INTRODUCTION TO LANGUAGE
What
is Language?
The term language has been defined variably by
different scholars. However there are some common concepts that most of them do
agree that must constitute any reliable definition of language. Given below are
some of the different attempts to define the term language.
Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by means of which a social group
cooperates. (Bloch and Trager 1942)
Language is a system of vocal symbols used for human
communication. (Wardaugh, 1972)
Language is a system of conventional spoken or written symbols,
by means of which human beings, as
members of a social group and participants, in its culture communicate. (Encyclopaedia
Britannica)
Language
is a learned, shared and arbitrary system of vocal symbols
through which human beings in the same speech community interact and hence
communicate in terms of their cultural experience and expectation.
Language
is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by which thought is conveyed from one
human being to another.
Key
concepts in the definition of language.
a)
System,
This is a
group of things or parts working together in a regular relation. A system
assembles together units which form a regular and connected whole. The same is
true with language because it assembles units which form a regular and
connected whole. The language is constituted by subsystems which involve speech
sounds (sound system/Phonetic system), phonological system, morphological
system, syntactical system, semantic system, lexical system)
SUBSYSTEMS
(i). Phonetic system. Linguists talk about
phonetics as a way of describing how sounds are produced, transmitted and
interpreted in the brain. Each language must have these three stages,
production (articulatory phonetics), transmission (acoustic phonetics); and
reception (auditory phonetics)
(ii). Phonological system. Each language
has got its own sound system. Phonology deals with sound system of a particular
language, e.g. English language has 24 vowels Kiswahili only 5. It deals with
how sounds are articulated, (manner of articulation), where (place of
articulation), State of the glottis (voiced / voiceless), and the cavity
through which the air escapes (nasal / Oral).
(iii). Lexical system (word
formation/vocabulary)
Each language
has its own way of forming new vocabularies. For example English has the
following, affixation, blending, compounding, borrowing, conversion (zero
derivation), acronyms, clipping, etc
(iv). Morphological system
Is the study of how words
are formed out of smaller meaningful units traditionally called Morphemes.
Morphemes are regarded as word building blocks.
For Syal and Jindal
(2007:20) morphology studies the patterns of formation of words by the
combination of sounds into minimal distinctive units of meaning called
morphemes.
Eg.Dis-establish-ment-al-ism
=disestablishmentalism
Inter-nation-al-ity = internationality
(v). Syntactical system- each language
has a syntactic system that deals with how words are combined to form phrases,
and how phrases are combined to form clauses and how clauses are combined to
form sentences and sentences combined to form paragraphs and so on.
(vi). Semantic system – each
language has a way of assigning meanings to its symbols (words). And for
someone to know the language is to know what referents do those symbols refer
to. E.g.
Look for=search/find,
look into=examine,
look after=take care of,
look in=
visit casually.
There are also other subsystems like tense system, system of personal pronouns, etc
b) Symbol.
A symbol is something
that represents something else. Language is said to be a symbol because it
consists of the words which represent objects, ideas, concepts as well as
people. So language uses acoustic images or graphic signs to represent
realities. Every language has its own symbols which represent all its physical
and conceptual experience. E.g. Cup, house,
c) Arbitrariness
The
linguistic symbols are arbitrary because each language community picks them
very haphazardly. There is no any formal relationship between the words and
what they mean. E.g. there is no particular reason why the dog, or cow, or
table was named so. They could be named otherwise. That’s why we have different
words in different languages. However there are some few exceptions of
linguistic forms whose sounds or structures relate to physical reality. This is
the case of onomatopoeic words
(words which represent sounds made by those objects) like nyau (cat) pikipiki
(motorcycle) and idiophonic words
(which show the intensity of something) like mweupe pee, mweusi tii.
d) Vocal
The word
vocal refers to something related to sound. As you know language is primarily
made of sounds that are produced by physiological mechanisms. It is interesting
to note that even when the language is written the letters represent sounds.
e) Conventional.
Language uses
symbols/signs that must be accepted by the people of a particular speech
community to use for communication. That’s why speakers of one language can
understand each other while those of other languages cannot. The sentence we
are very happy today is accepted in English but are very happy today we is
not acceptable.
Also some
words/terminologies may be formed to supplement for new objects or situations
but if not accepted by that speech community, they die a natural death. Eg
Swahili words like mkurufunzi (student), tonoradi (atom) mlisho wa nyuma
(feedback) kurunzi (torch) they are not often used.
Some words may be
well-formed in a particular natural language yet they may not be accepted in
that particular speech community because of being considered ugly or because of
having negative contention according to the cultural values of that particular
speech community.
The following words were
coined but not accepted since they were considered ugly.
The word stagflation
to refer to the combination of economic stagnation and high level
of inflation around 1970s. Other words are talkathon, swimathon,
knitathon, etc. by the analogy to marathon. This is misanalysis of –athon
as a suffix which means {undertaking a strenuous prolonged activity} in Greek –athon
was not a morpheme.
f) Learnability.
Human
languages must be learnt. Although children unconsciously acquire competence in
language at some stages they must be taught by their teachers, parents or
siblings. For example a dog will bark, a donkey will bray, a sheep will bleat,
a frog will croak just the same way anywhere in the world without any formal
lessons or imitations.
g) Human.
Language is
said to be human because it’s only human beings who are capable of possessing
and using language. Animals are said to have no languages as do human beings
though they communicate. Unlike animals human beings are born with a Language
Acquisition Device (LAD) which helps them to pick any language when exposed to
it. There are different characteristics that differentiate human language from
animal communication.
CHARACTERISTICS
OF HUMAN LANGUAGE.
a)
Arbitrariness
The
linguistic symbols are arbitrary because each language community picks them
very haphazardly. There is no any formal relationship between the words and
what they mean. E.g. there is no particular reason why the dog, or cow, or
table was named so. They could be named otherwise. That’s why we have different
words in different languages.
b)
Displacement.
Humans
languages are able to express /communicate about things that are absent and
things that are, present, past or future. That’s to say we can also talk about
abstract concepts and things that are far away in terms of time and place. E.g.
we can talk about colonialism that took place in Africa some years ago.
Conversely a dog cannot tell you what it did yesterday or what it is going to
do tomorrow.
c)
Cultural transmission.
Language is
culturally transmitted from one generation to the next. Also human language
acts as a medium of transmitting the culture of a particular society from one generation
to another. The transmission is done as
young ones learn the language
d)
Discreteness.
The sounds of
human language are meaningfully distinct. For instance the words man and ban differ from each other in only one sound. As you can see the
different in only one sound is sufficient enough to cause difference in
meaning. So we can identify sounds like
/d/, /p/, /k/, /g/,/i/ etc which is not the case with animal communication.
This discreteness helps us to distinguish words like, pig and big, pack and back, come and some, go and so etc
e)
Duality.
Language
consists of two levels, the sound level and the level of meaning. At the sound
level we pronounce sound units or phonemes which are similar in number to the
basic sounds possessed by animals. The average number is between 30 and 40. But
each phoneme is meaningless in isolation. The phonemes become meaningful only
when they are combined with other phonemes. Take a look at the following sounds
in isolation and say what they mean.
/f/,/v/,/k/,/g/,/d/,/t/,/o/,/u/,/a/,/e/,/Ê‹/,/É™/. Compare when they are
combined /gəʋ/
= go, /væn/ = van, are these words meaningful? Of course yes.
f) Productivity/creativity
Language
allows speakers/writers to produce and understand new utterances never heard or
produced before. That means it is possible for someone to pronounce new (novel)
sentences which has never been said before and still be understood. It is also
possible for someone to understand new sentences produced by others. E.g.
someone may say “phonology is a linguistic study of speech sounds” you might
not have heard this sentence before; nevertheless, you may understand it.
g) Interchangeability/Reciprocity
Language
allows communicators to exchange positions. At one point the communicator is
the speaker, but at the other he becomes the listener. When one person is
speaking the other is listening and when the listener starts responding the
speaker becomes the listener. This property of language is called interchangeability or reciprocity.
h)
Reflexiveness.
This
is the ability of human language to talk about itself. A sentence like “English is an international language” is
just one case of how language can talk about itself. This property makes human
language different from animal communication.
i) Specialization
Human
language has specialized terms for some expressions. For example a male head of
a secondary school is called Headmaster while a female is called headmistress,
also there are special terms for adult and young animals; e.g. goat-kid, cat-kitten,
cow-calf etc. There are special terms related to movements depending on its
nature. For example;
Swagger - to walk in an extremely
proud and confident way.
