A descriptive analysis of Chibrazi the urban contact vernacular language of Malawi : a focus on the lexicon and semantic manipulation

Abstract

Over the years, the language profile of Mala?i has transformed from a purist orientation to a hybrid orientation. Apart from the traditional ethnic languages of the country, there is a language practice or speech style that is generally characterised by the mixing of elements from different languages of the country as well as those from outside. This development has been influenced by language contact, a situation that occurs when speakers of different languages or speech varieties interact thereby bringing their respective languages into interaction as well; and ultimately, bringing about changes of different kinds to the linguistic landscape of the area involved. This study refers to this language practice or speech style as Chibrazi, the urban contact vernacular language of Mala?i and defines it as a communication tool in which meaning is encoded by inserting vocabulary drawn from a unique body of lexical items into the grammatical structures of the traditional ethnic languages of Mala?i. Although Chibrazi is widespread across the country, it remains conspicuously absent in scholarly literature as well as in national documents such as the constitution and the national language policy. It can thus be said that Chibrazi largely remains unknown, even though it is very popular. In response to this situation, this study provides a basic descriptive analysis of Chibrazi, focusing on semantic manipulation in the production of the lexicon of the language thereby demonstrating that there is a new mixed language that is emerging within Mala?i s language profile. The research answers questions such as: Over the years, the language profile of Mala?i has transformed from a purist orientation to a hybrid orientation. Apart from the traditional ethnic languages of the country, there is a language practice or speech style that is generally characterised by the mixing of elements from different languages of the country as well as those from outside. This development has been influenced by language contact, a situation that occurs when speakers of different languages or speech varieties interact thereby bringing their respective languages into interaction as well; and ultimately, bringing about changes of different kinds to the linguistic landscape of the area involved. This study refers to this language practice or speech style as Chibrazi, the urban contact vernacular language of Mala?i and defines it as a communication tool in which meaning is encoded by inserting vocabulary drawn from a unique body of lexical items into the grammatical structures of the traditional ethnic languages of Mala?i. Although Chibrazi is widespread across the country, it remains conspicuously absent in scholarly literature as well as in national documents such as the constitution and the national language policy. It can thus be said that Chibrazi largely remains unknown, even though it is very popular. In response to this situation, this study provides a basic descriptive analysis of Chibrazi, focusing on semantic manipulation in the production of the lexicon of the language thereby demonstrating that there is a new mixed language that is emerging within Mala?i s language profile. The research answers questions such as: Over the years, the language profile of Mala?i has transformed from a purist orientation to a hybrid orientation. Apart from the traditional ethnic languages of the country, there is a language practice or speech style that is generally characterised by the mixing of elements from different languages of the country as well as those from outside. This development has been influenced by language contact, a situation that occurs when speakers of different languages or speech varieties interact thereby bringing their respective languages into interaction as well; and ultimately, bringing about changes of different kinds to the linguistic landscape of the area involved. This study refers to this language practice or speech style as Chibrazi, the urban contact vernacular language of Mala?i and defines it as a communication tool in which meaning is encoded by inserting vocabulary drawn from a unique body of lexical items into the grammatical structures of the traditional ethnic languages of Mala?i. Although Chibrazi is widespread across the country, it remains conspicuously absent in scholarly literature as well as in national documents such as the constitution and the national language policy. It can thus be said that Chibrazi largely remains unknown, even though it is very popular. In response to this situation, this study provides a basic descriptive analysis of Chibrazi, focusing on semantic manipulation in the production of the lexicon of the language thereby demonstrating that there is a new mixed language that is emerging within Mala?i s language profile. The research answers questions such as: What is Chibrazi? What are the possible origins of Chibrazi? What are some of the examples of Chibrazi? What are the semantic manipulation strategies that are used in creating the lexicon of Chibrazi? Who speaks Chibrazi? What are some of the people s perceptions of Chibrazi? What are the characteristics that Chibrazi shares with other languages of similar nature? and How can Chibrazi be interpreted as a language phenomenon? The research was designed as a triangulated study that was both theoretical and empirical in nature and which employed both qualitative and quantitative methods of enquiry. The research utilised both linguistic and sociolinguistic data, which was analysed statistically and or thematically in line with the specific objectives of the research based on its nature. All in all, this study unravels some of the fundamental processes that are at the core of language development both at individual level and at societal level thereby demonstrating that contact languages are central to scholars understanding of language in general and language genesis in particular.