Lexical Attrition among Kiimenti Bilinguals at Kenyatta University
| dc.contributor.author | Miriti, Mercy Gakii | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-09-24T12:45:02Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-09-24T12:45:02Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-04 | |
| dc.description | A Research Project Submitted to the School of Law, Arts and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts (English and Linguistics) of Kenyatta University, April, 2024 | |
| dc.description.abstract | First language attrition is the dynamics of language use noticeable in a multilingual society. Previous researchers have argued that L1 attrition results from conflicts between two linguistic systems. According to previous research, attrition first manifests itself in the vocabulary knowledge of the speakers and later extends to its syntax, phonetics, and semantics of the language. This study identified and described lexical attrition among Kiimenti bilingual speakers. It also examined different domains to determine the extent of attrition. Some cross-linguistic factors including the role of L2 environment and frequency of L1 (Kiimenti) use were investigated to determine their contribution to the process of attrition. This study based its arguments on the Activation Threshold Hypothesis by Paradis (2004) which suggests that in bilinguals two linguistic systems are always in competition and require a speaker to inhibit one language and activate another so as not to confuse the two languages. The more instances a language is inhibited the more difficult it becomes for a speaker to access the lexicon of that particular language and this may lead to attrition. This study used a descriptive survey design and a questionnaire and a picture naming task to obtain data from Kiimenti bilinguals between the ages of 18 and 25 years. The results obtained were analyzed using the SPSS and the data obtained suggested that there were some levels of attrition among Kiimenti speakers. From the data obtained it was notable that some of the speakers were not familiar with the Kiimenti names for most of cultural items as well as those of the wild animals and musical instruments. From the study the bilinguals found it difficult to access correct L1 terms to refer to some of the lexical items used in the study. For instance, words such as ‘kabeche’ shaker, ‘coro’ flute, ‘mikathi’ beads worn at the waist by women and ‘ntaara’ ‘a man's dress passed around the shoulders and fastened at the waist’ were unfamiliar. This was an observable marker for lexical attrition among Kiimenti bilinguals | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/28822 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.title | Lexical Attrition among Kiimenti Bilinguals at Kenyatta University | |
| dc.type | Thesis |