School of Science and Applied Technology

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Start date: 2020End date: 2024

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    Linguistic Stigmatisation in Discourses Towards Involuntary Childless Women in The Gĩkũyũ Community
    (Laikipia University, 2024-09) Gitu, Pamela Mukami
    Positioning women in a situation where womanhood is pegged to motherhood has resulted in stigma towards involuntary childless women. These women are viewed as outsiders in their communities and certain ideologies propagating their discrimination are spread. As much as men who are childless are stigmatised, women are expected to consider motherhood their most crucial life goal and are hence subjected to more stigma if they cannot deliver. Language has contributed significantly to stigmatizing and stereotyping the childless women and lowering their esteem. This study focused on the linguistic stigma that involuntary childless women in the Gĩkῦyῦ community encounter and the linguistic strategies that contribute to the stigmatisation of these women. The study also looked at attempts by the childless women to counter stigmatising discourse against them and redefine womanhood. Fairclough and Leeuwen's Critical Discourse Analysis theory (CDA) and Wodak’s and KhosraviNik's Discourse Historical Approach (DHA), a branch of CDA were applied. The ideas of Connell's Hegemonic Masculinity theory are also applied, particularly the concepts of gender and power. Purposive sampling was used to select twenty-four involuntary childless women and twelve men. Data were collected in Tetu sub-county of Nyeri County, Kenya in the villages of Kĩandu, Mathakwainĩ, Ndῦgamano, and Kĩgogoinĩ. The study employed focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews to collect the data which was audio recorded. The data were analysed using qualitative methods in the light of the theories identified. The study found that the Gĩkῦyῦ community follow deeply rooted gendered ideologies inscribed in men’s and women’s consciousness from birth. These ideologies impart a sense of self and identity that cuts across social and class divisions. As pronatalists, they hold common stereotypical ideologies which lead to viewing involuntary childless women as deficient and deviant. Based on these ideologies, language is used to stigmatise involuntary childless women through weaponised linguistic strategies and a host of topoi. The study also discovered that by giving voice to grief, some involuntary childless women redefined themselves and, in some cases, set themselves apart from other involuntary childless women by using the stereotypes applied to them. The findings of this study confirm the assertion of CDA-DHA that language use determines how people view themselves and the world around them. The involuntary childless women, for example, are referred to and view themselves in relation to their childlessness, though some are able to rebrand themselves. The findings of the study have advanced the application of CDA and Hegemonic Masculinity theory and demonstrated the power of language in constituting and contesting the reality.
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    A Cognitive Linguistic Approach To Analogies Of Marriage: The Case Of Dholuo In Kenya
    (Laikipia University, 2024-10) Ogal, George Ou
    Communication is influenced by the context in which language is used. Every language utilizes certain resources and experiences within a speaker’s surroundings to create meaning. Such language resources may lock out outsiders from comprehending certain language phenomena because they lack the background knowledge required to decode the expressions. Interpretation of analogy may pose challenges to certain language users whose experiences, cultural resources and thought processes are different from those of a speaker. Against this backdrop, this study sought to undertake a Cognitive Linguistic analysis of analogies of marriage in Dholuo to reveal how mental representations influence the conceptualization of marriage in Dholuo. The study was guided by the following objectives: to categorize analogies of marriage in Dholuo using contrasting mental models approach; to exposit the image schemas of analogies of marriage in Dholuo; to explicate how mental spaces account for the meaning of analogies of marriage in Dholuo and; to examine the sociolinguistic implications of analogies of marriage in Dholuo. The study employed the Conceptual Integration Theory (CIT) and the Image Schemas Theory (IST) to analyze Dholuo analogies of marriage. To achieve the objectives of the study, the research adopted a descriptive research design. The target population for the study were native Dholuo speakers of the Kisumu South Nyanza (KSN) dialect. Through an interview schedule, the study purposively sampled 40 respondents based on demographic variables of gender, age and marital status to identify analogous expressions of marriage in Dholuo. The study used four annotators including the researcher to identify and translate the 66 analogies from the data collected. The identified analogies were then presented in tables categorizing them into various contrasting mental models. The annotators then established the schematic patterns emerging from the collected items using the Image Schemas Theory. The analogies were then graphically analyzed using conceptual mappings, blending networks and mental spaces to account for their meaning using the CIT. The annotators then described the sociolinguistic implications of the analogies used to conceptualize marriage in Dholuo. The study found that Dholuo employs pictures of the world in the form of contrasting mental models to describe marriage as an abstract phenomenon. Additionally, the findings of the study indicate that embodied experiences of marriage in Dholuo manifest themselves through schematic patterns such as FORCE, CONTAINER, OBJECT and PATH. The study also found that mental spaces are crucial to the interpretation of analogies of marriage because they help in retrieving and mapping culture-specific experiences about marriage among the Luo community. Finally, analogous expressions used to describe marriage in Dholuo disclose general sociolinguistic implications which reveal the community’s general perception of the institution of marriage. The study concludes that analogy is conceptual in nature and should, therefore, be investigated using the Cognitive Linguistics paradigm to reveal novel meanings in specific contexts. The findings of this study have implications for analogy theorists and researchers operating within the Cognitive Linguistics framework which is a relatively fallow research area. Further, the study will be of help to Dholuo scholars in conceptualizing marriage and related abstract phenomena.
