{"title":"Lexical change: a case of the Hehe language","authors":"Ernest Mapunda, Chrispina Alphonce","doi":"10.1080/02572117.2023.2248746","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"AbstractThe article reports the results on the lexical change in Hehe, grounded in substratum theory. This exploration focused on the extent of lexical change. The qualitative data were collected in Kilolo District through reversetranslation and documentary-review methods. Forty-eight purposively selected informants were asked to interpret 120 lists of words and 10 phrases written in both English and Kiswahili. The qualitative analysis of the data, using descriptions, informants’ quotations and tables, revealed continuous lexical change in Hehe through time. The changes are both swift and sluggish. The results revealed that the Hehe language has undergone lexical borrowing, loss, replacement, maintenance and the change of meaning. The data obtained also revealed that lexical change is as a result of language contact. The non-linguistic factors are corrosion of generational transmission of the language, deterioration of socialisation intervals between elders and youths, education, and the advancement of science and technology. Every identified lexical change was classified based on its lexical class and other patterns. The lexical class with the highest number of affected items was the nouns. The authors opine that lexical change in Hehe language has been strongly affected by Kiswahili, the national language, as well as Bena and Kinga, the languages of neighbouring ethnic groups.","PeriodicalId":42604,"journal":{"name":"South African Journal of African Languages","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2023-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"South African Journal of African Languages","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02572117.2023.2248746","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
AbstractThe article reports the results on the lexical change in Hehe, grounded in substratum theory. This exploration focused on the extent of lexical change. The qualitative data were collected in Kilolo District through reversetranslation and documentary-review methods. Forty-eight purposively selected informants were asked to interpret 120 lists of words and 10 phrases written in both English and Kiswahili. The qualitative analysis of the data, using descriptions, informants’ quotations and tables, revealed continuous lexical change in Hehe through time. The changes are both swift and sluggish. The results revealed that the Hehe language has undergone lexical borrowing, loss, replacement, maintenance and the change of meaning. The data obtained also revealed that lexical change is as a result of language contact. The non-linguistic factors are corrosion of generational transmission of the language, deterioration of socialisation intervals between elders and youths, education, and the advancement of science and technology. Every identified lexical change was classified based on its lexical class and other patterns. The lexical class with the highest number of affected items was the nouns. The authors opine that lexical change in Hehe language has been strongly affected by Kiswahili, the national language, as well as Bena and Kinga, the languages of neighbouring ethnic groups.
期刊介绍:
The South African Journal of African Languages is a peer-reviewed research journal devoted to the advancement of African (Bantu) and Khoi-San languages and literatures. Papers, book reviews and polemic contributions of a scientific nature in any of the core areas of linguistics, both theoretical (e.g. syntax, phonology, semantics) and applied (e.g. sociolinguistic topics, language teaching, language policy), and literature, based on original research in the context of the African languages, are welcome. The journal is the official mouthpiece of the African Language Association of Southern Africa (ALASA), established in 1979.