Nubian Heritage Language Maintenance in Kisii, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine why speakers of the native Nubian language in Kisii speak it yet they are in a multilingual setting and having migrated from their native home over a century ago. It sought to address the following research objectives: identify and discuss the family language practices of the Nubians in Kisii Town; evaluate the phonological differences between native and heritage Nubians and to investigate the morphological differences between heritage Nubians and native Nubians. The study was limited to the Nubian speakers of the Nyanchwa area of Kisii Town only. The study was anchored on Domain Theory (DT) and the Optimality Theory (OT). The DT was brought forth first by Schmidt-Rohr in 1932, while the Optimality Theory (OT), established by Prince and Smolensky in 1993, served as the foundation for this investigation. This investigation used a qualitative approach to its design. The study targeted two thousand Nubian speakers living in Kisii Township's Nyanchwa Estate and Kitutu Central Sub-County of Kisii County. The population was categorized according to factors like age, gender, and status before sampling units were utilized to meet each quota in the study's quota sampling method. Additionally, the snowball sampling technique was used. Once some contacts were formed with possible volunteers, they suggested others who they believed spoke the language and were willing to engage in the study. The study sampled seven respondents which were established using the concept of thematic saturation, which occurs when participant comments and recurring themes prevent fresh data from adding value to the findings. The study used in-depth interviews, observation, and document studies for data collection. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data because the study's data were qualitative and came from field notes, interview transcripts, and desk research. The researcher adhered to all ethical principles. The analysis of data revealed that there was an age factor in using Nubian at the family level. This is in the sense that adults tend to use the language more often than younger Nubian family members. Further, the study indicated that older members of families, specifically those from age 35, have knowledge of the language, unlike those below. Additionally, the study shows that the Nubian language of Kisii has nineteen phonemes. Some consonant phonemes are plosives. Many phonemes are produced by exhaling air from the lungs. Moreover, the Nubian in Nyanchwa, Kisii Town contains countable nouns with inflectional morphemes when changing from singular to plural- most of them contain or add ‘an’ at the end of the plural noun form. Finally, the researcher concluded that there is endangerment of the Nubian language due to a generational drop in its use. Because of the linguistic environment-Kiswahili, Ekegusii, Luo, Kikuyu, and English-of the Nyanchwa region Nubians, the fifth generation of Kisii Town Nubians barely transmits Nubian to their children. The Kisii Town Nubians are typically conscious of the significance of the Nubian language in preserving their culture and establishing their identity, thus even with endangerment of the language, its use persists, and there is still a good chance that it will be preserved. These research findings are beneficial to academia, policymakers, and contributes to existing literature.