/.ambezia (2002), XXIX (ii)Lexical Metamorphosis of the KalangaLanguage: Towards an Analysis of theImpact of Ndebele Domination of theKalanga LanguageH. J. MOYODepartment of Linguistics, University of ZimbabweAbstractThis article examines the lexical metamorphosis of the Kalanga language caused buthe dominance of the language bu Ndebele. It is based on research conducted amongthe Kalanga-speakiug people of Bulilima-mangioe in Mntebt'leland and argues thatbecause of the domination of Kalanga by Ndebele, the Kalanga language isundergoing a lexical metamorphosis which poses a threat to its survival unlessmeasures are taken to promote and preserve it. Preservation of Kalanga is important,given the fact that language is a vehicle of culture and the deatli of Kalanga would,thus, spell the demise of Kalanga culture.IntroductionThis article seeks to investigate Kalanga lexical metamorphosis' in the contextof its relationship to Ndebele, particularly in the light of the domination ofthe former by the latter, which has generated concern among Kalangaspeakers about the present and future status and sustainability of theirlanguage and culture. Kalanga speakers are concerned that, if the Ndebeledomination of their language remains unchecked, their language will dieand, with it, their culture. It is maintained here that, although language isdynamic, it is essential that the core lexis of a language is preserved if thatlanguage is to survive.Kalanga speakers are also anxious, given the ongoing exercise inZimbabwe in which researchers are gathering a corpus of lexical items inthe minority languages, including Kalanga, that Ndebele or Ndebele-derivedwords might be erroneously entered into the corpus. Indeed, evidenceexists that, as it undergoes a lexical metamorphosis in relation to Ndebele,Kalanga is already incorporating many Ndebele words, while some Kalangaspeakers are coining new words which are neither Kalanga nor Ndebelebut are the result of the corruption of both Ndebele and Kalanga. Examplesof such words are the following:142H. J.KalangatjihlabelotjibinditjindebelehambazimakholwaMOYONdebeleisihlabeloisibindiisindebeleilambazia makholwa143In his description of language, Brown (1980: 5) states that language is'systematic' and 'possibly generative' and that it 'operates in a speechcommunity'. With respect to the Kalanga 'speech community', it is doubtfulwhether the adoption of Ndebele words will lead to the growth anddevelopment of the language. At the rate at which Ndebele words areincorporated into the Kalanga language, there is a real danger that theprocess may be more disruptive than generative.In their turn, Myers and Myers (1985: 115) contend that language isessential for one to understand the world and to interpret and explain one'senvironment. They argue that words provide the important link with thepast and the future and that, through words, experiences can be stored inthe mind, recorded in the memory, and later recalled for personal benefit orto be shared with others. In the case of Kalanga, it follows, therefore, that ifsome words are lost, experiences of the past cannot be remembered andrecorded as accurately as would be the case if the language were to surviveintact.In the light of the importance of language as defined by scholars citedabove and because language is a vehicle of culture, this article seeks toinvestigate the impact of Ndebele language domination of the Kalangalanguage and its implications for both the language and the culture that itexpresses and promotes.MethodologyResearch for this study was conducted among the Kalanga-speaking peopleof Bulilima-mangwe, encompassing the people of Dombodema in the north,Nguwanyana in the south, and Plumtree which is central. Dombodema isregarded as the centre of the Kalanga-speaking population, Nguwanyana isa Kalanga-speaking area with many Ndebele speakers in its population,while Plumtree is more cosmopolitan. To be better able to establish whetherthere was a noticeable pattern in the increase of Ndebele lexical terms inKalanga and, therefore, deterioration of knowledge of the Kalanga language,the study sampled three population age groups, namely, under 20 years,20-40 years, and over 40 years of age. Data collection involved the use ofquestionnaires and conducting interviews with members of the population144 The Impact of Ndebele Domination of the Kalanga Languagein the above three categories. The data collected was then classified on thebasis of whether (a) both parents in the family were Kalanga, (b) one of theparents was Ndebele, and (c) one or both parents were speakers of otherlanguages, such as Shona, Tswana, Tonga, Sotho, and Nyanja. To minimisevariables, only evidence from families where both parents, were Kalanga isanalysed in this article.Analysis and FindingsData collected showed clearly that knowledge of Kalanga lexical items wasdeteriorating fast. The majority