lexicon(2002) Rugemalira, Josephat M.