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Articles 31 - 54 of 54

Full-Text Articles in African Languages and Societies

Structural Analysis Of Code-Switching In Tanzanian Swahili-English Online Telecom Adverts, Emmanuel Ilonga Dr Mar 2022

Structural Analysis Of Code-Switching In Tanzanian Swahili-English Online Telecom Adverts, Emmanuel Ilonga Dr

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

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 …

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Willingness To Adopt The Spatial Monitoring And Reporting Tool (Smart): The Case Of Ugalla Game Reserve, Tanzania, Flora John Magige, Cuthbert L. Nahonyo, Paulo Wilfred, Heri Kayeye, Alex W. Kisingo Mar 2022

Willingness To Adopt The Spatial Monitoring And Reporting Tool (Smart): The Case Of Ugalla Game Reserve, Tanzania, Flora John Magige, Cuthbert L. Nahonyo, Paulo Wilfred, Heri Kayeye, Alex W. Kisingo

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) is a software for measuring, evaluating and improving the effectiveness of wildlife-law enforcement patrols, thereby enabling a better use of limited capacity and human resources, and improving anti poaching in protected areas. The Ugalla Game Reserve introduced SMART in 2016 to facilitate patrol management in the protected area. The objective of this study is to determine the willingness of the Reserve staff to adopt the SMART technology two years after its implementation. Structured questionnaires were administered to 19 rangers from the headquarters and ranger posts of the Reserve who participated in the study. …

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Implications Of Language Policy In Tanzania On The Teaching Of English As A Foreign Language: Perspectives Of The University Of Dar Es Salaam Language Student-Teachers, Mwajuma Vuzo Feb 2022

Implications Of Language Policy In Tanzania On The Teaching Of English As A Foreign Language: Perspectives Of The University Of Dar Es Salaam Language Student-Teachers, Mwajuma Vuzo

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This paper examines the Language in Education Policy in Tanzania focusing on teaching of English as a foreign language. The paper distinguishes between foreign and second language learning contexts, and argues that English in Tanzania is a foreign language, and not a second language. Through the language policy, English is used a second language in the education sector as a language of instruction. This affects the effective teaching of the language as a foreign language. The paper uses a study on 335 language student-teachers at the University of Dar es Salaam to highlight the perspectives of language student-teachers on the …

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The Triple Linguistic Heritage In Tanzania: Opportunities And Challenges Feb 2022

The Triple Linguistic Heritage In Tanzania: Opportunities And Challenges

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Colonial history exposes Tanzania to triple linguistic heritage, that has at times plunged the nation into linguistic confusion. This heritage involves Kiswahili, ethnic community languages (ECLs) and English. Whereas each of the languages has been limited to some use through policies, some of the languages have pushed their own way, often breaking policy boundaries. It is shown in this paper that, firstly, the exclusion of ECLs by post independence policies has denied the nation important socio-cultural and economic avenues that could foster rapid social and economic development. Secondly, policies have not succeeded to strictly confine the three languages to some …

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Linguistic Analysis Of Swahili Traditional Poetry: A Survey Of Phonological Processes In Diwani Ya Amri Abedi, Method Samwel Feb 2022

Linguistic Analysis Of Swahili Traditional Poetry: A Survey Of Phonological Processes In Diwani Ya Amri Abedi, Method Samwel

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This article is anchored on the belief that poetry, just like any literary work, uses language as its medium. Thus, the article analyses poems from a linguistic viewpoint and diverges from the traditional literary analysis approach. It points out that poets, in most cases, do comply to linguistic rules or processes of a particular language used in poems although in several instances they may violate for literary purposes. The study presents how Amri Abedi complies and violates Swahili language phonological rules and literary motives for compliance and violation. Generally, the study is a result of qualitative research that was guided …

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Adaptation Versus Adoption Of Sounds From Kiswahili Into Chimalaba, Hamisi Amani Nov 2021