of the under-20s could not supply even 50of the 100 words asked for in the questionnaire. The average score for thisgroup was 38. Some wrote their responses in Ndebele because they did notknow how to write in Kalanga. The 20-40 years group averaged 67 words,whereas the average scored by the over 40 years group was 80 words. Thehigh score among the over 40s may be the result of the fact that they wereaware that the study was investigating the use of Ndebele words in Kalanga,and therefore, consciously selected Kalanga words. Indeed, during theinterviews, they sometimes corrected themselves if they, inadvertently,used a Ndebele word. In contrast, the younger people continued to useNdebele words, often without being conscious that they were doing so. Allgroups were unanimous in expressing the opinion that Kalanga was adying language as it was neglected and was being overtaken by Ndebele.Data analysis for this study was influenced by Skinner's'(1957) habit-related Behaviourist Theory which argues that language learning isinfluenced by the environment and enhanced by reinforcement, and byAitchison (1991:107) who suggests that the two basic causes of languagechange are socio-linguistic and psycholinguistic factors. According to her,socio-linguistic causes are the following external factors:(a) Fashion: Like fashion in clothes, fashions of language change.(b) Foreign influence: This mainly involves borrowing 'foreign bits andpieces' of vocabulary that are regarded as useful and which become partof the language, and(c) Social need: This is when language is used to suit the needs of the usersas situations may demand, especially where the other language does nothave lexical items that would express the views and concepts clearlyenough.Psycho-linguistic causes are internal, more deep-rooted and fundamental.They relate to the knowledge of a language and ability to use it effectively.These factors can be influenced by attitudes towards the language so that,where the attitude is negative, there is no desire to learn the language, touse it properly and to maintain and revitalise it. As a result, the languagemay die.H. J. MOYO 145In line with Aitchison's framework, the prevalent use of Ndebele insteadof Kalanga words by the Bulilima-mangwe community can be classified, onthe basis of the reasons given by the Bulilima-mangwe community, asfollows:Socio-linguistic Causes1. Kalanga culture is not officially recognised in Zimbabwe.2. Inter-marriage between Kalangas and Ndebeles has facilitated the spreadof the Ndebele language, sometimes, at the expense of Kalanga.3. The use of Ndebele has now become a habit and a fashion.4. Kalangas are considered as a minority group.5. Living with Ndebele speakers has resulted in Kalangas using the Ndebelelanguage.6. Kalangas are accommodating to other tribes who may not be flexible.7. Ndebele has the advantage of being a.national language.8. Kalanga is not used in newspapers, is given very little time on nationalradio, and is not used on television.9. Young people shun their Kalanga language, especially when in the city.10. The interaction of city and country people and the constant movementof people between the two have diluted the Kalanga language in theface of the language of the dominant Ndebele group.Psycho-linguistic Causes1. Children are taught Ndebele at school.2. Most Kalangas are shy to talk in their language.3. Parents teach their children Ndebele from an early age so that theymaster it well enough to pass it at Grade 7. Failing Ndebele would lowerthe quality of the children's Grade 7 results and make it difficult forthem to secure a place for Form 1 at good schools. Children taughtNdebele at school use it at home, and thus, influence their parents alsoto speak Ndebele.4. Kalanga is not taught in schools.5. There are many Ndebele-speaking teachers in Bulilima-mangwe whocannot teach Kalanga.6. Kalangas find it easy to learn other languages because of their positiveattitude.7. There are not many Kalanga books, therefore, children have noopportunity to practise reading their language.8. Some Kalangas just despise their language.With respect to causes 1,4, and 5 above, research for this study confirmedthat, with the exception of one school at Dombodema, Kalanga was nottaught at Primary school level as stipulated by the Ministry of Education.146 The impact cf Naeoei^ Domination of tile f\,iL-T^gaThis is mainly because the schools are staffed by many Xdebele-speakingteachers who cannot teach Kalanga. Only at one school in Dombodema wasKalanga ottered up to Grade 3 and, as a result, Grade 3 pupils in this school,who had been taught Kalanga by the same teacher from Grade 1, spokefluent Kalanga with very few Ndebele lexical items. The rest of the pupils atthe school were not taught Kalanga because the teachers for lower gradeswere not Kalanga-speaking. At another school, in Plumtree, Kalanga bookswere