Pragmatic markers in L1 Luganda-L2 English bilingual spoken discourse : a relevance-theoretic approach

Date
2018-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this dissertation, I examine the manifestation of Luganda and English pragmatic markers as embedded elements, and analyse the procedural roles they play in facilitating interaction in bilingual spoken discourse. Pragmatic markers (PMs) are procedural expressions such as so, but, and kubanga (because), which facilitate interaction by guiding the hearer towards an interpretation intended by the speaker. Spoken interactions involving bilingual speakers of L1 Luganda and L2 English are characterised by spontaneous code-switching, in which certain Luganda PMs are used in English utterances as though they were native PMs, and vice versa. By focusing on the English PM so and the Luganda PM kubanga as code-switched PMs in Luganda and English respectively, the study aims to analyse their manifestation as single PM occurrences and as PMs occurring in monolingual and bilingual combinations. The study examines the contextual, operational and domain status of PMs as embedded elements, assesses their procedural roles in facilitating interaction within their contexts, and establishes whether the procedural roles they play as embedded elements in bilingual discourse are similar to, or different from, the roles they would play in related monolingual contexts. The analysed PMs are extracted from a Luganda-English bilingual spoken corpus of 192 000 words. The corpus was obtained from verbatim transcriptions of 23 hours of audio recordings of interviews and discussions with 41 adult L1 Luganda-L2 English bilingual speakers. The analysis is theoretically informed by two approaches. The first is Blakemore’s (1987, 2002) Relevance-theoretic (RT) notion of procedural encoding, which assumes that PMs constrain the implicatures of the utterances they introduce by guiding the hearer to the relevant contextual assumptions, thereby reducing their processing effort. The second approach is Myers-Scotton’s (1993a, 2002) Matrix Language Frame (MLF) model, which explains the structural configurations of embedded PMs within bilingual clauses. The findings show that, as expected, the Luganda and the English PM systems are in contact. During bilingual communication situations, bilingual speakers take advantage of the availability of the extra resources and they employ PMs from both systems. To enhance communication, speakers select PMs which they judge to be more relevant in encoding certain procedural relations from either language. So and kubanga are examples of such PMs. As embedded PMs, so and kubanga operate predominantly as code-switches, which occur singly and in monolingual and bilingual PM combinations. Coexistence of Luganda and English PMs is evidenced in functional overlaps in which more than one procedurally identical PM from Luganda and English co-occur in the same environment and in literal translation where PMs in functional competition are partially or completely translated. So and kubanga are multifunctional PMs and they operate on different planes and domains to signal context-dependent procedural information. In general, the procedural roles they encode as embedded elements are not significantly different from the roles they play in similar contexts in monolingual discourse. To achieve more universal conclusions about the nature, manifestation and procedural underpinnings of the contested aspects related to PMs, the study recommends a comprehensive analysis based on multi-modal and cross-linguistic data, as well as integrative synchronic and diachronic approaches to the analysis of PMs.