Social Variables of Linguistic Variation in Ekegusii

Abstract

This paper examines two major social variables _age and gender_ in linguistic variation among the speakers of the Ekerogoro dialect of Ekegusii used in Rigena Location, Nyamira County. Ekegusii is a Bantu language used in the Nyamira and Kisii counties of Kenya. It consists of two dialects: Ekerogoro, the standard dialect and Ekemaate, which is only spoken in a section of Kisii County. Social variables play an important role in language change and variation in different speech communities. Through the existence of social variables, different social groups are able to create social identities that are peculiar to them and this can be reflected in the way they use language. These differences in how Ekegusii speakers use language bring about the aspect of variation. The study utilized a mixed method approach that combined qualitative and quantitative research methods that entailed ethnographic observations and interviews in the selected area of study. A sample size of 40 speakers was selected using both convenience stratified sampling and purposive sampling methods. The data was collected through tape recording and note taking. The study highlights a detailed explanation of the relationship between age and linguistic variation and also gender in linguistic variation. This relationship is observed through various linguistic and extra-linguistic aspects of language including phonological, morphological and lexical aspects. The study further demonstrates how speakers’ age group and gender contribute to linguistic variation by use of the Labovian Theory of linguistic variation as the tool of analysis. The study’s findings suggest that Ekegusii varies on the lexical, phonological and morphological levels and that the age of the speakers influenced language variation more than gender. It also highlights the different ways through which linguistic variation has affected language development. The study concludes that while gender does not affect the speaker’s innovative ability, the youthful speakers of Ekegusii on the other hand, are more innovative in their use of language as opposed to the older people who are more conservative which therefore underscores the effect of social variables on language change and variation.