Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages

Elliot Machinyise

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11

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Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages

Elliot Machinyise

Published in International Journal of Elementary Education (Volume 7, Issue 2)

Received: 22 May 2018 Accepted: 12 June 2018 Published: 5 July 2018

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Abstract

The Zambian linguistic landscape is deliberately designed in such a way that each of the ten provinces of Zambia has a dominant language accorded the status of regional official language with speakers of other minority languages mandated to use it for all local official transactions. This paper examines the factors contributing to language endangerment and loss of vitality of minority languages, specifically the indigenous languages of Zambia whose native speakers live in the close proximity to the cities. A case study was conducted in the local villages on the outskirts of two cities of Zambia; Kabwe and Ndola. Around Kabwe town Swaka native speakers were selected while in Ndola on the Copperbelt, Lamba language speakers were equally selected for this study. This study was conducted to find out the language attitudes, domains of language use and mother tongue and regional lingua franca proficiency of these native speakers. A questionnaire was used to elicit the participants’ language proficiency, preference and domains of language use. Interviews and observations were used to find out language attitudes and reasons for language choice by participants. The results of this study show that the regular contact of native speakers of the minority languages with the city has negatively affected the vitality of the local languages in villages around these cities. Increase in mobility of people from other regions in search of employment, exchange of goods and information coupled with entertainment to and from cities has driven a powerful trend towards the extinction of native languages in the villages closer to big cities. The study has also revealed that if the owners of industries, mines and other multinational investors do not give employment priorities to locals and continue employing and recruiting workers from other regions, local languages within the investment areas will gradually go into total extinction.

Published in	International Journal of Elementary Education (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11
Page(s)	23-27
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Regional Official Language, Minority Languages, Language Shift, Language Endangerment, Swaka, Lamba

References

[1]	www.timesofsicily.com/unesco-list-of-endangered-languages-sicilian
[2]	UNESCO (2009) Ourlangages. Paris: International Permalink.
[3]	Kashoki, M. E. (1998). Language Policy in Multilingual Countries vis-a-vis Language Maintenance, Language Shift and Language Death. In Journal of Humanities. Vol. 2. 1998-1999. Lusaka: University of Zambia.
[4]	Austin P. Et al (2016) Endangered Langages. Beliefs and Ideologies in Language Documentation and Revitalisation. British Academy Publications.
[5]	Kashoki, M. E. (1998). Language Policy in Multilingual Countries vis-a-vis Language Maintenance, Language Shift and Language Death. In Journal of Humanities. Vol. 2. 1998-1999. Lusaka: University of Zambia.
[6]	Central Statistics of Zambia Report (1997) Lusaka: Government Printers.
[7]	Times of Zambia, 25 January, 2016. Ndola: print park.
[8]	Kula, N. (2008). Language and National Identity in Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[9]	Ngidi. S. A (2007) The Attitudes of Learners, Educators and Parents Towards English as a Language of Learning and Teaching in Mthunzini Circuit. University of Zululand.
[10]	Kayambazinthu, E. (1989). Patterns of Language Use in Malawi: A Sociolinguistic Investigation in the Domasi and Malindi Areas of Malawi. In Journal of Contemporary Studies of African Studies. Vol. 12, number 2, 1994.
[11]	Machinyise, E. (2009). Factors contributing to the Decline in the Teaching of French inZambian Public Schools: The Case of Central and Lusaka Provinces Schools. Lusaka: University of Zambia.
[12]	Kuncha et al (2006). Language Shift and Maintenance. London: Longman.
[13]	Ravindranath. M (2009) Language Shift and the Speech Community: Sociolinguistic Change in a Garifuna Community in Belize. University of Pennsylvania.

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Elliot Machinyise. (2018). Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages. International Journal of Elementary Education, 7(2), 23-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11

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ACS Style

Elliot Machinyise. Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages. Int. J. Elem. Educ. 2018, 7(2), 23-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11

