Assessment Of Language Endangerment In The Kinga Speech Community: Makete District - Tanzania

ABSTRACT

This study was aimed at assessing the trend of endangerment in the Kinga Ethnic language spoken at Makete District in Njombe Region Tanzania. The specific objectives of this study were; to evaluate intergenerational transmission of Kinga, to examine the attitude of Kinga speakers towards their own language as well as to assess the extent to which Kinga language is used in various domains. The study was guided by Language Vitality and Endangerment framework by UNESCO (2003) and employed both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. Data were collected through participant observation, interviews and questionnaires from 132 respondents who were selected for the study. The findings of this study were according to UNESCO’s factor number 1, 4 and 8 for assessing language vitality and endangerment. Basing on the intergeneration transmission as factor number 1, Kinga language falls in grade 4 of unsafe languages, the language is used by some children in all domains; it is used by all children in limited domains. With reference to factor number four about shift in the domains of language use, the language falls in grade 4 of multilingual parity; it is used in most of the domains in combination with Kiswahili. Also, basing on the community members’ attitude towards their own language as factor number 8, Kinga language falls in grade 4 where most of the speech community members support language maintenance. Lastly, it was recommended that in order to rescue Kinga and other Tanzanian ECLs from shift and endangerment, the following have to be done; these Tanzanian Ethnic Community Languages have to be promoted and documented, also there should be the creation of new friendly language policies which must emphasize and allow the use of these language in various domains such as in media.