Browsing by Author "Wangia, Joyce I."

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    The Other Side of the Coin: Borrowing and Vitality in Lubukusu
    (Chemchemi International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2016) Furaha, Marissa M.; Nyamasyo, Eunice; Wangia, Joyce I.
    When languages come into contact, there is some degree of cultural contact, however limited. As a result, there is bound to be some negative as well as positive language change. Borrowing, bilingualism, code switching, code mixing, pidgins, creoles, language shift and language death are some of the products of language contact. The focus of this paper is linguistic borrowing as a result of contact between two languages: Lubukusu, an African language spoken by the Babukusu, a sub-tribe of the Luhya ethnic group of Bungoma County, Kenya and English, a foreign language in Kenya, first introduced through European explorers, Christian missionaries, traders and the British colonialist and its resultant effect on the borrowing language.
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    Politeness in Teacher-Student Interactions in a Kenyan Secondary School Context and Implications for Pedagogy in Communication Skills
    (Scientific Research Publishing, 2020) Wangia, Joyce I.; Otonde, Lydia A.
    It is commonly agreed that politeness is reflected in the pragmatic use of language (Brown & Levinson, 1987). Although the politeness phenomenon is universal, with many expressional similarities, each language possesses norms and ways of expressing politeness within a given cultural context. The Kenyan school syllabus caters for the teaching of these politeness expressions across all levels of the curriculum and learners are expected to observe the same. This study sought to investigate the impact of the teaching of politeness strategies on their pragmatic use by secondary school students. Through a case study, the study looked at what strategies are used by documenting interactions in varied forums outside the classroom. The study therefore considered the verbal expressions of politeness strategies. The study finds Kenyan secondary school students limited in the use of politeness strategies and that the English language politeness strategies are at variance with the students’ cultural orientation. The study makes recommendations on how learners can be better equipped in the use of politeness strategies for improved communication.
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    A study of cultural terms, loan words and figurative expressions in the 1965 Gĩkũyũ bible translation
    (Kenyatta University, 2015-10) Mucha, Hellen Pasomi; Wangia, Joyce I.; Gecaga, Charles
    Effective translation where the source text (ST) features culture bound practices, terms and figurative expressions can be a challenge. Ineffective presentation and translation of such culture bound practices, terms and figurative expressions can and does inhibit receptor comprehension of the target text (TT). The researcher held the belief that culture bound practices, terms and figurative expressions from the original Hebrew and Greek texts were present in the 1965 Gĩkũyũ Bible. This study was a quest through the 1965 Gĩkũyũ Bible for these features and an evaluation of the effectiveness of their translation. To this end, the researcher first identified such texts in The Holy Bible, King James Version Easy Reading (2001), which the researcher used as a working source text, and in their translation in the 1965 Gĩkũyũ Bible. These were then analysed within three categories, loan or new words, figurative expressions and references to novel cultural practices. These select texts were analysed in light of the extent to which translator choice of words with which to present them in the 1965 Gĩkũyũ Bible were likely to inhibit receptor comprehension. The select texts were also used to prepare questionnaires. Responses to the questionnaire items were used to corroborate the researcher‟s findings from the analysis of select texts. The sample texts‟ analysis as well as the questionnaire responses were analysed and interpreted within the Skopos Theory, the Cultural Theory and the Speech Act Theory. The study brought to the fore the fact that ST culture bound practices, terms and figurative expressions in the 1965 Gĩkũyũ Bible were, for the most part, ineffectively presented. Majority of receptors have trouble comprehending the 1965 Gĩkũyũ Bible specifically where such texts occur. The study therefore recommended several strategies that would effectively present ST culture bound practices, terms and figurative speech in the TT in a way that would maximize comprehension by the TT recipients. This study is in five chapters. Chapter one sets out introductory information, chapter two contains the literature review and the theoretical framework, chapter three sets forth the methodology used in the study while chapter four lays out the data, its analysis interpretation and discussion. Finally, chapter five presents the summary of findings, recommendations and conclusions of the study.
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    Teacher Preparation and Continuing Professional Development in Kenya Learning to Teach Early Reading and Mathematics
    (2013-04-12) Bunyi, Grace W.; Wangia, Joyce I.; Magoma, Charles M.; Limboro, Charity M.
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    Translation of Kinship Terminology in Selected Bilingual Dictionaries in Kenya and Its Implication for Cross - Cultural Communication
    (Chemchemi International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2016) Wangia, Joyce I.; Ayieko, Gerry
    Kinship terms are culturally and socially tied to the society’s structure and communities’ values that have developed over a long period of time. In the different Kenyan social environments many kinship terms abound that are extremely definite and cannot be found in other Kenyan languages or English and consequently may generate some translation difficulties and misinterpretations. The intended meaning of these culturally bound kinship terms that exist in source languages which are embedded in the Kenyan socio-cultural scene cannot be transferred to the target language (English) through a word or group of words which are thought to be the English equivalents in the translation process. The paper presents a list of common kinship terms present in three Kenyan languages with comparable interpretation. Kinship terms that are mainly culture specific certainly indicates the firm and close social ties that a community has established over the years. The present paper seeks to answer two main questions: i) How are the non-equivalences of kinship terms between English and the selected languages translated in different bilingual dictionaries? ii) What is the alternative model of translating kinship terms in the selected bilingual dictionaries? These kinship terms pose difficulties and intercultural miscommunication when not properly interpreted. The present paper is based on Baker’s (2006) effected translation equivalence theory of Kinship terms and social structure model and equivalence theory of translation. The paper develops a model for translating kinship terms from the selected languages into English.