Toddle – walk with short and unsteady
steps.
Run – to move using your legs
faster than you walk.
Walk –to move or go somewhere by
putting one foot in front of the other on the ground.
Trot - to run or walk very fast
taking short quick steps.
March – to walk with stiff regular
steps like a soldier.
Jogging
– to
run slowly and steadily for a long time especially for exercise.
Stagger – to walk unsteadily
especially due to drinking alcohol.
(J) Patterning.
Human language has
internal organization within the system. It is not just a heap of isolated
items. Humans do not use sounds and words in a random way like [are in there
vowels English twenty only four} but {In English there are twenty four vowels
only}
Sometimes changing the
patterns also changes the meaning. Consider the following sentences
Nancy NEARLY won Tsh 2,000,000/=
Nancy won NEARLY Tsh 2,000,000/=
FUNCTIONS OF LANGUAGE
There are
many functions of language although most people know that language is used for
communication only. In this study we are going to see that language does much
more than just facilitating communication. Some functions of the language
include the following:
(1)
Communication function.
This is
the function that most people would select as the principal function of
language. It is true that communication is the most dominant function of
language. Communication is a two way process. In one way we are able to use
language to express ourselves to others, and conversely, we use language to
understand what others are communicating to us.
E.g. if the teacher asks the question in class
and the students respond by answering that is a communication function of language.
(2)
Phatic/interactional function. (For the purposes of sociability)
The word phatic comes
from Greek and means ‘utterance’. The
term was coined by Malinowski, who discovered that much of what we say is
formulaic and found that the same is true of all languages. He is suggesting
that language is the glue which links people together.
Expressions such as,
Good morning,
Hello, how are you,
God bless you!,
Let’s go home,
Let’s go to the play room
How nice to meet you. How are you?
Phatic function
of language is used when one wants to open communication channels.
Communication can hardly begin without a greeting. The phatic function of the
language is mainly spoken but there are some written equivalents. E.g. for starting and ending a letter, Hello Dear.........., Yours faithfully, sincerely, truly,
(3). Emotive
/ expressive function (Intrapersonal communication / physiological ) for the
purpose of releasing nervous.
Language is
also used to express personal emotions. A great deal of what we say when angry
or happy is said just to relieve the physical and nervous energy. E.g. words
like Shit!,
Fuck!. Also imagine the football fan watching tv giving instructions to the player. Go
on! Don’t mess about! For God’s sake shoot!
The instructions are perfectly useless; they serve no
communicative purpose.
“Wow! It’s wonderful!”
“Oh! My goodness! What happened to you?”
“Oh! I’m sorry.”
“The meal was excellent”
“Go to hell” “To hell
with your dirty money”
(4)
Instrumental/Regulatory/directive Function
Language is also used
for the purpose of warning or imparting discipline into the minds of the
people. Think of what politicians and religious leaders do when asking for
votes and preaching respectively. They use language to win people’s respects.
Also teachers in school may give commands to students to get things done. E.g.
“Clean the blackboard”
“Whose bag is that on the floor?”
In this case
language is used to give directions by which things are done. In expressions
like “on
your mark, go!,” “sit down,” “don’t disturb me”, “put your bags down”. The
instructions make things happen although the other part does not reply back but
does actions.
(5) Reasoning function (as an instrument of
thought).
It is
argued that speaking while thinking makes the speakers concentrate on what they
are thinking. A majority of thinking is done in words. A common view of
language is that it is an instrument/tool of thought. Even writings and
speaking begins with thoughts. Language not only expresses thought but also
creates it.
E.g. the owner of the house looking at his wall while he’s
alone may say “if I use Twiga cement I
will not need any more rehabilitation. But I do not have enough money to buy 4
bags of cement now. Well, I’ll see my friend and ask him to lend me some money.
”Or think of someone making mathematical calculations alone. “Two time two equals to four”
(6) Recording function.
Language is used to record
something we wish to remember for future use. It can be a short time record
like a shopping list or a long term record like in a diary or history of some
kind. Think of the Bible, Quran and legal documents like the constitutions.
These documents here serve a recording function of the language. They do not serve
the communicative function.
(7) Identifying
function.
Language has a function of identifying and
classifying things, places, people and social classes. For instance it is easy
to know the person’s place of origin by simply hearing his/her pronunciation.
Also learning the names of things allows us to refer quickly and accurately to
them. To take a fairly simple example let us consider all those terms which
classify types of residences: house, maisonette, flat, caravan, bungalow,
castle, mansion, palace and hut.
(8) Performative/declarative function
Language
can also be used for declarative purposes in such a way that the expressions
given may change the state of affairs in the world after they have been
pronounced by the appropriate authority in appropriate situation. Try to
imagine what happens in occasion such as wedding ceremony, meetings, church
masses, and courts of law. It is normal to hear expressions like;
“I
pronounce you husband and wife”
“I
sentence you ten years of imprisonment”
“I
baptize you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
“I
officially declare the meeting opened”
“I
swear to tell the truth”
“This
meeting is adjoined”
For example if the pastor
declares “I pronounce you husband and wife” you automatically become so. Here
language is said to have performed. This function is also known as Declarative function.
(9) Poetic/aesthetic
Function
Language is sometimes used
artistically or aesthetically. In literature the meaning of words can be
widened or narrowed. Also the use of devices like onomatopoeia, alliteration
and assonance all draw on the pleasure we find in poetry, as do rhythm and
rhyme. This use of words to achieve an artistic effect is termed as poetic
function of the language. Consider the following;
“Ester was given bundles of kisses on her
wedding”
“You are as expensive as tanzanite”
“Debora is indeed an angel of this class”
“Feel free friend Faith”
(10) Metalinguistic function.
Language can
also be used to talk about itself. For instance now we are using the language
to talk about language. Such use is termed as metalinguistic function.
Linguists describe various aspects of language such as word classes, phrases,
clauses, pronunciation etc. E.g.
“Linguistics
is a scientific study of language”.
“Linguist
is a person/scholar who studies language scientifically”
(11) Informative/referential function.
Language is
also used as a medium of passing or conveying factual information. It is used
to inform about something that happened, is happening or is going to happen.
Also when someone needs help may inform others who can help. Consider the
following utterances.
Dady’s
giving a speech tonight.
Would
you help me if you were in my shoes?
We
are leaving now.
It’s cold in here.
LANGUAGE VERSUS A LANGUAGE
When we talk
about a language (with an article “a”) we are referring to a specific language
in mind whereas language (without article ‘a’) refers to the general
characteristics of language with no specific language in mind.
So A
Language is defined as a form of speech that is mutually comprehensible
among the members of community who use it. A language may be that of a small
community like our tribe languages, or may be of a larger community like
international languages. Eg Kiswahili, English French, etc
Each and
every language is capable of expressing the whole culture of its speakers. But
languages change with time as the culture of the community also changes.
ROLES /IMPORTANCE/SIGNIFICANCE OF LANGUAGE IN
THE SOCIETY.
The
importance of human language should never be confused with the functions of
language. By functions we mean what
we do with language or what language does. By importance we mean what the effects of using the language are. That
is to say after language has been used something happens as a result. The
significance of human language can be looked at in the following aspects.
a.
Language as a
unifying/dividing factor.
Language can
be used as a unifying factor in a sense that it brings together people of different
backgrounds, and cultural diversities.
For example Kiswahili language has united over 120 cultures of Tanzania
and feel like one people. Also English is a lingua franca of the world that
helps to bring people of different nations together.
There are
also some cases where language is used as a dividing factor. Sometimes people
create enmity with others simply because they speak different languages. Think
of what happened in Rwanda between the Ttusi and Hutu.
b.
Language as a
factor for national identity.
Language is
one of the many ways which identify nations and people in the world. When
people are out of their home countries one of the simplest way of knowing where
they come from is by using the language they speak. E.g. an African speaking
Kiswahili will be thought of coming from Tanzania or East Africa. Likewise a
European speaking French (from France), German (from Germany), Chinese (from
China) Gujarat (from India) etc. Consider this example from the bible
Matthew
26:73 “And after a while those
who stood by, came to him and said to Peter, Surely you also are one of them; because
your speech betrays you” (NKJV)
However, a
caution should be taken that not all people who speak a particular language
come from the country where it is natively spoken. It is possible to find a
Korean speaking English nevertheless that does not imply that he/she comes from
England though you can still be able to tell from his accent that he/she is not
a native speaker of English.
c.