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Elliot Machinyise. Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages. Int J Elem Educ. 2018;7(2):23-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11,
  author = {Elliot Machinyise},
  title = {Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages},
  journal = {International Journal of Elementary Education},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {23-27},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijeedu.20180702.11},
  abstract = {The Zambian linguistic landscape is deliberately designed in such a way that each of the ten provinces of Zambia has a dominant language accorded the status of regional official language with speakers of other minority languages mandated to use it for all local official transactions. This paper examines the factors contributing to language endangerment and loss of vitality of minority languages, specifically the indigenous languages of Zambia whose native speakers live in the close proximity to the cities. A case study was conducted in the local villages on the outskirts of two cities of Zambia; Kabwe and Ndola. Around Kabwe town Swaka native speakers were selected while in Ndola on the Copperbelt, Lamba language speakers were equally selected for this study. This study was conducted to find out the language attitudes, domains of language use and mother tongue and regional lingua franca proficiency of these native speakers. A questionnaire was used to elicit the participants’ language proficiency, preference and domains of language use. Interviews and observations were used to find out language attitudes and reasons for language choice by participants. The results of this study show that the regular contact of native speakers of the minority languages with the city has negatively affected the vitality of the local languages in villages around these cities. Increase in mobility of people from other regions in search of employment, exchange of goods and information coupled with entertainment to and from cities has driven a powerful trend towards the extinction of native languages in the villages closer to big cities. The study has also revealed that if the owners of industries, mines and other multinational investors do not give employment priorities to locals and continue employing and recruiting workers from other regions, local languages within the investment areas will gradually go into total extinction.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages
AU  - Elliot Machinyise
Y1  - 2018/07/05
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11
T2  - International Journal of Elementary Education
JF  - International Journal of Elementary Education
JO  - International Journal of Elementary Education
SP  - 23
EP  - 27
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7640
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11
AB  - The Zambian linguistic landscape is deliberately designed in such a way that each of the ten provinces of Zambia has a dominant language accorded the status of regional official language with speakers of other minority languages mandated to use it for all local official transactions. This paper examines the factors contributing to language endangerment and loss of vitality of minority languages, specifically the indigenous languages of Zambia whose native speakers live in the close proximity to the cities. A case study was conducted in the local villages on the outskirts of two cities of Zambia; Kabwe and Ndola. Around Kabwe town Swaka native speakers were selected while in Ndola on the Copperbelt, Lamba language speakers were equally selected for this study. This study was conducted to find out the language attitudes, domains of language use and mother tongue and regional lingua franca proficiency of these native speakers. A questionnaire was used to elicit the participants’ language proficiency, preference and domains of language use. Interviews and observations were used to find out language attitudes and reasons for language choice by participants. The results of this study show that the regular contact of native speakers of the minority languages with the city has negatively affected the vitality of the local languages in villages around these cities. Increase in mobility of people from other regions in search of employment, exchange of goods and information coupled with entertainment to and from cities has driven a powerful trend towards the extinction of native languages in the villages closer to big cities. The study has also revealed that if the owners of industries, mines and other multinational investors do not give employment priorities to locals and continue employing and recruiting workers from other regions, local languages within the investment areas will gradually go into total extinction.
VL  - 7
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Author Information

Elliot Machinyise

Department of Literature and Languages, Kwame Nkrumah University, Kabwe, Zambia

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Elliot Machinyise. (2018). Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages. International Journal of Elementary Education, 7(2), 23-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11

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ACS Style

Elliot Machinyise. Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages. Int. J. Elem. Educ. 2018, 7(2), 23-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11

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AMA Style

Elliot Machinyise. Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages. Int J Elem Educ. 2018;7(2):23-27. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11,
  author = {Elliot Machinyise},
  title = {Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages},
  journal = {International Journal of Elementary Education},
  volume = {7},
  number = {2},
  pages = {23-27},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijeedu.20180702.11},
  abstract = {The Zambian linguistic landscape is deliberately designed in such a way that each of the ten provinces of Zambia has a dominant language accorded the status of regional official language with speakers of other minority languages mandated to use it for all local official transactions. This paper examines the factors contributing to language endangerment and loss of vitality of minority languages, specifically the indigenous languages of Zambia whose native speakers live in the close proximity to the cities. A case study was conducted in the local villages on the outskirts of two cities of Zambia; Kabwe and Ndola. Around Kabwe town Swaka native speakers were selected while in Ndola on the Copperbelt, Lamba language speakers were equally selected for this study. This study was conducted to find out the language attitudes, domains of language use and mother tongue and regional lingua franca proficiency of these native speakers. A questionnaire was used to elicit the participants’ language proficiency, preference and domains of language use. Interviews and observations were used to find out language attitudes and reasons for language choice by participants. The results of this study show that the regular contact of native speakers of the minority languages with the city has negatively affected the vitality of the local languages in villages around these cities. Increase in mobility of people from other regions in search of employment, exchange of goods and information coupled with entertainment to and from cities has driven a powerful trend towards the extinction of native languages in the villages closer to big cities. The study has also revealed that if the owners of industries, mines and other multinational investors do not give employment priorities to locals and continue employing and recruiting workers from other regions, local languages within the investment areas will gradually go into total extinction.},
 year = {2018}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Factors Contributing to Language Endangerment of Minority Languages in Rural Communities Near Mine Towns of Zambia: A Case Study of Lamba and Swaka Languages
AU  - Elliot Machinyise
Y1  - 2018/07/05
PY  - 2018
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11
T2  - International Journal of Elementary Education
JF  - International Journal of Elementary Education
JO  - International Journal of Elementary Education
SP  - 23
EP  - 27
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7640
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20180702.11
AB  - The Zambian linguistic landscape is deliberately designed in such a way that each of the ten provinces of Zambia has a dominant language accorded the status of regional official language with speakers of other minority languages mandated to use it for all local official transactions. This paper examines the factors contributing to language endangerment and loss of vitality of minority languages, specifically the indigenous languages of Zambia whose native speakers live in the close proximity to the cities. A case study was conducted in the local villages on the outskirts of two cities of Zambia; Kabwe and Ndola. Around Kabwe town Swaka native speakers were selected while in Ndola on the Copperbelt, Lamba language speakers were equally selected for this study. This study was conducted to find out the language attitudes, domains of language use and mother tongue and regional lingua franca proficiency of these native speakers. A questionnaire was used to elicit the participants’ language proficiency, preference and domains of language use. Interviews and observations were used to find out language attitudes and reasons for language choice by participants. The results of this study show that the regular contact of native speakers of the minority languages with the city has negatively affected the vitality of the local languages in villages around these cities. Increase in mobility of people from other regions in search of employment, exchange of goods and information coupled with entertainment to and from cities has driven a powerful trend towards the extinction of native languages in the villages closer to big cities. The study has also revealed that if the owners of industries, mines and other multinational investors do not give employment priorities to locals and continue employing and recruiting workers from other regions, local languages within the investment areas will gradually go into total extinction.
VL  - 7
IS  - 2
ER  -

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