The Phonological Influence of Ethnic Community Languages in Learning Kiswahili, a Case of Kinyakyusa in Mbeya, Tanzania (original) (raw)
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Kiswahili language has a phonological system which is distinct from other languages. This can be attributed to the fact that even though it is a Bantu language, it has a unique phonological structure which is a universal feature of all languages. It is this uniqueness of specific languages that exhibits itself when other Bantu speakers write or speak Kiswahili erroneously. The correct articulation and orthography of Kiswahili will be discussed. Data for the paper came from analysis of compositions written by student from selected Kenyan secondary schools. The research will benefit Kiswahili students by identifying Kiswahili language usage errors originating from the speakers first Bantu languages. In addition the analysis will benefit Kiswahili teachers as they guide their learners on the correct Kiswahili orthography. The research will be a step forward in Swahili research particularly in error analysis of written
2018
This study sought to examine the influence of Kiswahili segmental and supra-segmental features in the teaching of pronunciation in English language. The study addressed three key issues namely: how mastery of Kiswahili vowel sounds influence the teaching of pronunciation in English language; how mastery of Kiswahili consonant sounds influence the teaching of pronunciation in English language; how mastery of intonation and stress in Kiswahili affect the teaching of pronunciation in English language. The study employed case study design. Purposive and systematic random sampling was used to select participants. Questionnaire, interview, focus group discussion, and classroom observation were used in collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed while quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS. The findings of the study revealed that the teaching of pronunciation in English face difficulties because speakers export Kiswahili phonological s...
Misrepresentations and Omissions in Kiswahili Phonology
International Journal of Linguistics and Communication, 2015
Kiswahili is one of the most studied and documented African languages. Whereas we must commend those who have authored books and papers on Kiswahili linguistics using either English or Kiswahili as the medium, it is important to point out that some of the works have misleading claims on the language. Such claims tend to, at best, confuse students of Kiswahili linguistics and, at worst, reverse gains already achieved in the study of the language. In this paper, I look at misrepresentations in the works on Kiswahili phonology. I show that some of the claims on the production of Kiswahili sounds are incorrect from a phonetic point of view. I also show that a number of rules formulated for Kiswahili phonological processes are incorrect and, therefore, untenable. Such rules pertain to consonant weakening, palatalisation, liquid hardening, "vowel coalescence" and glide formation. I also show that rules that are convincingly part of Kiswahili phonology are omitted in most if not in all works in the language. I conclude the paper by making the claim that thorough grounding in articulatory phonetics and a good grasp of phonological theory are prequisites in delivering a credible phonological analysis of Kiswahili and, indeed, of any other language.
African Journal of Applied Research, 2019
This study examines the morpho-syntactic influence of the Ethnic Community Languages (ECLs) in learning Kiswahili as a second language (L2) since little is still known on how L1's structure affects the acquisition of L2 morpho-syntactically. In this regard Nyakyusa language spoken in Mbeya was taken as a case to represent other ECLs in Tanzania, which are Bantu in origin. The study was conducted in Rungwe district where Nyakyusa natives are dominant. Word lists, questionnaires, interviews and participant observation were the research techniques used in collecting data. The study was descriptive and it employed the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis as the theoretical framework. The findings revealed that, Morpho-syntactically, both Nyakyusa and Kiswahili follow SVO word order, have noun-verb agreement and are similar in changing from singular into plural. These kinds of similarities positively, influence learners in the process of learning Kiswahili as a second language.
2012
This paper focuses on inaccuracies in the way the teaching of Kiswahili pronunciation is provided for in textbooks recommended for secondary schools in Kenya. The major inaccuracies consist in the following: some of the charts are not labelled properly, a proper distinction is not made between voiced and voiceless consonants in some of the charts, the prenasalised consonants are not given adequate treatment, and some speech organs are not drawn or labelled correctly. The paper offers the correct information and descriptive tools to use so as to improve the teaching of Kiswahili pronunciation in Kenya.
Atlantis Press, 2019
Learning English to EFL learners must always be challenging since it requires not only the willingness for learning, but also students' awareness of the phonological differences between the students' mother tongue on one hand and English as the target language on the other. One of the potential problems is phonology. This study aims at describing the students' phonological problems in pronouncing English segmental sounds. There are 10 students' each of local language speakers taken as the sample in this study. Data is gained by using phonological test. In the test, the sample were asked to pronounce English words of which the sounds do not exist in each local language phonology. The result reveals that, there two English sounds found to be a problem encountered by Sasak students, both of which are consonants. The sounds
The Systematic Phonological Realization in Keiyo Language as Spoken by the Keiyo Community in Kenya
2014
This paper gives a brief phonological system of Keiyo Language. It not only discusses the vowel and consonant inventories and their realizations, but also the diphthongs, syllable structure and the phonotactic possibilities. It analyzes the phonological and prosodic processes that Keiyo nouns (both definite and indefinite) undergo when inflected for number. The author is a native speaker of the language and generated the data, and later subjected it to four adult native speakers drawn from Tambach Division of Keiyo District in Rift Valley Province. Like the other Kalenjin languages, the vowel system of Keiyo is based on the five basic vowel qualities a, e, i, o, u. Beyond this basic level, these vowels are also distinguishable within the phonological supra segmental level of tongue root position - the retracted (RTR) versus (ATR) and length. The Keiyo phonemic inventory has a total of ten diphthongs [ai,ei,oi,ui,au,eu,ou,ia,ua,ao]. The language has a limited inventory of its consona...
Kiswahili in the language ecology of Gulu, Northern Uganda
2020
The promotion of Kiswahili is one of the main goals of the policies of the East African Community. However, only a limited amount of research has been conducted on the perception and application of the language outside of the traditionally Kiswahili-speaking countries of Tanzania and Kenya. Especially in Uganda, the third largest country of the region, there is a lack of understanding for the role of the language in public communication. This article presents data on the use of Kiswahili in everyday communication and discusses the language attitudes and language ideologies of the people in Northern Uganda’s largest city. It shows that, despite generally positive attitudes towards the language, there is little to no use for it in public communication. The results of the study, combined with perceived negative attitudes from other parts of the country towards the implemented policies, question the effectiveness of the proposed measures for promoting Kiswahili within the present parame...
Adaptation versus Adoption of Sounds from Kiswahili into Chimalaba
Journal of Education, Humanities & Science (JEHS), 2021
This paper describes an exciting case of adaptation versus adoption of sounds from Kiswahili loanwords integrated into Chimalaba. The data were collected through interviews and targeted elicitation of lexical loanwords containing borrowed sounds. The analysis of adaptation and adoption of Kiswahili sounds into Chimalaba was guided by the assimilation theory (AT), which holds that speakers of the borrowing language always change the phonological patterns of loanwords so as to fit into the system of their language. The findings indicate that phonological integration of Kiswahili loanwords into Chimalaba displays two types of conformity: conformity to the phonological structure of the recipient language (RL); and conformity to the sociohistorical pressure exerted by the source language (SL). In the former, speakers adapt foreign sounds to preserve the structure of the RL, and in the latter speakers adopt foreign sounds in response to socio-historical pressure put forth by the SL. Thus, adaption and adoption are used concurrently in integrating foreign sounds in Chimalaba so as to serve two different purposes: adaptation serves for structural preservation, and adoption responds to socio-historical pressure exerted by the SL on the RL.