Language as a
factor for social stratification.
Language is
also used to classify people into different social classes. The class to which
a member of the society belongs is largely determined by the way he/she uses
language among other things. Different social classes use language differently
in terms of choice of vocabulary, pronunciation, and other aspects of language.
So it is possible to stratify people as
Village
dwellers vs Urban dwellers
Educated vs
Uneducated
Farmers vs
workers
Muslims vs
Christians
Upper class
vs Lower class.
Men vs women
d.
Language as a
mirror or cultural and physical realities.
Language
reflects a variety of customs, knowledge, traditions and beliefs. Words making
up a particular language reflect the culture of that community. E.g. the
Kiswahili word Ugali is found in most Bantu languages because they eat that
kind of food. But it lacks its equivalent in English because it is not part of
the culture of the native English speaking communities. Unless it is borrowed,
it cannot be expressed in English language. Also the Swahili word makuti is another case in point.
e.
Language as a
factor for social development.
Human beings
normally use language to coordinate and promote social activities and services
like education, hospitals, housing etc. For example policy makers communicate
their policies to implementers and the implementers put them in action. Also
language facilitates trading activities, and that is why sometimes translators
and interpreters are needed to facilitate communication where there is no
common language.
f.
Language as a
tool of communication. (information exchange)
With language
we are able to communicate in various events in the form of greetings,
telephone conversation, discussions, rallies, e-mails, mass media like TV,
radio, newspapers and the internet. So this can be considered as the most
important role of language so far. Try to imagine how life would have been with
the absence of language.
KNOWLEDGE OF LANGUAGE
Competence and Performance
COMPETENCE
This refers to the
person’s internalised grammar of language. It is the subconscious ability that
helps someone to judge the grammaticality of expressions used in a certain
language. It helps someone to create and understand sentences including
sentences he/she has said or heard before. For example an English speaker is
likely to say that this sentence is grammatically incorrect, “I will eat rice
last week”. Interestingly, a person who judges the grammaticality of what is
said is not necessarily a linguist. A person may correct your grammatical
mistake but may not be able to give reason for that correction.
PERFORMANCE.
This refers to the
actual use of a language in actual/concrete situations. In other words it
refers to what people actually say or understand by what someone else says on a
given situation. In most cases poor/imperfect performance is not necessarily a
reflection of competence. That is because a person who is very competent in a
language may exhibit poor performance due to, slip of tongue, tiredness/boredom,
drunkenness, sickness, etc.
ERRORS AND MISTAKES IN
LANGUAGE.
ERRORS
These are violations
committed by people who have not mastered the language. They show the level
which one has reached in language acquisition. For example a child/a person who
has not mastered a language, violates a lot of grammatical and pronunciation
rules. This shows that the child/the person is in the process of
acquiring/learning the language. Sometimes it is hard for them to correct
themselves. A child might say “my mom
gived me a gift yesterday” and may not realize that he/she has made an
error.
MISTAKES
These are violations
made by people who have mastered the language. Sometimes the person immediately
corrects himself/herself after making a mistake but a person who commits an
error may not correct himself/herself because he/she does not realize whether
she/he has made an error. But a competent person who utters the expression
like, “my mother gived me a gift
yesterday” is likely to correct that utterance immediately and say “oh!
Sorry “she gave me a gift yesterday”. This is what we technically call a
mistake.
KEY CONCEPTS IN THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE.
a)
Linguistics
This is the scientific study of language. As a
scientific study it involves scientific procedures like observation, data
collection, data analysis, hypothesis formulation, experimenting and
conclusion. It also applies principles and theories from different scholars. There
are many branches of linguistics including; historical linguistics,
sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, philosophical linguistics, comparative
linguistics etc.
b)
Linguist.
This is a scholar who studies language
scientifically. A linguist is not necessarily the speaker of the language
he/she is studying. That is to say the linguist is only interested with the
language patterns of the language he/she is studying. Say for instance the
linguist may study the grammar, phonology, lexis and semantics of Chinese
language while he is not the speaker of Chinese.
c)
Lingua franca
This is an auxiliary language that is used to
facilitate communication among the people who use different languages. Also it
can be defined as a hybrid or other language used over a wide area as a common
or commercial tongue among people of different speeches. When people who have
different languages come together and need to communicate among themselves they
need a common language that connects them in areas such as trade, education,
politics etc. This is what we technically call lingua franca. For example
Kiswahili is a lingua franca of the most Tanzanians. English is also a lingua
franca of the world.
d)
First
language/mother tongue/native language
This is the language which a child is first
acquires from childhood. The child does not need formal classes to be able to
speak the mother tongue. For example English is spoken as a mother tongue in
USA, UK, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Mother tongue is not necessarily
mother’s language. The mother may be speaking Kinyamwezi, but if the child
grows in an area where kimasai is spoken and as such the child acquires Kimasai
that is the mother tongue to that child. In Tanzania for example there are many
children who acquire Kiswahili as their mother tongue while their parents have
different mother tongues. Sometimes the
first language is referred to as Language 1 (L1)
e)
Second
language (L2)
This is the language learned/acquired after the
first language. This may be learned for different purposes like commerce and
trade, education, sociability, or government activities within a given country.
For instance English is used as a second language in countries like, Kenya,
Nigeria, India, Pakistan. In some countries the second language is also the
national language. E.g. English in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda. Some
speakers of the second language manage to attain high proficiency in the second
language and some even manage to reach a standard similar to that of language 1
{L1}
f)
National language.
This is a language that is considered to be the
main language of a country. A country may choose one variety/dialect and
declare it as a national language. {as the case of Kiunguja}. In many countries
the national language is also an official language; used in government, courts
of law and official business. For example Kiswahili is the National language in
Tanzania, French in France, English in USA, and other commonwealth countries
such as Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
In
countries with many languages {multilingual nations} the term “official language” is preferred. E.g.
in Singapore, there are 4 official languages, English, Chinese, Malay, and
Tamal. In Canada there are English and French all occupying an official status.
FACTORS WHICH ENABLE THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE TO BE
FORMED
i.
Number of
speakers.
It must be spoken by the majority. If a country has more than one language, the
one with a great number of its speakers will be considered.
ii.
Area/coverage. Its
speakers should be spread in a large area.
iii.
Simplicity. It must be
simple to learn.
iv.
It must be a
well documented so that further researches on the language can be possible. It should
also be the one used in education and government processes.
v.
It must unite
the people against tribalism. It should not lift up one ethnic group
above others.
vi.
It must be declared by the government.
NB the
national language does not necessarily originate from the country concerned.
E.g. In the republic of Benin Yoruba, Dagon, and Ga dominate and are struggling
to have a dominating importance in the country. Due to this situation the
country was forced to opt for a foreign language.
g)
Foreign language
This is a language that is learned by someone
for the purpose of communicating with people across boundaries/frontiers or
with others who are not from their country. E.g. foreigners/tourists, commerce,
travel, education, and reading books and listen to news broadcasts. Such a
language is learnt where there is already language 2 that is used in a nation
for both official and private purposes. English is a foreign language in
countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Japan, DRC, USSR and China. French is a foreign
language in Tanzania, Zambia etc. It should be born in mind that the status of
foreign language is lower than that of a second language.
LANGUAGE
COMMUNITY/SPEECH COMMUNITY.
This is a group of people who regard themselves
as using the same language. The Chinese for example regard themselves as a
speech community, the Australians, British, and Americans form one speech
community. The Scandinavians do not constitute a language community because they
have different languages such as, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. In
multilingual societies there may be more than one speech variety in common.
BILINGUALISM
This
is a situation whereby a person speaks two languages. Sometimes it is also used
to refer to a society where two languages are spoken. For example Canada is a
bilingual society because both English and French are spoken.
A person who speaks two languages is called a
bilingual. E.g. most Tanzanians are bilinguals because in addition to their
tribal languages they also speak Kiswahili. A person may become a bilingual by
being exposed to those languages and may acquire them from the environment.
Also one can become a bilingual by learning the second language in schools. It
is argued that a person cannot be equally competent in both languages.
MULTILINGUALISM
This is a situation in
which a person or a society uses many languages. Such societies are referred to
as Multilingual societies. Tanzania
is also a multilingual society as it has more than 120 ethnic languages.