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie proefskrif, ondersoek ek die manifestasie van, en die prosedurele rolle gespeel deur, pragmatiese merkers in Luganda en Engels in die fasilitering van interaksie in tweetalige gesproke diskoers. Pragmatiese merkers (PM’s) is prosedurele uitdrukkings soos so, but (maar) en kubanga (omdat), wat interaksie fasiliteer deur die luisteraar na die spreker se beoogde interpretasie te lei. Gesproke interaksie tussed tweetalige sprekers van L1 Luganda en L2 Engels word gekenmerk deur spontane kodewisseling, waarin sekere Lugandese PM’s in Engelse uitsprake gebruik word asof hulle inheemse PM’s is, en omgekeerd. Deur te fokus op die Engelse PM so en die Lugandese PM kubanga (omdat) wat kodewisseling ondergaan het as PM’s in Luganda en Engels, onderskeidelik, beoog die studie om hul manifestasie as enkel-PM-gebeurtenisse en as PM’s wat in eentalige en tweetalige kombinasies voorkom, te analiseer. Die studie ondersoek die kontekstuele, operasionele en domein-status van PM’s as ingebedde elemente, assesseer hul prosedurele rolle in die fasilitering van interaksie binne hul kontekste, en bepaal of die prosedurele rolle wat hulle as ingebedde elemente in tweetalige diskoers speel, soortgelyk is aan of verskil van die rolle wat hulle sou speel in verwante eentalige kontekste. Die geanaliseerde PM’s is onttrek uit 'n Lugandese-Engelse tweetalige gesproke korpus van 192 000 woorde. Hierdie korpus is verkry van 23 ure van onderhoud- en gespreksklankopnames, woordelik getranskribeer, met 41 volwasse L1-Luganda L2-Engels tweetalige sprekers. Die analise word teoreties ingelig deur twee benaderings. Eerstens, Blakemore (1987, 2002) se Relevansie-teoretiese (RT) begrip van prosedurele-kodering, wat veronderstel dat PM’s die implikasies van die uitsprake wat hulle inlei, beperk, deur die luisteraar na die relevante kontekstuele aannames te lei en sodoende hul prosesseringsmoeite te verminder, en tweedens, Myers-Scotton (1993a, 2002) se Matrikstaalraam (MLF) model, wat die strukturele konfigurasies van ingebedde PM’s in die tweetalige sinsdele verduidelik. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat, soos verwag, die Lugandese en die Engelse PM sisteme in kontak is. Tydens tweetalige kommunikasie-situasies trek tweetalige sprekers voordeel uit die beskikbaarheid van ekstra hulpbronne en gebruik PM’s van beide sisteme. Om kommunikasie te versterk, kies sprekers daardie PM’s wat hulle as meer relevant beoordeel vir die kodering van sekere prosedurele verhoudings van albei tale. So en kubanga is voorbeelde van sulke PM’s. As ingebedde PM’s kom so en kubanga dikwels as enkel-ingebedde elemente en in medevoorkoms in eentalige en tweetalige pare en klusters voor. Daar was gevalle van funksionele oorvleueling waarin meer as een prosedureel-identiese PM in dieselfde omgewing gebruik is, 'n aanduiding dat die Lugandese en Engelse PM sisteme saambestaan. So en kubanga is multifunksionele PM’s met die vermoë om op verskillende vlakke en in verskillende domeine te funksioneer om konteks-afhanklike inligting aan te dui. Die prosedurele rolle wat hulle as ingebedde elemente enkodeer, verskil nie betekenisvol van die rolle wat hulle in soortgelyke kontekste in eentalige diskoers speel nie. Ten einde meer universele gevolgtrekkings oor die aard, manifestasie en prosedurele-onderbou van die betwiste aspekte van PM’s te bereik, beveel die studie 'n omvattende analise aan, gebaseer op multi-modale en kruis-linguistiese data, asook integrerende sinchroniese en diachroniese benaderings tot die analise van PM’s.
