2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A Cultural Anthropological Study of KIDAWIDA: The Language of the Taita in Southeast Kenya. Part II
| Project/Area Number |
16520505
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Cultural anthropology/Folklore
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| Research Institution | Shobi University |
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Principal Investigator |
SAKAMOTO Kunihiko Shobi University, Faculty of Policy Studies, Professor, 総合政策学部, 教授 (20215643)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2006
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| Keywords | Africa / Taita / Bantu Language / Cultural Anthropology |
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| Research Abstract |
This study based on the social anthropological research in the Taita Hills that explores the linguistical and cultural diversities among the Taita. The language of the Taita can be divided into three groups : Kidawida, Kisaghala and Kikasighau. The major one of them called Kidawida is spoken mainly in the Taita Hills. It has the common characters of the Bantu languages: noun classes, prefix concordance, and etc. In this study, I'll analyze grammertical features of Kidawida in nouns, adjectives, numerals, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions. Nouns in Kidawida can be classified into eight classes. The structure of nouns and adjectives is similar to the Swahili language, although numerals in Kidawida are different from Swahili.
The first person to try and put the language of the Taita in writing was Wray, J.A. who was sent to Kenya by the Church Missionary Society in London. In 1894 he published An Elementary Introduction to the Taita Language. This book was written on a grammar of Kisaghala, because his first mission was established in the Teri valley of the Saghala Hills. More than one century has passed since he wrote this small book on Kisaghala, although a linguistic survey of Kidawida has not been studied yet.
In this study, from 2004 to 2006, I made a cultural anthropological analysis of Kidawida grammar. I believe socio-linguistical analysis is good for understanding their culture.
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Research Products
(6 results)
