Analysis of the current status of Iraqw kinship terms to foresee their future trends

Abstract

This study analyses the status of Iraqw kinship terms and provides their future implications. The study offers insights into the resilience of Iraqw indigenous kinship terms and the penetration of new kinship terms from Kiswahili, a dominant language in Tanzania. Data were collected through an open-ended questionnaire from 30 Iraqw research participants. Brief follow-up interviews were also conducted with participants who reported using Swahili kinship terms in their questionnaires, to determine whether they were merely code-switching into a dominant language or engaging in borrowing. Moreover, a documentary review was conducted to determine Iraqw indigenous kinship terms vs. new kinship terms. Data were then analysed thematically. The frequencies of the kinship terms were presented to determine their current trends. The findings show significant changes in the use of Iraqw kinship terms. The results denote that some Iraqw kinship terms are replaced by their Kiswahili equivalents, other kinship terms coexist with their Kiswahili equivalents within the community and the rest are maintained. The findings show that all the kinship terms borrowed from Kiswahili have their equivalents in Iraqw, indicating that they were borrowed for prestige. This kind of borrowing has led to the loss of some Iraqw indigenous kinship terms and the knowledge associated with those kinship terms among the young Iraqw speakers.