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    The Practice of Multiple Literacies And Communication Among Nandi County Residents, Kenya
    (Laikipia University, 2024-10) Kitur, Joseph Patrick
    Literacy as a social practice is basically not a universal construct in the sense that its specific manifestations and meanings vary across different cultures and contexts. The way literacy as a technology is used, valued, and transmitted differs significantly from one society to another. But as noted in its 2006 UNESCO Global Monitoring Report on “Literacy for Life”, it is limiting to promote a single universal literacy as there are different literacies and literacy practices. The term “Multiple literacies”, captures different literacies found in the linguistic, technological and cultural contexts in which literacy is practised. However, this development of the practice of multiple literacy remains largely under-investigated in Kenya, where multiple languages and literacies abound. Further still, multiple literacies as connected to power dynamics have hardly been investigated. As multiple literacies gain traction, there is need to give different strands of literacy practices more scholarly attention. This study set out to investigate multiple literacies under the following objectives: to explore ways in which Nandi County residents use multiple literacy practices in their everyday life; to assess power dynamics in the practice of multiple literacies and to examine the importance of multiple literacies in these people‟s lives. The study adopted a qualitative mixed method research design underpinned by Street‟s Model of literacy as a social practice, Lotman‟s Theory of Cultural Semiotics as well as Foucault‟s theory of Literacy power relations. The study used a purposive stratified sample of 36 respondents drawn from a mix of intercultural contexts in Nandi County. Data were generated using face to face interviews, observations, in-built audio and video recording, research diaries and documentations. The results of the study demonstrate significant ways in which residents in Nandi County use multiple literacies in their everyday lives ranging from literacies of farming, religion, sports, civic, business and education activities. In particular, the results reveal the use of digital (technology and media) literacy, visual (traditional and modern) literacy, cultural (artefacts) and textual literacy (reading and writing). These literacies were mediated through English, Kiswahili, Sheng and the mother tongue. Interfaced with these literacies are varied power dynamics and functional literacy roles. The results of the study are expected to benefit scholars in applied linguistics, policy makers and the general public.
