LANGUAGE ATTRITION AND ITS IMPLICATION IN HAUSA KINSHIP TERMS

Abstract

This presentation provides a survey of the attrition of Hausa Kinship terms by the language users. The concept of language attrition is associated with language loss, language shift; language change and language death. Language attrition may refer to the loss of words or portions of words in a language by members of a speech community. It may also refer to the declining use of mother tongue skills by those caught in bilingual situations. In Hausa land with particular reference to Zaria Hausa (Zazzau) some lexical attrition takes place within the speech community not only among the elite. Using sociolinguistic methods of analysis, attempt was made to discuss the subject matter from a theoretical point of view. According to Gumperz and Wilson (1981), language attrition is used to explain borrowing, semantic extension, calques, increased use of certain structures due to influence of other languages. The study surveys how terms related to blood relatives’ category: (i) the parents, (ii) the grand-parents, (iii) the siblings, and (iv) the children; and the collateral relationship: (i) the uncles/aunts, (ii) the nephews/nieces, and (iii) the cousins are disused or decreased in use by Hausa people today and the adopted new terms from English, Arabic and other languages. Primary and secondary sources of data collection were used in carrying out the study. Sixty people, thirty participants aged 7-20 and another thirty participants aged 35-55, were interviewed comprising children of elite, and elite and non-elite parents. Data collected show that language attrition took place among Zaria Hausa speech community particularly among the elite and non-elite. The study contributes to the existing knowledge on how Hausa kinship terms are used by the speakers.