BUGANDA ABSTRACT: Ekiwakano kino kyekenneenya emigaso gy’obugambo obutono, okugeza nga kubanga, naye, noolwekyo, n’engeri gyebukozesebwa mu mboozi enyumizibwa nga ya nnannimibbiri (codeswitched conversations). Emboozi za nnannimibbiri nga zinyumizibwa mu Luganda n’Olungereza zooleka nti waliwo obugambo bw’omu Luganda obukozesebwa mu Lungereza nga gyoli nti bwa Lungereza. Mu ngeri y’emu, waliwo n’obugambo bw’Olungereza obukozesebwa mu Luganda ng’oyinza okulowooza nti bwa Luganda. Nga nneeyambisa akagambo k’Olungereza ka so (noolwekyo) n’ak’Oluganda ka kubanga ng’eby’okulabirako, neekaliriza engeri obugambo obwo gy’ebulabisibwa mu mboozi nga bwannamunigina (single occurrences) oba nga bwannabansansasaana (co-occurrences) n’amakulu ge bukongojja mu mboozi mwebuba bukozeseddwa. Ngezaako okuzuula enkozesa, ennambika n’emigaso gyabwo mu mboozi ng’obugambo obugwira (embedded language elements) era n’okuzuula oba emigaso gyabwo egy’obugwira gyawukana kwegyo gyebukola singa buba bukozeseddwa mu mbeera y’emu mu nnimi mwe busibuka. Obugambo obubiri okwesigazimiddwa ekiwakano kino bunokoddwa mu mboozi ezaakwatibwa ku katambi nga zaali zinyumizibwa abantu abakulu amakumi ana mu omu nga boogera kyere mu nnimi bbiri: Oluganda n’Olungereza. Emboozi zonna awamu zaali za ssaawa 23. Ebyogero ebikwate ku ntambi n’ebikolwa ebigenderako byawandiikibwa nebivaamu ebigambo 192000. Ennyinyonnyola n’ennambika y’ensonga ku nkozesa y’obugambo buno yeesigamiziddwa ku zimu ku nsonga omunoonyereza Blakemore (1987, 2002) z’alambika mu mirimu gye, waalagira nti wadde amakulu g’obugambo buno si ga nkalakkalira era nga tegakwatwako, obugambo buno bwa mugaso nnyo mu kubbulula amakulu mu mboozi kuba busongera omuwuliriza ku ngeri gyateekwa okutaputa ekyo ekiba kyogeddwa mu mboozi eyungiddwa n’obugambo buno. Kino ne kiyamba mu kukekkereza ku maanyi omuntu geyandimaze ng’ataputa emboozi, bwogeraageranya n’emboozi obugambo buno mwebuba tebukozeseddwa. Ensonga ezikwata ku kuzuula obugwira bw’obugambo, enneetobeka yaabwo mu mboozi, engeri gy’ebwegatta mu ngeri ya nnabansasaana n’engeri gye bweyungamu mu mboozi nga tebumenye mateeka gagobererwa nnimi zombi, byo byesigamiziddwa mu kunoonyereza kwa Myers-Scotton (1993a, 2002). Okunoonyereza kukakasizza ekibadde kisuubirwa nti obugambo bw’Oluganda n’Olungereza bukozesebwa wamu kintabuli n’ekigendererwa eky’okutumbula amakulu g’emboozi. Obugambo so ne kubanga butobekebwa nga bwa nnamunigina (single switches) oba nga bwa nnabansasaana (co-occurrences) era mu mboozi ezimu. Tulaba obugambo obusoba mu kamu okuva mu nnimi zombi, Oluganda n’Olungereza, nga bukozesebwa wamu mu mboozi kyokka nga bwombi bukongojja amakulu ge gamu. Mu mboozi endala, obugambo obumu bukozesebwa nga buvvuunuuliddwa. Kino kyongera okulaga nti ennimi zino ziwolaղղana era nga waliwo n’obugambo obweyisa ng’obuvuganya ne bunnaabwo. So ne kubanga bukongojja amakulu ga njawulo nga gasinziira ku mboozi mwebuba bulabikidde era ku mitendera egy’enjawulo (planes and domains). Okutwaliza awamu, amakulu obugambo gebukongojja nga bukozesebwa ng’obugwira mu mboozi tegaawukana kiri awo na makulu gebukongojja singa buba bukozeseddwa nga si bugwira mu mboozi ezeefaanaanyirizaako. Olwokuba nti waliwo okukubagana empawa ku nsonga ez’enjawulo ku bugambo buno, okunoonyereza kukyetaagisa okukolebwa okulaba ng’ensonga zino zimulungulwa. Okusobola okutuuka ku kinyusi ku nkola y’obugambo buno mu nnimi ez’enjawulo, kyetaagisa okunoonyereza nga kwesigamiziddwa ku byogero ebikwate nga bingi ate nga bya bika bya njawulo; okweyambisa ebyokulabirako okuva mu nnimi ez’ebika eby’enjawulo, okusoma enkola y’obugambo buno nga bweri kaakano (synchronic approach) wamu n’okubusoma mu ng’eri ya kannabyafaayo (diachronic approach).
Description
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2018.
Keywords
Pragmatic markers, Code switching (linguistics), Language and languages -- Foreign words and phrases, Language and languages -- Glossaries, vocabularies, etc., Language and languages -- Accents and accentuation, UCTD
Citation