Bunia Swahili and Emblematic Language Use

Abstract

The present paper provides first insights into emblematic language use in Bunia Swahili, a variety of the Bantu language Swahili as spoken in and around the city of Bunia inIturi Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Structural variability in Bunia Swahili shows that this language variety consists of basilectal, mesolectal and acrolectal registers, which are used by speakers to express different social identities. Whereas the basilectal variety shows structural similarities with Central Sudanic languages, the mesolectal and acrolectal registers are closer to East Coast Swahili. We argue that these lectal forms are to be understood as fluid repertoires which are used by speakers as a form of adaption to different conversational settings and as indexical representations of their (ethnic) identity. We go on to describe the historical background to these diverging ways of speaking Bunia Swahili, which are due mainly to the long-lasting conflict between different groups in the area.