Chapter in:
Grammatical and Sociolinguistic Aspects of Ethiopian LanguagesEdited by Derib Ado, Almaz Wasse Gelagay and Janne Bondi Johannessen †
[IMPACT: Studies in Language, Culture and Society 48] 2021
► pp. 65–90
Language contact and its effects on language use of the Gurage varieties of Muher
Awlachew Shumneka Nurga | Addis Ababa University
Social and linguistic contact between speakers of diverse
Gurage varieties, as well as the influence of the surrounding Cushitic languages,
has contributed to the establishment of widespread bi- or multilingualism. However,
the actual extent and effects of language contact in the Gurage Zone are not clearly
known. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to investigate language
contact and its effects on language use of Muher. The Muher community lives in the
north-western part of the Gurage Zonal administration of the Southern Nations,
Nationalities, and Peoples’ Regional State. Muher speakers are bilingual in
Amharic, the official working language of the country, and Ezha, one of neighboring
languages the Gurage varieties. A mixed research method is used for data collection.
The findings show that Muher is often used in the home and within the community, and
is highly influenced by the dominant official working language of the country,
Amharic, and the neighboring language, Ezha. It is very hard to find monolingual
speakers of Muher. Amharic is used in all official settings in Muher, such as in
schools, in court, in health centre’s and in administration. Muher children are
bilingual with Amharic prior to starting school. Elders tend to use their mother
tongues, while young people mix their mother tongue with the dominant language, or
tend to speak Amharic. Generational transformation of Muher is decreasing in urban
areas. In Wolkite and Hawariyat, most of the children have Amharic as their L1.
Keywords: language contact, language endangerment, language shift, language use, speech accommodation theory
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