Linguistic Dominance Exhibited by Ekerogoro over Ekemaate Dialect of EkeGusii: A Bantu Language of Kenya

Abstract

This paper identifies two areas of language that separate Ekerogoro (Northern) and Ekemaate (Southern) dialects of EkeGusii, a Bantu language spoken in South-Western Kenya in Kisii and Nyamira. The two features of language that cause variation between Ekerogoro and Ekemaate dialects of EkeGusii are found at the level of the articulation of the plosive sound /t/and the existence of varying lexical items in the two dialects. The paper focuses on linguistic dominance and its effect on group identity. EkeGusii is a fairly homogenous language without visible isoglosses. However, the language is not free of variation. A form of linguistic dominance is exhibited by the Ekerogoro dialect speakers over Ekemaate dialect that results from attitude. The paper therefore identifies language dominance and inequalities experienced by speakers of the same language that result from attitude based on articulation of words and choice of the lexicon. Data for this research was collected through participatory observation in conversations by Ekerogoro and Ekemaate speakers. The researcher, being a speaker of Ekerogoro dialect, used own intuition to collect data. Findings showed that the Ekerogoro dialect is dominant over Ekemaate and that the Ekemaate dialect is not described. Since the paper takes a sociolinguistic angle, the social theory that is derived from Boasian anthropology and social identity by Tajfel and Turner applies. The paper recommends that structural differences between dialects of a language should not be used to rank dialects of the same language in a scale of superiority. A language archive and an academy should be set up to preserve dialects and languages that are not described.