Causes
of multilingualism.
a. Political and demographic factors. When people
move from one place to another they carry along their languages, this makes the
increase in the number of languages in the destination area.
b. Education. Some people learn new
languages in schools. If the education system allows multiple languages to be
taught, then it is more likely for the recipients of that education to be
multilinguals. Take an example of Tanzania education system which allows
Kiswahili and English to be used/taught as both medium of instruction and
subjects. In addition to these languages French is also taught in some schools
as a foreign language while Arabic is also recognised in Islamic institutions.
This also makes Tanzania a multilingual society.
c. Culture. Some people may admire
the culture of other people. In the process they may also want to learn their
language as a way of identifying themselves with people of those cultures. E.g.
if someone admires the culture of the English speaking people, he/she is more
likely to learn English as well thus becoming a multilingual.
d. Economic factors. As people move from
place to place looking for better economic opportunities, trade and commercial
purposes etc they happen to carry their languages with them. This adds the
number of languages in the society they migrate to. E.g. the Indians and Arabs
who come in Tanzania for trade purposes may learn Kiswahili and carry it along
when they go back home, thus making their societies multilingual.
e. Natural calamities. Natural calamities like
flood, earthquakes, volcanoes, and droughts may force people to move from place
to place. In so doing they may take their languages to the societies they
migrate to.
DIGLOSSIA
This is a situation in which two languages
or language varieties co-exist side by side in a community and each one is used
for different purposes. This should not be confused with bilingualism. In diglossia
one language variety has a high status and the other a low status. A high
variety is used in formal matters/domains while the low variety is used in informal
domains such as shopping, conversation at home, etc. Kiswahili and English in
Tanzania fit in this concept. Kiswahili is relatively low in its functions
while English enjoys a high status as it is used as a medium of instruction in
higher learning institutions high courts, trade and commerce, medicine etc.
Yet Kiswahili also in some instances
enjoys a high status. Besides being a national and an official language in
Tanzania it is used in schools, courts, international conferences etc. In such
a situation where even the language categorised as low enjoys a high status as
well in some domains, we refer to it as DOUBLE OVERLAPPING DIGLOSIA.
Diglossic situation is
also evident in Canada where both French and English are used.
INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE
It is not usually easy to say what is or is not
an international language until we have fully comprehended the criteria that
make a language international. For example English is regarded as the world’s
most important language and most widely used language.
The
criteria that make a language international.
1. Number of
native speakers that the language happens to have.
2. Geographical
dispersion. The language should be geographically dispersed in many continents
and countries.
3. Its vehicular
load. To what extant is it a medium of science and literature or other highly
regarded cultural manifestations?
4. The economic,
technological and political influence of its speakers.
Therefore we can define international language as;
A
language that is used by more than one nation. Or it is the language that is
used officially beyond the national levels to facilitate communication between
nations. Examples of international languages are; English, Kiswahili, French,
Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic etc.
Some
of the international languages listed above achieved the status of
international languages as a result of historical events such as colonialism
and imperialism. Some crossed their boundaries due to trade, ideological
reasons and other contacts like education, diplomacy etc. E.g. Russian.
Why is Kiswahili an
International language? Explain by giving five points. (NECTA 2014)
i.
Number of native speakers. Kiswahili is an
international language because it is spoken by many people in different
countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
ii.
Its vehicular load. Another reason is that Kiswahili
is used in literature; there are books which are written in Kiswahili language
and read across the borders; and that it is a means of international
entertainment through songs and films.
iii.
Economic and political influence. Kiswahili is an
international language because it is used in international meetings such as
EAC, SADC and AU. It is taught in different Universities abroad, for example,
Kenyatta University, Makerere University and Berlin University.
iv.
It is used by the World media such as BBC, DW, Voice
of America, Radio Vatican, KBC, UBC and TBC;
v.
Geographical coverage. Kiswahili is now used in many
countries and many continents ass can be evidenced by the media mentioned
above.
THE STATUS OF ENGLISH IN THE WORLD
As we have
seen English is used globally. In some
countries it occupies the status of native language, some second language in
others it is a foreign language and some countries yet have declared it a
national language.
ENGLISH AS AN
INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE
The English which is
referred to as international one is the Standard English. This is an English
dialect accepted as a model throughout the English speaking community. It is
the only non-localised dialect without significant variations and is universally
accepted as the appropriate educational target in teaching English.
English qualifies to be
an international language due to the criteria mentioned earlier but let us
examine them in details.
1.
Number of
Native speakers.
English is the mother
language of an estimated 341 million people and the second language of 508
million people in over sixty countries and states where it enjoys the status of
official or co-official language. Countries where English is the majority
mother tongue include the United
States (76%), the United Kingdom
(94.8%), Canada (59.3%), the Republic
of Ireland (92.3%), Australia (95%), and New Zealand
(91.4%). Together, these five countries form the foundation of English as a
mother tongue in the world.
However, if we add the number of native English speakers in
the countries listed above to those in India, Africa, and Oceania, the total
increases from 306 million to 374 million. This is the number of English
speakers (or anglophones) in the world, strictly speaking.
2.
Geographical
dispersion.
English is now found in
all countries of the world with over 2.2 billion people having competencies in
the language in varying levels of proficiency. English is the second most
commonly used language in the world (next to Mandarin). Native English speakers-about
370 million-are now outnumbered by those coming to English as a second or
alternative language.
NOTE: Chinese has
over one billion speakers yet it is not an international language. This is due
to the fact that all those speakers constitute native speakers. The language is
not geographically dispersed in other continents but it is spoken within China
or among Chinese themselves. So it does not qualify to be an international
language because of that limitation.
3.
Its vehicular
load.
English is the dominant
language globally in telephone communication, science and technology,
commercial travel and business, book publishing and second language
instructional programs. English is the language of the Internet even in China
where over 84% use the language
English is used in over
95% of transactions among members of the European Union and throughout the
Commonwealth
4.
Political,
technological and economic influence.
The powerful
nations that use English as native speakers (USA & Britain) have got a big
political and economic influence all over the world. They are members of G8 and
permanent members of the UN. English is an official language of the United
Nations and many other international organizations,
including the International Olympic Committee.
STATUS AND ROLES OF
ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN TANZANIA
(A)
LANGUAGE
POLICY.
Language policy refers to the decision of
the government on the status of languages in a country. That means which
language should be used in which domains and for which purposes. Today in
Tanzania it is difficult to judge whether English is a Second or Foreign
Language because we normally don’t hear English in streets, at market places or
in buses. English is spoken only in classrooms, where after all both English
and Kiswahili are used. Language policy in Tanzania recognises both Kiswahili
and English as official languages and are acceptable in government communications.
(B)
STATUS AND
ROLE OF ENGLISH.
Ø English is
used as a medium of instruction in secondary schools and institutions of higher
learning. It is also used as a medium of instruction in English medium Primary
schools.
Ø English is
taught as a subject from primary level to university level.
Ø English is
used as official language in high courts, official letters (e.g. job
application letters,) in job advertisements,
job interviews, hospital prescriptions, legal documents, and in journalism (newspapers TVs and radios)
Ø English is
used in international conferences like EAC conferences.
Ø English is
used as a second language next to Kiswahili by many in Tanzania especially
those who have Kiswahili as their mother tongue.
(C)
STATUS AND
ROLE OF KISWAHILI.
Ø Kiswahili is
used as a medium of instruction in Primary level (except the English medium
schools)
Ø Kiswahili is
taught as a subject from primary level to university level.
Ø Kiswahili is
used as official language in government offices, media (newspapers, TVs, and
Radios) Internet, parliament, political campaigns, local trade and churches.
Ø Kiswahili is
used as a second language to the majority of Tanzanians.
Ø Kiswahili is
a national language of Tanzania.
Ø Kiswahili is
used in literature. There are many books in Kiswahili language written by
Tanzanian authors.
(D)
ARGUMENTS IN
FAVOUR OF ENGLISH
i.
English is an international language. It is not
a property of any particular nation anymore. As an international language it
enhances access to scientific, technological and technical knowledge.
ii.
English is used in international trade/business.
Tanzanians must learn the language to be able to enjoy the opportunities the
English speaking community has to offer.
iii.
English is well documented and researched
compared to Kiswahili. There are many books in English than there are in
Kiswahili. So Tanzanian will miss a lot of knowledge offered in English
language if they throw away English.
iv.
