Kulwa, Bahati2019-08-272019-08-272016Kulwa, B. (2016). Assessment of Zinza language lexical change: A case of Kome island Sengerema district. Dodoma: The University of Dodoma.http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12661/1127Dissertation (MA Linguistics)The principal concern of this study was the assessment of lexical change in Zinza language. In particular, the study firstly explored the extent of Zinza lexical change in Kome Island; secondly, it examined linguistic factors for Zinza lexical change; and thirdly, described non linguistic factors behind Zinza lexical change. This study employed both purposive and simple random sampling methods. The data were gathered from four villages namely Luhiza, Isenyi, Bugolo, and Buhama located in Kome Island, Sengerema district through semi structured interview, introspection and elicitation. The study was guided by the theory, known as Assimilation Theory. The findings in this study revealed that, Zinza has been affected heavily by lexical change. There are a lot of lexical replacements which have been borrowed from other languages. These replacements are used alongside proto Zinza lexical items while others are used without proto lexical items. However, there are some aspects of language use where lexical items in this language enjoy maintenance. These aspects include greetings, parts of the body, gender reference, and how to offer condolences. The study also found that, linguistic factors such as the nature of Zinza language and language contact were the driving force for Zinza lexical change. Moreover, non linguistic factors such as intermarriage, education, advancement of science and technology, decline of socialization gap between the youth and elders, immigration and children shift in language transmission were recorded to influence lexical change in Kome Island. It is recommended in this study that, further study should be carried out to examine whether or not the other linguistic aspects such as phonology, morphology, and syntax have been subjected to changes.enZinzaZinza languageLexicalZinza lexical changeKome islandZinza language lexical changeSengerema districtMorphemesDissertation