Doctoral Theses

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Browsing Doctoral Theses by Subject "Ethnolinguistic study"

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    Space and communication: An ethnolinguistic study of the Maasai society of Tanzania
    (The University of Dodoma, 2016) Sane, Eliakimu
    This thesis reports the findings of the ethnolinguistic study of the use of space in communication in Maasai society. It examined how Maasai use genealogical and geographical space to construct social and linguistic categories which affect communication among the society members. The findings of the study are presented from the transcriptions of the participant observation made in the natural settings of occurrence and supported by the information from face-to-face and group interviews with 59 informants sampled from Monduli District through snowball technique. Analysis of the information obtained revealed that genealogical and geographical spaces are used in Maasai to categorize and develop differences among people and linguistic means are used to express the differences. Unlike women and children, men are grouped into peer groups by the means of space and get names which not only predict and wish them good will but also entitle them to enjoy certain social privileges. Despite the differences, the society members enjoy the categorizations since they are an important constituent of their culture. The society uses a top-down communication approach whereby men have freedom of communication that can only be challenged by the peers above ego or the laigwanani. The non-Maasai people are assessed, categorized, named and placed in the Maasai social structures to enjoy some social privileges. Besides, the spatial arrangements of objects in the environment are made according to the society‟s norms of interactions and, therefore, they affect interactions in the society. The findings of this study proscribe the often made claim that Maasai society is unchanging. Though the society has established proper mechanisms to resist the norms resulting from the drive to modernity, this thesis revealed that some Maasai norms of interactions are sometimes violated to accommodate modern and institutional norms while other norms decay as development escalates. It is concluded that social stratifications and naming on the framework of space are necessary for the society‟s socio-economic activities but they affect communication in the society. The perceived social marginalization resulting from the stratifications are unintentional inasmuch as every member enjoys the differences. It is recommended that government and different agents should consider the ethnolinguistic characteristics of the Maasai society when developing different policies in the society.