The nature and extent of linguistic change among insular jita in Ukerewe

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Date
1991
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Dar es Salaam
Abstract
Ukerewe Island has been a meeting place of two groups of languages: The Suguti (Jita, Kwaya, Ruri and Regi) and the Insular Rutara group (Kerewe). Of these two Inter-lacustrine groups, the Insular Rutara group (Kerewe) has been dominant in the area after establishing chiefdom by force and beguile. The study uses a lexicostatistical method and areal classification to ascertain the cultural dominance of the Kerewe over the Insular Jita, and to identify the most cultural influence areas of the Kerewe. To ascertain the genetic relationships of the languages in the area basic vocabulary was used. Two groups then were studied. The first is the immediate group of the Insular Rutara (Kerewe). The second is the Suguti group (Musoma Jita, Insular Jita, Kerewe Kara and Insular Kara). By using cultural vocabulary lexicostatistical method two groups emerged. The first group consisted of Musoma Jita, Kerewe Kara, and Insular Kara, the second group comprised of Kerewe and Insular Jita. By areal classification and settlement, it was established that adornments and political system fields categories had been borrowed substantially by Insular Jita from Kerewe. The present study, however, being the first of its kind should be viewed as an exploratory study. To the researcher's knowledge no previous studies on the languages in convergence have been done in the area. Thus the study lacks comparative analysis with previous findings. The checks and balance were therefore missing in the study. The dissertation has five chapters. The first chapter describes the background information and the problem area. The review of earlier classifications and the world phenomenal view on contact forms the second chapter. Chapter three presents the methodology and the theoretical classification framework. In Chapter four, data analysis and findings are discussed. Chapter five gives the summary, remarks and suggestions for further research.
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Available in print form
Keywords
Linguistic change, Jita (African people), Linguistics, Tanzania
Citation
Lukula, A. M. (1991) The nature and extent of linguistic change among insular jita in Ukerewe, Masters dissertation, University of Dar es Salaam. Available at (http://41.86.178.3/internetserver3.1.2/detail.aspx)