Expanding the labour markets. If the students
will be subjected to Kiswahili only it will narrow their chances of getting
jobs from institutions that use English such as UN agencies.
v.
Learning through English is a way of practising
the language. If we learn through Kiswahili it will be difficult to master the
language.
vi.
Learning through English makes a student
divergent in thinking. A person who speaks many languages will have divergent
thinking because each language community looks at the world differently.
vii.
It is more expensive to translate English books
into Kiswahili. There is no enough money to meet the cost of translating the
materials available in English into Kiswahili so as to use Kiswahili as a
medium of instructions.
viii.
English is used for education. Since we lack
enough skilled people like doctors, engineers etc we have to send our people to
different countries for studies.
ix.
We need English for relationship. Tanzania sends
delegates and ambassadors in English speaking countries. So it is important for
us to learn the language to enhance such a relationship.
(E)
ARGUMENTS IN
FAVOUR OF KISWAHILI
i.
Kiswahili is accessible to the majority of
Tanzanians. Because Kiswahili is accessible to the majority of Tanzanians it
would be easier to learn through it.
ii.
English is a foreign language. Forcing students
to learn through a foreign language is like colonising their mind. So we should
use Kiswahili as a way of getting rid of colonisation.
iii.
Kiswahili is a language for social development
and political unity. Most Tanzanians use Kiswahili in their day to day social
and political activities which unite over 120 ethnic groups. So it is better to
learn through Kiswahili for sustainable development and political unity.
iv.
Kiswahili is a language of national identity and
cultural heritage. Kiswahili is a language that originates from Africa, so to
teach using Kiswahili is a way of cherishing our cultural heritage.
v.
English is taught so badly in schools. English
lacks adequate trained teachers, teaching and learning resources and teaching
methods. So a majority of students know much about the language but cannot use
to communicate in both written and spoken forms.
vi.
Psychological studies show that children learn
better in a mother tongue. So Tanzanians students should be taught in Kiswahili
for fuller development of their mental abilities.
vii.
No language is endowed with scientific
knowledge. Linguistically speaking, all languages are equal. There is no
superior language than others. If thinking and innovation are pegged
on the knowledge of English language, why are the Chinese and Japanese, for
example, influencing the world in spite of their deficiency in English?
viii.
Most teachers teach using Kiswahili instead of
English. Already teachers are teaching using Kiswahili in the classroom instead
of English. This indicated their lack of proficiency in the language or their
understanding of poor proficiency in their students. So it is high time we
formalise the use of Kiswahili.
(F)
WAYS TO
IMPROVE THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF ENGLISH.
As
we saw above English is still facing many challenges in the way it is taught
and used in Tanzania. To improve the teaching and learning of English the
following can be done among other things;
1.
Efforts to
prepare well Trained English teachers. The government should
make extra efforts to train teachers who are going to teach English. Most
teachers who teach English are not competent in the language. They make a lot
of grammatical, phonological and pragmatic errors which are copied and imitated
by the learners. So both teachers and students remain linguistically poor.
2.
Adequate Teaching
and learning resources. More grammar
books should be printed and be available for everyone.
3.
Encouraging
the use of English in everyday life. In
Tanzania English is seen than heard. Practice makes perfect.
4.
Using
appropriate teaching and learning methods inside and outside the classrooms.
Teachers should stop teaching by means of Kiswahili in English classrooms. A
communicative approach for example requires learners and teachers to use the
target language in learning. Our target language here is English so teachers
should teach it using English. Others include, debates, oral presentations,
essay writing, home reading, speeches language clubs etc.
5.
Using English
as a medium of instruction from Primary School. There is a special time
in the mental development of a child associated with language acquisition which
is called Critical Period. This is a period before puberty. Most students at
this age are in primary schools. So if the children/students will be exposed to
English language at this age it will be easier for them to learn the language.
6. Using teaching aids. Teachers of English should use the teaching
aids to improve the results. Teaching Aids are of three kinds; Visual Aids,
Audio Aids and Audio-Visual Aids. These include, TV sets, recorded materials
like DVDs, CDs, reading English newspapers, story books etc, listening to
English news broadcasts etc
7.
Motivation
to teachers and students. Language learning is strenuous.
It needs more efforts and dedication. So teachers who are involved in the
teaching of English should be motivated so as to spend more time with students
and help them with language learning. Also students who show relative
improvements in English language should be motivated.
NB: The ways suggested
are not exhaustive you can add to the list.
LANGUAGE VARIATIONS
All human languages have
internal variations, arising from the different ways speakers express the same
meaning. In this case, no two speakers of the same language speak exactly the
same way; nor does an individual speaker speak the same way all the time. Although
primarily our
discussion will
focus on English language, it should be born in mind that variations exist in
all languages.
ACCENT
In phonetics, Accent
refers to the features of pronunciation that signal the speaker’s background.
It is also a variety of
language characterised by peculiar pronunciation.
Accent also refers to the way
in which a speaker pronounces and therefore refers to the variety, which is
phonetically and/or phonologically different from other varieties. Chambers
& Trudgill (1980:5).
Accents of English differ in many aspects
Eg (i) Number of vowel phonemes.
(ii) Rhoticity; There are Rhotic and Non
Rhotic accents
(iii) Some are highly described in
literature and some are not.
Within a principle accent of
English it is possible to contrast two or more minor accents; E.g. within East
African Kiswahili accent, one can identify Kenyan Accent, Ugandan Accent and
Tanzanian Accent. However, within Tanzanian accent there can also be minor
accents like Lake Zone accent, Eastern zone accent, Northern accent etc.
BRITISH ENGLISH ACCENT
In England, there is a considerable
variation within the accents of English. There is so much variation that it is
so difficult to apply the term British English in spoken English. Accents of
English in Britain can be subdivided into.
a) England English accent which
comprise:
1. Southern England accents.
2. Midlands England English
accents.
3. North English accents which are
further divided into
i.
Yorkshire
ii.
Lancashire
iii.
Native London Accent (cockney) and
iv.
West country accent
b) In
Scotland, there is Scottish English and the closely related accents of Scots
languages.
c) In Wales, Welsh English is spoken
d) In North Ireland, Irish
English is spoken.
RECEIVED
PRONUNCIATION (RP)
It originated in the South East England
in the royal family, the area around London between 15th C-16th
C. it first emerged in the royal court of the monarchy, but today it does not
belong to any region. It is accepted around the British Isles. Although the
British society has changed, RP is no longer the accent of the upper class but
at least used by educated, professionals, rich etc. Only 3% of English speaking
population speak RP.
It is also used as a model of teaching
and learning in many countries.
It is taught to foreign
learners because it is considered the most prestigious and most beautiful
accent. Originally, it had been used in radio and TVs consequently it is called
the BBC accent.
Characteristics
of RP.
a. It is a non-Rhotic accent. /r/
is not pronounced when it appears in the final position and before consonants.
Eg car /ka:/
b. It uses the dark /É«/ when it occurs at the end of
a syllable, or before another consonant. In other phonetic environment, it is
clear. Eg feel/fi:É«/ compare leave /li:v/
c. It does not have yod-dropping
after the sounds /n/, /t/ and /d/ e.g. in AmE new /nu:/, tune /tu:n/ and dune
/du:n/ are pronounced as /nju:/, /tju:n/ and dju:n/ respectively in RP
d. The /t/ has a strong aspiration
when in initial or final position. E.g. top /t ͪÉ’p/ compare stop /stÉ’p/, also sport /spÍ»:t ͪͪ /
e. It is rich in phonemes. It has
20 vowels and 24 consonants.
f.
It is posh i.e. it is said to be palatable and easy to
learn.
g. It is a regionless accent.
CAUSES OF LANGUAGE VARIATIONS
There are different factors that contribute to language
variations these include the following.
1. Geographical Factor (Regional Dialect.)
It is easy to identify a
user from a certain place by the way someone uses the language different from
the other users from other place that speak the same language. Here we get the
dialect that is called REGIONAL DIALECT.
Regional dialects are found at
national and international levels. For example the Dialects of English at
national level include Welsh, Scottish, cockney, and BBC English. At
international level we have, British English, American English, Canadian
English, Australian English, West African Pidgin English (WAPE) etc.
2. User’s Class Membership/Social Stratification
We can also find users
from a certain class speaking differently in certain aspects from users of
another class who speak the same language. Here we get social dialect or sociolect.