stacked up in the library and remained unused mainly because Kalangawas not taught in class, since the majority of the teachers were not Kalanga-speaking.On whether Kalanga can or should be preserved, most interviewees saidthat this was both possible and necessary and suggested the followingremedies which are presented here in order of the frequency of suggestionsgiven by the interviewees:1. Kalanga should be taught in schools.2. There should be books written in Kalanga and Kalanga literature shouldbe developed.3. Kalanga should be used on TV and given more time on radio.4. Parents should speak Kalanga with their children at home.5. Kalanga should be taught up to secondary school level.6. More teachers of Kalanga should be trained.7. Kalanga should be used in newspapers.8. Kalanga should be the official language in Bulihma-mahgwe Districtand be used in public offices.9. Classes in the lower school grades in Bulilima-mangwe should be taughtby Kalanga-speaking teachers.1(1. Community projects and meetings should be conducted in Kalanga.11. Kalanga culture should be respected.12. There should be a Kalanga dictionary.13. Kalanga should be used in church services.14. A Kalanga New Testament should be used in church services.15. A Kalanga Bible should be written.16. Kalanga hymn books should be used for church services.17. Kalanga novels should be written.18. In compiling Kalanga vocabulary, help should be sought from Kalangaelders who were taught Kalanga in school.19. Old Kalanga books which were used in school in the past should berevived and updated.20. Young intelligent people should conduct research on the language andhelp to revive it.21. Kalangas should be proud of their language.22. Kalangas should work out strategies to revive their language.H. J. MOYO 14723. Children should be taught Kalanga from an early age so that it becomestheir first language.24. Kalanga musicians should sing Katanga songs.25. Children should be given Kalanga names so that they feel proud of theirlanguage.26. The current situation in which most Chiefs in Bulilima-mangwe areNdebele speakers should be changed so that the majority of chiefs areKalanga speakers in order to encourage people to use their language.ImplicationsThe above findings strongly suggest that Kalanga is in danger of dying outas evidenced by the deterioration of knowledge of Kalanga lexis among thepopulation of less than 20 years of age. Because most Kalangas can neitherread nor write in their language, their values and norms, which are normallyconveyed through lexical items, cannot be preserved in the written form.They are, thus, in danger of being forgotten with the passing away of theolder generation. Unless parents teach their children Kalanga in order toensure that Kalanga is the first language the children learn, and untilKalanga is taught in schools to consolidate the children's skills in the use ofthe language, Kalanga stands in danger of disappearing as a language.Revitalising Kalanga requires a conscious decision on the part of theparents to promote Kalanga in the home. The Ministry of Education shouldput in place appropriate policies to facilitate the training of Kalangachildhood education teachers and then deploy them to Kalanga-speakingareas of the country. The Ministry would also need to monitor theimplementation of the country's language policy. There is need to take intoserious account the suggestions put forward by interviewees of this study ifKalanga is to be saved from dying as a language.ConclusionAs has been shown, Kalanga has become largely dominated by the Ndebelelanguage and is in danger of disappearing unless steps are taken at thepersonal, district, and national levels to arrest the decline of the languageand to revive it. The causes of the decline and what measures are necessaryfor the rejuvenation of Kalanga were clearly identified by members of theBulilima-mangwe community who were interviewed for this study. Whileit is not unusual for members of one language group to desire to knowanother language for various reasons, among which, according to Cook(1991:1), are the need to identify 'with people who speak the language, [toget] a job . . .to take a fuller part in the life of one's own country, [to expand]one's literary and cultural horizons or [to facilitate] the expression of one'spolitical opinions or religious beliefs', one should be conscious of when to148 The Impact of Ndebele Domination of the Kalanga Languageuse one language and when to use the other. It is clear that when lexicalitems from one language are allowed to dominate another language, theresult may be the decay of the dominated language. This is what is likely tohappen to Kalanga if its domination by Ndebele continues unchecked.Select BibliographyAITCHISON, J. 1991, Language Change: Progress or Decay? Oxford: WorcesterCollege.BROWN, H. 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