Adaptation Versus Adoption Of Sounds From Kiswahili Into Chimalaba, Hamisi Amani

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

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 …

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Psychoanalytic Interpretation Of Marina’S Character In Kyomuhendo’S Secrets No More, Esther J. Masele, Deogratias M. Kisweka Dec 2019

Psychoanalytic Interpretation Of Marina’S Character In Kyomuhendo’S Secrets No More, Esther J. Masele, Deogratias M. Kisweka

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Based on the assumption that characters in a literary text are true representations of human beings, this paper intends to interpret Kyomuhendo’s characterization of Marina in Secrets No More, applying psychoanalytic theory thereby, authenticating Freud’s concept of personality in the understanding of characters’ deeds in the novel. Taking into consideration that Freud’s psychoanalysis is a wide and complex theory, this paper focuses on the basics of ‘Id’, ‘Ego’ and ‘Super-ego’ as modes of interpretation to evaluate the effectiveness of the theory in providing a deeper understanding of a character’s personality and meaningful interpretation of a text. In the same context, …

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Tense Sensitivity Of Shambala Relative Markers, Salehe Kaoneka Dec 2018

Tense Sensitivity Of Shambala Relative Markers, Salehe Kaoneka

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This article goes a step ahead from the focus of relative clause formation strategies in Shambala provided in previous Shambala studies (c.f. Besha, 200; and Riedel, 2009). It describes relative formation strategies in the Shambala Bantu language (G.23) by focusing on the analysis of the constraints posed by relative markers on tense systems of the language. The study reveals three important issues: first, the positioning of the Shambala relative markers is highly constrained by tense; second, in unmarked situations, every relative marker is restricted to a particular tense; and third, when marked, some relative markers may refer to other tenses …

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Motivation For Learning Chinese As A Foreign Language: Experiences From Duce, Emmanuel Ilonga Dr Dec 2018

Motivation For Learning Chinese As A Foreign Language: Experiences From Duce, Emmanuel Ilonga Dr

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

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 …

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A Syntactic Analysis Of Relative Clauses In The Southern Cushitic Language, Iraqw, Chrispina Alphonce Dec 2018

A Syntactic Analysis Of Relative Clauses In The Southern Cushitic Language, Iraqw, Chrispina Alphonce

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The article offers an account of the syntax of relative clauses in Iraqw, a Southern Cushitic language of the Afroasiatic Micropylum spoken in northern Tanzania. It examines the structure of relative clauses, relativization strategies, relative markers and noun phrase accessibility hierarchy (AB). Using the descriptive research design, coupled with the qualitative approach, data were generated through elicitation. 8 informants were sampled through snowball technique to inform the study. Text collection was also done to identify relative clauses. The analysis of the data obtained revealed the following: (i) Iraqw displays postnominal relative clause, the feature that is common in most of …

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The Role Of Bilingualism On Affix Borrowing: The Case Of Nominal And Verbal Derivation In Chimalaba, Hamisi Amani, Abel Y. Mreta Jun 2018

The Role Of Bilingualism On Affix Borrowing: The Case Of Nominal And Verbal Derivation In Chimalaba, Hamisi Amani, Abel Y. Mreta

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This paper describes an interesting case of the role of bilingualism on affix borrowing from Kiswahili into Chimalaba. The data were collected through interviews, previous collected corpora, native narratives and targeted elicitations. Thomason’s (2001), Borrowing Scale (BS) and the Principle of Functional Explanation (PFE) guided the analysis. The BS predicts the level of intensity of contact with possible socio-historical factors for borrowing of particular structural features, whereas the PFE through a Multi-Causation Model (MCM) specifies the interplay of factors in promoting structural borrowing in a hierarchy. The findings indicate that bilingualism plays an intermediary role in promoting affix borrowing in …

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The Writer And Africa’S Post-Colonial Crisis: Ideology, Language And Representation In Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’O’S A Grain Of Wheat, Nicholas Kamau-Goro Jun 2018