The classes may be those
of higher and lower, educated and uneducated, town dwellers and village
dwellers, Muslims and Christians, etc.
3. User’s Time Of Existence (Historical/Temporal Factor)
Languages change with
time (it is dynamic). Users of any language also use the language as it is used
in their time of existence. This causes the varieties labelled as Old English,
Middle English and Modern English. Language changes in all aspects, i.e.
grammar, vocabulary, word order, spellings, meaning, pronunciation etc.
4. User’s Individuality (Idiosyncratic Factor)
Every individual user of
a language has individual idiosyncratic (peculiar) linguistic features
characterising the way he/she uses the language different from all the other
users. Linguists believe that no two speakers of the same language speak
exactly the same way. The differences in individual ranges from voice quality,
pronunciation, grammar, usage, handwriting and preference in certain utterances
like: you know.., in fact...., I see...,
The variety of language characterising an individual user is termed as IDIOLECT
5. User’s Age
Users of different ages
use language differently in almost all such aspects as voice, pronunciation,
vocabulary, and usage. We categorize age in terms of childhood, youth and old
age. Children have their own way of speaking termed as childish. E.g. Motherese
(an adult imitation of the speech of young children as used by mothers when
speaking to their children.) Young people’s dialect is characterised by slangs
and peculiar accent.
SLANG is referred
to as a casual or informal way of speaking. It is used in informal situations
with colleagues, teenagers, students, friends of relatives. Old people use
euphemism much often and sometimes they conservatively retain dated features of
the language.
6. User’s Sex.
Language also varies
with sex in some aspects that make male users speak differently from female
users. The difference is usually found in their voice quality, accent, as well
as general usage, such that there as some expressions that are counted as
feminine and masculine in nature. (Consider the Swahili slangs shostii and shoga which means best friend, can male speakers use them)
7.
Occupation.
The kind of occupation
that someone is engaged in is determines the way someone is using the language.
We know for sure that lawyers use the language differently from the
journalists. Also there is a way a police officer uses the language that is
different from the way the pastor uses it even when they seem to be talking
about the same topic. Look at the following example.
Police officer: We shall deal with the
criminals.
Pastor : We shall pray for the sinners.
This kind of language
that is used by people of particular occupation or profession is called Jargon.
JARGON is a
technical language used by a group of people who belong to the same
field/profession. This kind of language is understood by people or specialists
of particular occupation/discipline. For example words like mutatis
mutandis, inter alia, herein, thereof, are used in legal documents so
they are legal jargons.
DIALECTS
This is a subdivision
that deviates from a main language by having peculiar vocabulary,
pronunciation, grammar and spellings. It is a variety of language that is
determined by users. Eg British English and American English are examples of
English dialects.
SOME OF THEIR DIFFERENCES.
BRITISH
ENGLISH
(BrE)
|
AMERICAN
ENGLISH (AmE)
|
GRAMMAR
i. Has one
form of past and past participle of the verb get-got
|
Has two forms
Get-gotten(pp)-got
(pt)
|
ii. Repetition
of the subject ‘one’
Eg. One
cannot succeed unless one works hard.
|
No repletion of ‘one’
Eg. One cannot succeed
unless he/she works hard.
|
iii. In
questions
Eg Have you
got a pen?
|
Do you have a pen?
|
iv. Use of
preposition ‘from’ after different
Eg. Your
shirt is different from mine.
|
Uses ‘than’ after
different.
Eg. Your shirt is
different than mine.
|
v. Retains
‘should’ after the verbs like demand, require, suggest, insist. Eg We suggest
that Sir Mwita should preach today.
|
Omits ‘should’ after
those verbs.
We suggest that Mwita
preach today.
|
PRONUNCIATION
There are many words
that differ in pronunciation some of them are:
Schedule /∫edju;l/
News /nju:z/
car /ka:/
God /gÉ’d/
Go /gəʋ/
|
Schedule /skeʤu:l/
News / nu:z/
car /ka:r/
God /ga:d/
Go /goʋ/
|
SPELLING/ORTHOGRAPHY
Programme
Theatre /litre/centre
Catalogue
Colour
Disk
Cheque
Encyclopaedia
Amoeba
Defence /offence
|
Program
Theatre/liter/center
Catalog
Color
Disc
Check
Encyclopedia.
Ameba
Deffense / offense
|
LEXICON/VOCABULARY
Chemist
Maize
Elevator
Sweet
Petrol
Cv
Railway
Lorry
Aeroplane
Aerial
Luggage
Biscuit
Holiday
Post
Sweets
Rubber
Rubbish
Bookshop
Hall of residence
|
Dentist
Corn
lift
candy
gas
resume
railroad
truck
airplane
antenna
baggage
cookie
vacation
mail
candy
eraser
garbage
bookstore
domitory
|
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND DIALECT
The attempt to
distinguish language and dialect has always been a controversial issue.
Dialects and language are not to be taken as well defined separate entities but
frequently they merge into one another without any discrete break.
In sociolinguistics, the following
criteria have been used to distinguish the two;
1.
Size.
A language is larger than a dialect in
geographical dispersion and number of speakers. A number of English speakers
around the world is generally bigger than that of say British English dialect
alone.
2.
Prestige.
Language is more prestigious than a
dialect. People feel relatively better when they are said to speak a language
than a dialect.
3.
Mutual Intelligibility.
Dialects are mutually intelligible while
languages are not (though not always the case). That is to say speakers of
different dialects of the same language can readily understand each other but
speakers of different languages do not. That implies for instance that all
speakers of English dialects can understand each other.
Nevertheless, as we saw earlier it is
not always easy to distinguish language and dialect. The reason is, the main
criterion used is that of mutual
intelligibility.
One way of distinguishing Language from
Dialect has been to say, “Language is a collection of mutually
intelligible dialects” (Chambers & Trudgill 1980:4, Vaillet &
Stewart 2001). That means speakers from different dialects of the same language
can considerably understand each other quite well, though it may not be for
100%.
The definition above characterises the
dialects as subparts of the Language. This criterion of Mutual intelligibility
may have some relevance, but it does not help us to decide what is and what is
not a language.
Thus, it is not so easy to say whether
two language varieties are dialects of the same language or different
languages. This leads to the fact that the consideration of what is and what is
not a language is based on the reasons that are non-linguistic rather than
linguistic factors. These include; geographical, social, cultural and historical
factors.
To internalize this concept let us begin
by examining the following cases.
First,
If we consider the Scandinavian Languages, we observe that Norwegian, Swedish
and Danish are usually considered different languages; unfortunately for our
definition they are mutually intelligible. (Vaillet & Stewart2001). The
speakers of the three languages can readily understand and communicate with one
another.
Secondly,
German is considered a single language, but there are some parts of Germany, that
are not intelligible to speakers of other parts. In some cases when two
varieties fall into two distinct political and geographical borders they are
termed as different languages, no matter how intelligible they might be. This
situation exists near the border of Holland and Germany where the dialects of
either side of the national borders are mutually intelligible. Because of
international borders (and probably political and cultural considerations),
speakers of these languages regard them as different languages.
In Tanzania the case exist between the
Sukuma and Nyamwezi, these two varieties are mutually intelligible, but since
the speakers of these varieties fall into distinct tribes with different
cultural backgrounds, they consider their varieties different languages as
well. A contrary feature exists among the Chagga. Although they consider
themselves as speaking the same language, Chagga language is mutually
unintelligible across all its dialects like Machame, Kibosho, Marangu etc. Based on the considerations such as common
cultural and historical background the speakers of these dialects are all said
to speak Chagga.
PIDGINS AND CREOLES.
PIDGIN
It is a contact language developed
and used by people who do not share a common language in a given geographical
area.
So, a pidgin is a simplified language
derived from a contact between two or more people with different languages. In
other words it is a hybrid form of languages.
Types of Pidgins.
There are two types of pidgins.
a. Temporal pidgin/marginal
pidgins.
This one lasts in a very short time. It disappears when the contact is
over. People who come together for a specific purposes like war, evangelism,
temporary jobs like road constructions etc. may develop a kind of simplified
language to help them in communication. This language dies away when the
contract or the war is over.
b. Expanded pidgins.
This lasts for a long time. It develops in areas where people have
multiple languages. For example in Papua New Guinea there is a common example
of a pidgin called Tok Pisin.
Characteristics of Pidgin.
Ø It has limited vocabulary.
Ø It is used in a limited way and the structure/syntax is very simplistic.
