Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 & 2 (2014): Volume 3, Nos. 1 & 2, 2014

‘Similar’ Language Contact But ‘Different’ Language Change: Historical Lessons from Loanwords in Tanzanian Bantu Communities

https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v3i1%20&%202.159
Amani Lusekelo

Corresponding Author(s) : Amani Lusekelo

amani.lusekelo@duce.ac.tz

Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), Vol. 3 No. 1 & 2 (2014): Volume 3, Nos. 1 & 2, 2014

Abstract

This paper contributes to the on-going discussion about integration of foreign cultures
into African communities, one of the areas documented by Sam Maghimbi. It articulates
the results of human contacts through examination of loanwords for similar semantic
notions across Bantu languages of Tanzania. The rationale for this study emanates from
a lacuna in previous works that focused on phonological and morphological changes,
and undervalued the power of internal semantic modifications that accommodate new
concepts. The paper analyses loanwords of individual words that surround three contact
areas: western (formal) education, Christian religion, and (modern) healthcare. The paper
shows that contact situations may lead to adoption of new words in some cases, or
adjustments of the semantics of existing lexicons to accommodate new concepts, in
other instances. In addition, it argues that Bantu languages differ significantly as regards
the sources and flow of integration of new concepts.


Keywords

languages contact, cultural integration, historical linguistics, loanwords, Tanzanian Bantu
‘Similar’ Language Contact But ‘Different’ Language Change: Historical Lessons from Loanwords in Tanzanian Bantu Communities. (2022). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 3(1 & 2). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v3i1 & 2.159
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‘Similar’ Language Contact But ‘Different’ Language Change: Historical Lessons from Loanwords in Tanzanian Bantu Communities. (2022). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 3(1 & 2). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v3i1 & 2.159
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