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    Deixis In Kimeru Song and Dance Lyrics By Kamanu M’tuamwari And Karimi Bruno
    (Laikipia University, 2024-08) Kinya, M’rithara
    KamaNu and Karimi’s song and dance lyrics have become increasingly popular in social functions and entertainment circles in Meru County and beyond. This makes many people quite receptive to the music, yet there has not been any attempt to investigate and analyse their song and dance lyrics with regard to their deictic value. These song and dance lyrics are a recreation of a blend of traditional, religious and secular music infused with unique elements of person, spatial, temporal, and social deixis. The main focus of this study was to explore how the deictic properties of these compositions by KamaNu and Karimi unravel the thematic issues and their social significance under the guidance of the following objectives: first, to examine the types of deixis used in the Kimeru song and dance lyrics by KamaNu and Karimi, then secondly, establish themes expressed through deixis; thirdly, assess the deictic strategies of communicating information and finally evaluate the linguistic social significance of deixis used in these song and dance lyrics. The study adopted a descriptive qualitative research design underpinned by Cruse’s (2006) theory of deixis supported by Grice’s theory of Conversational Implicature and Van Dijk’s Ideological square framework within Socio-cognitive Approach (SCA). Two non-probability sampling techniques namely purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to generate a sample of sixteen fans of KamaNu and Karimi’s song and dance lyrics and twelve Kimeru song and dance lyrics, six for each artist. Data were generated using the following instruments: observation, semi-structured interviews, video recording, and note taking. The instruments were pilot tested before their actual use. Qualitative analysis of the data was undertaken. The study established that Kimeru song and dance lyrics employ deictic strategies which enhance the expression and interpretation of people’s ideas and thoughts, and in turn aid in perpetuating their culture and identity through shared preferences. The linguistic value of deixis is clearly delineated. The study is expected to serve as a valuable resource for future reference and provide a foundation for comparative studies to identify potential similarities and differences in the deictic nature of songs. Additionally, the study will make significant contributions to the fields of pragmatics and applied linguistics by enhancing the theoretical understanding of song texts as linguistic entities, distinct from the more literary perspective of musical orientation. It will also offer insights to policy makers as a means of preservation of cultural heritage through documentation for posterity.
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    A Cognitive Linguistic Approach To Analogies of Marriage: The Case of Dholuo in Kenya
    (Laikipia University, 2024-10) Ouma, Ogal George.
    Communication is influenced by the context in which language is used. Every language utilizes certain resources and experiences within a speaker’s surroundings to create meaning. Such language resources may lock out outsiders from comprehending certain language phenomena because they lack the background knowledge required to decode the expressions. Interpretation of analogy may pose challenges to certain language users whose experiences, cultural resources and thought processes are different from those of a speaker. Against this backdrop, this study sought to undertake a Cognitive Linguistic analysis of analogies of marriage in Dholuo to reveal how mental representations influence the conceptualization of marriage in Dholuo. The study was guided by the following objectives: to categorize analogies of marriage in Dholuo using contrasting mental models approach; to exposit the image schemas of analogies of marriage in Dholuo; to explicate how mental spaces account for the meaning of analogies of marriage in Dholuo and; to examine the sociolinguistic implications of analogies of marriage in Dholuo. The study employed the Conceptual Integration Theory (CIT) and the Image Schemas Theory (IST) to analyze Dholuo analogies of marriage. To achieve the objectives of the study, the research adopted a descriptive research design. The target population for the study were native Dholuo speakers of the Kisumu South Nyanza (KSN) dialect. Through an interview schedule, the study purposively sampled 40 respondents based on demographic variables of gender, age and marital status to identify analogous expressions of marriage in Dholuo. The study used four annotators including the researcher to identify and translate the 66 analogies from the data collected. The identified analogies were then presented in tables categorizing them into various contrasting mental models. The annotators then established the schematic patterns emerging from the collected items using the Image Schemas Theory. The analogies were then graphically analyzed using conceptual mappings, blending networks and mental spaces to account for their meaning using the CIT. The annotators then described the sociolinguistic implications of the analogies used to conceptualize marriage in Dholuo. The study found that Dholuo employs pictures of the world in the form of contrasting mental models to describe marriage as an abstract phenomenon. Additionally, the findings of the study indicate that embodied experiences of marriage in Dholuo manifest themselves through schematic patterns such as FORCE, CONTAINER, OBJECT and PATH. The study also found that mental spaces are crucial to the interpretation of analogies of marriage because they help in retrieving and mapping culture-specific experiences about marriage among the Luo community. Finally, analogous expressions used to describe marriage in Dholuo disclose general sociolinguistic implications which reveal the community’s general perception of the institution of marriage. The study concludes that analogy is conceptual in nature and should, therefore, be investigated using the Cognitive Linguistics paradigm to reveal novel meanings in specific contexts. The findings of this study have implications for analogy theorists and researchers operating within the Cognitive Linguistics framework which is a relatively fallow research area. Further, the study will be of help to Dholuo scholars in conceptualizing marriage and related abstract phenomena.