E.g. they don’t mark plurals in nouns.
Wan pikin (one child) tu pikin (two children), triman (three men) foa
woman (four women)
Ø Since they serve a single simplistic purpose, they usually die out
Ø No agreement between subject and predicate in the 3rd person.
e.g. pusi dring di milk (Pussy drinks the milk)
Ø It
does not have native speakers, it is
reduced in linguistic form and grammar.
It is restricted in contexts of
use and is typically unstable
and highly mixed. It may sometimes be a stable
variety with norms of acceptability, but is NOT a fully adequate natural language
Ø It
is characterised by reduplication. Eg goody-goody (very good) fain fain (really
lovely), long pela long pela (very long)
CREOLE
If the pidgin is used long enough, it
begins to evolve into a more rich language with a more complex structure and
richer vocabulary. In some cases the children of
speakers of Pidgin may decide to use it as their mother tongue. Once the pidgin has evolved and has acquired native speakers (the
children learn the pidgin as their first language), it is then called a Creole.
An example of this is the Creole from Papua New Guinea, TOK PISIN, which
has become a National language. Also Krio
is an example of a Creole spoken in Sierra Leone. Other examples include;
a) Guyana in Northeast South America.
b)
Jamaican Creole in Jamaica
c) Gullah in USA parts of Geogia and South Carolina
So
Creole is a pidgin which has become the mother tongue of the members of a
speech community.
Characteristics of Creole.
Vocabulary is more comprehensive. Creoles have more developed vocabulary
compared to pidgins.
The syntax of Creoles is more advanced than that of pidgin.
Nevertheless, the following can still be noted
a)
There are no forms of BE as auxiliary or
copular verb.
Eg She a nice person. (She is a nice person)
b)
No agreement of subject and predicate in
present tense.
She sing in de choir. (She sings in the choir)
c)
There is no ‘s’ as a plural marker in
nouns.
Two book (two books)
d)
A verb is negated by inserting NO
particle.
I no want it (I don’t want it)
e)
There is no past tense marker. Past tenses
are expressed using the base form without ending.
I go yesterday (I went yesterday).
Look
at the way the following pidgins/creoles express the Lord’s Prayer.
Hawaii pidgin. (Hawaii)
God, you our Fadda, you
stay inside da sky. We like all da peopo know fo shua hou you stay. An dat you
stay good and spesho, An we like dem give you
plenny respeck.
We like you come King fo
everybody now. We like everybody make jalike you like, Ova hea inside da world,
Jalike da angel guys up inside da sky make jalike you like.
Give us da food we need
fo today an every day. Hemmo our shame, an let us go Fo all da kine bad stuff
we do to you. jalike us guys let da odda guys go awready, And we no stay huu wit
dem fo all da kine bad stuff dey do to us. No let us get chance fo do bad kine
stuff, but take us outa dea, so da Bad Guy no can hurt us.
Cuz you our King, You
get da real power,
And you stay awesome
foeva. Dass it.
TOK PISIN (Papua New Guinea)
Papa bilong mipela, yu
stap long heven, Mekim nem bilong yu i kmap holi. Mekim Kingdom bilong yu i
kam. Strongim mipela long bihainam laik bilong yu long graun olseam ol i
bihainim long heven tu. Nau yu ken givim mipela kaikai inap long dispel de. Na
yu lusim ol rong bilong mipela, olsem mipela i lusim ol rong ol man i mekim
long mipela. Na yu no bringm mipela long traim tasol tekewe mipela long samting
nogut.
Kingdom
na strong na biknem i bilong yu tasol oltaim.
Tru.
KAMTOK (In Cameroon) De Lohdz
Pria
Oua Fada whe you lif fo
heaven
Yo name must be holy,
make yo commandia i come fo we, how you want, so i must be for groun like fo
heaven.
Give we chop whe nuff fo
we this day, and excuse we bad, like we too, we excuse the people whe them do
we bad.
No let we go fo bad
road, but move we fo bad thing
Amen.
GULLAH (Carolina, Georgia and Florida)
We Papa een heaben,leh
ebrybody hona you nyame cause you da holy. We pray dat soon you gwine rule oba
all ob we.
Wasoneba ting you da
want, leh um be een dis wol, same like e be dey een heaben. Gee we de food wa
need dis day yah an ebry day.
Fagibe we fa de bad ting
we da do. Cause we da fabibe dem people
wa do bad ta we. Leh we don’t habe haad test we Satan try we.
Keep we from e ebil.
Amen.
DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE.
FACTORS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND EXPANSION OF
LANGUAGE.
1.
Trade
Trade brings
people together and in the process people of different languages may borrow
some words from each other. Also it carries a language from one geographical
area to another. Take an example of how Kiswahili spread from the coastal areas
to the interior.
2.
Religion.
In the
process of spreading the religious beliefs of a certain religion the language
used also spreads. Eg Christian missionaries helped in the spread of English
language. Also Islamic religion has helped the spread of Arabic language.
3.
Colonization
Colonialism
has helped the spread of colonial languages to their colonies. Most nations of
the world that were colonises, today they use the languages of their colonial
masters. That is why we have francophone and Anglophone countries. Languages
like English, French, Portuguese, spread to Africa during colonialism.
4.
Government on
language policy
The language
policy of a nation helps in the development of certain language above others.
For example after independence, Tanzanian government took some measures to
develop Kiswahili including declaring it as a national language and making some
bodies to develop the language eg TUKI, BAKITA
etc.
5.
Social,
science and technological development.
Invention of
new technologies and social affairs results to coining new words into the
language. Eg ng’atuka, tarakilishi(computer), facebook, watsapp, ipad, etc.
6.
Mass media.
The mass
media have a great role to play in the development of the language. These
include; News papers, radio, and television. Eg Kiswahili is spread through
BBC, TBC, KBC, UBC, VoA, DW, etc.
HISTORY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The English language as
we know it today has come a long way. Some speakers of Germanic languages
started it. The history of English can be traced from the invasion of three
Germanic tribes; Angles, Saxon and Jutes. After the invasion the Celts, a people who dominated much
of western and central Europe in the 1st millennium b.c, giving their language, customs, and religion to the
other peoples of that area, were pushed to Scotland, Wells, Cornwall, and
Ireland. English language is divided into three major phases;
(A) Old English
(OE)
(B) Middle
English (Md E)
(C) Modern
English (MoE)
OLD ENGLISH (OE)
This period extends from about 450 to 1066, the year of
the Norman conquest of England. The Germanic tribes from Europe who overran
England in the 5th century, after the Roman withdrawal, brought with them the
Old English, or Anglo-Saxon, language, which is the basis of Modern English.
They brought also a specific poetic tradition, the formal character of which
remained surprisingly constant until the termination of their rule by the
Norman-French invaders six centuries later.
The people who invaded were called
Angles out of which we get the names England and English. At the time, there
emerged four dialects of Old English based on the Anglo-Saxon tribe divisions.
These dialects were;
- Northumbrian –In the North of England
- Mercian-In the Midland
- Kentish-In the South East
- West-Saxon- In the South-West.
MIDDLE ENGLISH (MdE)
The
event of Norman Conquest is very important when addressing the issue of MdE.
The periodization of the conquest was intense in 1066. This year does not
signify the boundary between OE and MdE. OE continued to be used for sometimes
until it reached 1100 when the language had greatly changed that it was
impossible to talk of OE. Again the variations were evident in vocabulary, new
spelling conversions, grammar and phonology.
MIDDLE ENGLISH DIALECTS
The dialects correspond
to those in OE but Scholars have assigned different names to some of the
dialects.
1 Kentish- remained as
in OE
2 West Saxon- was then
referred to as Southern
3 Northumbrian- became
Northern
4Mercian split into two
dialects
Ø Easten
dialect (East Midland)
Ø Western
dialect (West Midland)
Thus
the dialects in Middle English were
1. Kentish
Dialect
2. Southern
Dialect
3. Northern
Dialect
4. East Midland
Dialect
5. West Midland
Dialect
MODERN ENGLISH
Modern
English is categorised by scholars into two phases. The reason being the fact
that from the period MoE is believed to have started there are notable changes
in the language as compared to the one used today.
EARLY MODERN ENGLISH
There is no doubt that
an early modern English period needs to be
recognized in the history of English. The jump from Middle English to
Modern English would be too great without it. Its periodization is from 1500 to
1800. However, there is no consensus about when the Early Modern English began.
Some opt for an early date 1400-50, just after Chaucer and the beginning of the
pronunciation shift which identifies a major intelligibility barrier between
Middle English and Modern English.
