The development and morphosyntax of the Kiswahili variety spoken in Uganda

Abstract

Varieties of Kiswahili language in East Africa present an interesting development and morphosyntactic structures which had not yet attracted the attention of the researchers. This study describes the morphosyntax of the Kiswahili variety in Uganda and accounts for its development. Specifically, the study examined the morphosyntactic properties of the verbal template, in reference to the previously studied contact-induced varieties, and accounted for its development within Uganda’s interior. The study is qualitative and data were collected using a triangulation of methods: participant observation, elicitation, conversational modules, archival research, and interviews with key informants. A blend of two theories namely the Variationist Sociolinguistic Theory suggested by Labov (1963, 1966) and the Parameters of Bantu Morphosyntactic Variation by Guérois, et al. (2017) were employed in data analysis. Results indicate that the non-standard Kiswahili variety spoken in Uganda over relies on periphrasis other than agglutination attested in inflectional and derivational morphology attested in Kiswahili and Bantu languages generally. Periphrasis characteristics are explained by the colonial and post-colonial contact of Kiswahili with non-Bantu languages such as Kinubi, Acholi, Lugbara and Lango. Furthermore, while the non-standard Kiswahili variety spoken in Uganda shares certain features with the Democratic Republic of Congo regiolects, namely, Kivu and Bunia Swahili, such as overreliance on periphrasis and isolating tendencies, differences arise due to Uganda’s unique geographical, social, historical, economic, political and ecological contexts. Based on the findings, the study identifies this variety as a distinct form, referred to as Ugandan Kiswahili (UgSw). Thus, the study contributes new empirical evidence to the wider debate of language variation and change in Kiswahili. It also critiques the Variationists Sociolinguistic Theoretical framework and shows that variation in language can also be studied using Parametric approaches. The study recommends that other structural aspects of this variety be explored through empirical studies to deepen understanding of its linguistic structure.