Swahili and its Influence on Identities of Speakers of Ethnic Community Languages in Tanzania: Examples from Ngoni and Sukuma
摘要
The chapter examined the influence of Swahili on the language practices of two ethnic communities in the multilingual Tanzania. Being a more powerful language in the country, Swahili has might that has threatened the survival of other ethnic community languages. We administered a questionnaire to 360 consultants and interviewed 12 community members: six from the Sukuma speaking area and the other six from the Ngoni speaking area. The main findings suggest that in both districts both Ngoni and Sukuma are used alongside Swahili, depending on the situation/occasion. Besides, there are variations in some domains of language use. For example, the Sukuma speak their language more than the Ngoni in the home; however, the Ngoni speak their ethnic community language in church more than the Sukuma. Also, there is a similarity in the way the youth drift away from speaking their ethnic community languages in favor of Swahili, and also in the way the elderly still cling to their ethnic community languages. Nevertheless, both Sukuma and Ngoni languages are not likely to resist the powers of Swahili in the future mostly due to the attitudes of the youth towards their ethnic community languages.