The Writer And Africa’S Post-Colonial Crisis: Ideology, Language And Representation In Ngũgĩ Wa Thiong’O’S A Grain Of Wheat, Nicholas Kamau-Goro

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This article attempts a re-reading of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s A Grain of Wheat within the broader context of Africa’s cultural history. Faced with the reality of the failure of the post-colonial state to deliver on the promises of independence, the author is confronted with a dilemma: how does he transcend the disillusion and sense of despair engendered by this failure? To answer this question, I read the novel through the prism of post colonial theory to illustrate how Ngũgĩ’s attempts to mediate Africa’s post-colonial crisis precipitates a review of his ideological stances leading to a jettisoning of the liberal humanist …

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Meaning And Meaning-Extension Of The Verb Kata In Kiswahili, Devet Goodness Jun 2016

Meaning And Meaning-Extension Of The Verb Kata In Kiswahili, Devet Goodness

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This paper presents an analysis of the verb ‘kata’ in Kiswahili. It examines the semantic behavior of the verb ‘kata’. It pays attention to the semantic expansion of the verb ‘kata’ when it co-occurs with different nouns to create metaphorical meanings. In this paper, it is shown that the verb ‘kata’ is extremely productive and allows as many meanings as possible when it co-occurs with different nouns. The findings show that the semantic features of the verb kata change depending on the features of the objects, and whether they are in metaphorical or concrete contexts. It is found that the …

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The Nature Of Conditional Sentences In Nyakyusa, Amani Lusekelo Jun 2016

The Nature Of Conditional Sentences In Nyakyusa, Amani Lusekelo

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

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.

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Towards An Anglophone African Literature Praxis: A Case Of A Literary Linguistic Conundrum And The Teaching Of African Letters, Michael Andindilile Jun 2016

Towards An Anglophone African Literature Praxis: A Case Of A Literary Linguistic Conundrum And The Teaching Of African Letters, Michael Andindilile

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This article attempts to bring together various strands vital in the study and teaching of Anglophone African literature in an increasingly globalised world, which no longer has the luxury of ignoring the rich literatures from this unique continent often given an unwarranted bad name. It looks beyond the literary-linguistic conundrum to examine how the most can come out of the interpretation and teaching of Anglophone African literatures, primarily drawing on examples from Chinua Achebe’s oeuvre. It primarily argues that the increasingly transnational world has heightened the need to study and teach literatures from traditionally non-English contexts in the language, English, …

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A Comparative Study Of Headedness In Ruhaya Compounds, Emmanuel Ilonga Dr Jun 2016

A Comparative Study Of Headedness In Ruhaya Compounds, Emmanuel Ilonga Dr

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

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 …

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Constituent Order And Focus In Naro Language, Rose Letsholo,, Budzani Gabanamotse-Mogara Jun 2016

Constituent Order And Focus In Naro Language, Rose Letsholo,, Budzani Gabanamotse-Mogara

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

In Naro, the base word order is SOV (Visser, 2010). However, this language displays interesting variations in word order due to the fact that different constituents can occur in non-canonical positions, particularly the sentence initial position. It is in lieu of this that this paper investigates the following questions: (1) In Naro, what constituents can be fronted and which cannot? (2) What is the significance of the PGN marker in the order of the constituents in Naro sentences? (3) What is special about the sentence initial position given that different lexical constituents can occupy this position? Regarding question (1), we …

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The Properties Of Quantifiers And Numerals: A Case Of Shinyiha, Devet Goodness Jul 2015

The Properties Of Quantifiers And Numerals: A Case Of Shinyiha, Devet Goodness

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Quantifiers and numerals have been a subject of controversy in linguistics. One issue of concern with regard to quantifiers and numerals is how to categorize them. The categorial status of quantifiers and numerals is not uniform across Bantu languages. This paper seeks to show that quantifiers and numerals are semi-lexical categories in the sense that they sit on the divide between lexical and functional categories. It posits that quantifiers and numerals cannot be regarded as adjectives per excellence. Although the two categories have some similarities with adjectives, they display differences morphologically, syntactically and semantically. In the end, It will be …