THE MAJOR FACTORS THAT INFLUENCED EARLY MoE
a. The Great Vowel Shift (Gvs)
This was a
massive sound change affecting the long vowels of English during the 15thC–
18thC.
v The GVS had
long-term implication among other things, orthography, pronunciation etc.
v This was
introduced by Otto Jespersen a Scandinavian philologists who made major
contributions to the study of the English language. The writing was done in
hand but later books were written.
v In the first
two periods of the development of the English language the vowel sounds
underwent very few changes. But the development of Middle English vowels into
modern English is quite a different story indeed.
b. Introduction of printing press.
In 1476 A.D,
William Caxton (c.1422-1491), English merchant and diplomat turned to writing
and translating and set up the first printing press in England. The new
invention gave unprecedented impetus to the formation of a standard language
and the study of its properties.
Apart from
its role in fostering the norms of spelling and punctuation, the availability
of printing provided more opportunities for people to write and gave their
works a much wider circulation. One of the developments was the publication of
a Dictionary in 1604 AD.
As a result
more texts of the period have survived. Within the following 150 years it is
estimated that nearly 20,000 books appeared.
c. Influence of Shakespeare, W
The influence
of Shakespeare was mostly in the lexicon.
His works provided countless instances of the way English was developing at the
time and illustrations from his poems and plays are unavoidable in any
discussion of contemporary pronunciation, word formation, syntax and language
use.
d. Influence of King James Bible
The Authorized King James Bible was published in
1611, the year that Shakespeare retired from writing. The bible was appointed
to be read in churches throughout the kingdom and it had an influence on the
population and on the language.
LATE MODERN ENGLISH (18th TO PRESENT)
During
the 18thC, English lost the most noticeable remaining features of structural
difference, which distance/separate the Early Modern English and Late Modern
English. The distinction between Early MoE and Late MoE is the vocabulary. The
vocabularies are more or less the same. Late MoE has many more words arising
from two principle factors
1.
Industrial
Revolution and Rise of Technology
2.
Rise of
British Empire.
1.
Industrial Revolution and the
Rise of Technology
Britain was
producing new products to colonies and so the inventory of new goods and
machines led to introduction of more words. English relied on Latin and Greek
words. E.g. oxygen, protein, nuclear, etc were coined between 19th C
and 20th C. therefore the words were borrowed and coined to fix them
into English.
2.
The Rise of British Empire
The emergence of Great
Britain as a super power not only introduced English to the world but also the
world to English language. During this period English language adopted many
foreign words from French, German, Hindi, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, West
Africa, Kiswahili etc
This phenomenon has made
English to have the largest number of vocabularies in the world.
By the end of 19th C with but
a few exceptions, the spellings, punctuations, and grammar are very close to
what they are today.
However, despite this apparent continuity, the
language at the end of the 18th C, is by no means identical to what
we find today. Many words, though spelt the same, had different meaning.
STANDARD AND NON STANDARD VARIETIES.
STANDARD
DIALECT.
Linguistically
speaking, no one dialect, or language is better, more correct, or more logical
than any other. Rather every language variety is a rule-governed system and
effective means of communication.
So
Standard
Dialect is the one which is used by the group that enjoys general
respect, political and social prestige and economic power. i.e. the ruling
class. Descriptively speaking, a standard dialect is a variety used by
political leaders, the media, and speakers from higher socio-economic classes.
It is taught in schools and to non-native speakers. Every language has at least
one standard dialect that serves as the primary means of communication across
dialects. In actuality, there is no one standard dialect instead many different
varieties of what people consider the standard.
Socially
speaking, a standard dialect is the dialect of prestige and power. E.g. in US
the prestigious group corresponds to people in power, wealthy and educated. It
is the speech of this group, therefore, that becomes standard, but there is
nothing about the variety itself that makes it prestigious.
From
a dozen of definitions available in different literatures, the following
characteristics must be put forward.
1) Standard dialect is a non-localized
dialect. Some linguists call it a dialect, but a dialect of its own since
it has no local base and there in nothing in its vocabulary or grammar which
tells where it comes from.
2) The linguistic features of Standard dialect
are chiefly matters of grammar, vocabulary and orthography (spellings and
punctuation). Pronunciation is ignored in this matter when
speaking about Standard English.
3) Standard dialect is a variety that
carries most prestige in a country e.g. from social class,
material access, educational background, political strength etc. the dialect
chosen by these people is considered to be standard.
4) Standard dialect is used as a medium
of Educational instructions. The prestige attached to Standard
English for instance is recognised by adult members of the community and
results them to recommend it to be used as a medium of Educational
instructions. It will be widely disseminated thus widely understood. It is also
taught to non native speakers.
5) Although Standard dialect is widely
understood, it is not widely produced. Only a
minority of people use it e.g. the Media Broadcast.
6)
It
is used at international conferences.
7) It is globally used in both print
and electronic media.
8) It is well researched and used by
scholars.
In this basis the Standard English of the English-speaking world
can be defined as;
A minority
variety identified chiefly by its vocabulary, grammar and orthography and which
carries the most prestige and is widely understood.
STANDARDIZATION
OF LANGUAGE
There are some processes that are involved in the standardization
of the language. Typical standard language will have passed through the
following processes.
a.
Selection
A particular variety has to
be selected out of many as the one to be developed into standard language. Such
a variety may be an existing one and used by a class of people considered as
important in the society. So a variety spoken by rich people, royal family,
politicians, etc will be favoured for selection. For example during
standardisation of Kiswahili Kiunguja dialect was selected.
b.
Codification
This is the practice of
creating the norms of usage. Codification is done by agencies such as an
Academy by writing grammar books and dictionaries to fix the variety so that
everyone agrees on what is correct. This helps to familiarise people with the
variety so that every ambitious citizen is likely to learn the correct form of
the language.
c.
Elaboration
of function.
The selected variety should
be used in all functions associated with central government, management and
with educational and scientific documents of all kinds and of course in various
forms of literature. This may require extra linguistic items to be added to the
variety especially technical words.
d.
Acceptance.
The variety has to be
accepted by the relevant population as the variety of the community. In fact it
can be taken as a national language. On being accepted the standard dialect
serves as a strong unifying force to the state. For example in Tanzania
Kiswahili is used as a unifying factor and a symbol of independence.
Both American English and British
English are taken as major standards of English language.
NON-STANDARD DIALECTS
It
is important to understand that non-standard does not mean “substandard” or
“inferior” as many perceive. Just as standard dialects are associated with the
language of the “powerful” and “prestigious” class, non standard dialects are
usually associated with the language of lower socio-economic class.
It
is a non-linguistic notion to consider non-standard dialect as ‘bad’ and
‘improper’ ways of speaking as opposed to standard varieties which are said to
be ‘good’ and ‘proper’.
EXERCISES
1. Why
do you think language varies? Discuss using six reasons. (NECTA 2014)
2. (a). Briefly explain and exemplify the following
terms. (NECTA 2014)
a. Onomatopoeic
words.
b. First
language.
c. Symbols.
d. System
e. Reflexiveness.
(b).
Why is Kiswahili an International Language? Explain by giving five points.
(NECTA 2014)
3. Drawing
example from English language, explain five factors that can effect the
development of language. (NECTA 2012)
4. Discuss
five characteristics of human language. (NECTA 2012)
5. (a)
Briefly define the following terms by giving one example. (NECTA 2012)
i.
Lingua franca
ii.
Standard language.
iii.
Speech community.
iv.
Accent.
v.
Mutual intelligibility.
6. Which
are the processes that are involved in standardizing a language? (NECTA 2012)
7. With
examples discuss six problems which may face an Englishman when learning
Kiswahili in Britain. (NECTA 2013)
8. (a)
The following concepts are central to a definition of a language.
i.
System
ii.
Arbitrary
iii.
Vocal
iv.
Symbols
v.
Conventional.
Explain the meaning of each concept
to clarify the definition of language. (NECTA 2013)
(b) suggest five different ways which can
improve the standard of English Language in Tanzanian primary and secondary
schools.
9. Verify
the existence of a diaglossic situation in Tanzania, giving eight points with
relevant examples. (NECTA 2013).
10. Why
is English an international language while Kisukuma is not? (NECTA 2009).
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