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Are We Experiencing A ‘Post–Method’ Era In Second Language Teaching?, Rodrick G. Ndomba Dec 2014

Are We Experiencing A ‘Post–Method’ Era In Second Language Teaching?, Rodrick G. Ndomba

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

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 …

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Similar’ Language Contact But ‘Different’ Language Change: Historical Lessons From Loanwords In Tanzanian Bantu Communities, Amani Lusekelo Dec 2014

Similar’ Language Contact But ‘Different’ Language Change: Historical Lessons From Loanwords In Tanzanian Bantu Communities, Amani Lusekelo

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This paper contributes to the on-going discussion about integration of foreign cultures into African communities, one of the areas documented by Sam Maghimbi. It articulates the results of human contacts through examination of loanwords for similar semantic notions across Bantu languages of Tanzania. The rationale for this study emanates from a lacuna in previous works that focused on phonological and morphological changes, and undervalued the power of internal semantic modifications that accommodate new concepts. The paper analyses loanwords of individual words that surround three contact areas: western (formal) education, Christian religion, and (modern) healthcare. The paper shows that contact situations …

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Challenges Of African Languages In Education: The Case Of Kiswahili In Tanzania, Benedictor Phanuel Lema Dec 2013

Challenges Of African Languages In Education: The Case Of Kiswahili In Tanzania, Benedictor Phanuel Lema

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Tanzania presents a perfect case of former colonies that have strived to redress colonial legacies. The Africanization policy adopted after independence and cemented in the 1967 Arusha Declaration was a deliberate move to replace foreign workforce and practices with African values. Education was one of the sectors that needed and, indeed, received a lot of transformations. This paper particularly discusses language practices in the education system in Tanzania in that context. While both theory and practice favour Kiswahili as a medium of instruction at all levels of education, policy seems to work to the contrary. The discussion revolves around the …

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Controversies Underlying The Genre Of Short Story: A Critique Of Perceptions On Kiswahili Written Short Story, Method Samwel Dec 2013

Controversies Underlying The Genre Of Short Story: A Critique Of Perceptions On Kiswahili Written Short Story, Method Samwel

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The genre of short story has been viewed by scholars as being very controversial and conflicting. The debates are on the proper way of defining short stories, their classification with supporting examples, and their actual distinctive features. This paper acknowledges the need to analyze literature into genres and even sub-genres, but shows how controversial literary genres 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 stories. It also presents the ‘best’ way of resolving the controversies.

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Ikalanga Derived Personal Names: A Functionalist Approach, Budzani Gabanamotse-Mogara Jun 2013

Ikalanga Derived Personal Names: A Functionalist Approach, Budzani Gabanamotse-Mogara

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This article discusses the way a personal name is derived, the context in which a name is given in Ikalanga, as well as the meaning behind the name. It is argued that Ikalanga personal names are derived from different grammatical categories such as verbs, possessives, nouns, adjectives, etc. Ikalanga personal names have different meanings. These meanings are mostly related to incidents that happen before pregnancy, at birth and after birth. The article argues that most of the time the meaning is known to the namer, and not the one to whom the name is bestowed. The article also looks at …

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An Inquiry Into The Political Correctness In Swahili And Mashami Traditions, Benedictor Phanuel Lema Dec 2012

An Inquiry Into The Political Correctness In Swahili And Mashami Traditions, Benedictor Phanuel Lema

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Political correctness evidences naturally evolving socio-political and economic dynamics that are constantly in force. This paper shows that political correctness, viewed from the perspective of the seemingly socio-cultural readjustments, needs to be understood from the underlying socio-cultural and political forces that are strongly embedded in the social structures. Borrowing from Swahili and Mashami cultures, this paper shows differences in the way they neutralize unfriendly terms, particularly in events where the labelling is a result of the work of God and naturally imposed calamities. It establishes that whereas Swahili culture seems to be rude in the eyes of the activists in …

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