Student Number : 0311394E - MA research report - School of Literature and Language Studies - Faculty of Humanities / The present study on ‘Multilingualism and change on the Kinyarwanda sound system post-1994’ focuses on sociolinguistic approaches oriented to the effects of language contact to Kinyarwanda sound change. Many studies on various multilingual societies have been conducted, and most of them have focused on multilingualism and language policy, education and social integration in different multilingual societies. In particular, most studies conducted on the new linguistic configuration of Rwanda have focused on language attitudes in a multilingual context, but none of them has tackled the issue of multilingualism and sound change as a result of language contact. The main hypothesis expounded in this research is that Kinyarwanda sound variants that can be heard from current speech arise owing to Kinyarwanda speakers’ language background. In the light of the literature review on multilingualism and sound change, an extensive analysis of the most prominent linguistic variables of sound variation in Kinyarwanda was done, and its evaluation shows that there have been shifts in the sound system of Kinyarwanda post-1994. It has been shown that some sounds were modified or shifted to other sounds which exist in neighbouring languages because of contact. In addition to that, it has been argued that this sound variation has been possible mainly because Kinyarwanda came into contact with other languages which have different sound systems. It is hoped that this research will add a new dimension to studies of multilingualism within Bantu languages and will contribute to yielding a solution to the Rwandan language problem because of suggestions related to how the Kinyarwanda sound system can be standardized.

This thesis provides an analysis of Possessor Raising (PR) in a minimalist framework. I examine four languages that exhibit PR, namely Japanese, Korean, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili. I propose that cross-linguistic variation of PR in these languages is captured by the single notion of Multiple Feature-Checking (MFC). In addition to cross-linguistic variation of surface syntax of PR, this thesis also examines a universal feature of PR, namely the relational noun restriction. PR raises an interesting problem with the mapping relation between an argument DP and its grammatical function (GF). A DP is normally associated with a unique GF (i.e., a one-to-one mapping relation), but in some cases such as passive, a DP may be associated with more than one GF, being both an underlying object and a surface subject (i.e., a one-to-many). PR also poses another type of mapping relation, namely a many-to-one relation; under PR, a possessor DP may also bear the GF of its host. In order to capture such a many-to-one relation between a DP and its GF in PR, I propose that this is an example of MFC, which is defined as follows: (i) MFC is possible only if a Formal Feature (FF) of a head (T and v) can escape deletion. (ii) MFC applies to both strong and weak FFs. In contrast to the original formulation of MFC (cf. Chomsky 1995b), which always involves overt movement of DPs and derives multiple specifiers, I argue that MFC also takes place at LF, which involves covert movement of FFs and derives multiple adjuncts of feature bundles onto a head. Given the evidence against overt movement of the subject and object in Japanese and Korean, I argue that PR in these languages is best analyzed in terms of covert MFC. I also provide an overt MFC analysis for Kinyarwanda and Swahili PR. Lastly, I discuss the relational noun restriction on PR, which holds of all PR languages. I propose that this restriction is reducible to the structural position of the possessor of a relational noun, namely its position as complement to the noun.

"A syntactic Analysis of Kinyarwanda applicatives" is a study of the syntax of Kinyarwanda which focuses on applicatives. Applicatives are constructions in which the object of a preposition becomes the direct object of the verb through a grammatical function changing process. In such constructions, the verb bears a morpheme referred to as the applicative morpheme which turns an intransitive verb into a transitive verb and a transitive verb into a ditransitive verb. The derived object may perform various thematic functions, including those of instrument, beneficiary, goal, manner, reason, purpose and motive. The study provides a thorough description of different types of ditransitive applicatives in Kinyarwanda by examining the syntactic properties exhibited by both objects. In general Kinyarwanda may be classified as a 'symmetrical' language in which more than one object can exhibit direct object properties. This is true for instrumental, benefactive and manner applicatives. However, some applicatives in Kinyarwanda such as the locative applicatives are 'asymmetrical' in that only one object exhibits all the direct object properties. In my research I analyse Kinyarwanda applicatives within the framework of Principles-and-Parameters (Chomsky 1981, 1986a, b and subsequent work), more specifically the Government and Binding theory (Chomsky 1981). I base the discussion on three analyses that have been proposed in the literature of applicatives: Baker's (1988) preposition incorporation theory, Larson's (1988) double object construction analysis and Nakamura's (1997) account of object extraction in applicative constructions, which is based on Chomsky's (1995) Minimalist Program. The study shows that the above analyses account for some aspects of applicatives, but that there are certain facts that are not accounted for, which require a different analysis. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

This thesis provides an analysis of Possessor Raising (PR) in a minimalist framework. I examine four languages that exhibit PR, namely Japanese, Korean, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili. I propose that cross-linguistic variation of PR in these languages is captured by the single notion of Multiple Feature-Checking (MFC). In addition to cross-linguistic variation of surface syntax of PR, this thesis also examines a universal feature of PR, namely the relational noun restriction. PR raises an interesting problem with the mapping relation between an argument DP and its grammatical function (GF). A DP is normally associated with a unique GF (i.e., a one-to-one mapping relation), but in some cases such as passive, a DP may be associated with more than one GF, being both an underlying object and a surface subject (i.e., a one-to-many). PR also poses another type of mapping relation, namely a many-to-one relation; under PR, a possessor DP may also bear the GF of its host. In order to capture such a many-to-one relation between a DP and its GF in PR, I propose that this is an example of MFC, which is defined as follows: (i) MFC is possible only if a Formal Feature (FF) of a head (T and v) can escape deletion. (ii) MFC applies to both strong and weak FFs. In contrast to the original formulation of MFC (cf. Chomsky 1995b), which always involves overt movement of DPs and derives multiple specifiers, I argue that MFC also takes place at LF, which involves covert movement of FFs and derives multiple adjuncts of feature bundles onto a head. Given the evidence against overt movement of the subject and object in Japanese and Korean, I argue that PR in these languages is best analyzed in terms of covert MFC. I also provide an overt MFC analysis for Kinyarwanda and Swahili PR. Lastly, I discuss the relational noun restriction on PR, which holds of all PR languages. I propose that this restriction is reducible to the structural position of the possessor of a relational noun, namely its position as complement to the noun. / Arts, Faculty of / Linguistics, Department of / Graduate

Doctor Educationis / The language of instruction plays a determining role in students’ academic performance. This suggests that students should be taught in a language they are familiar with in order to enhance understanding of the content subjects. In Rwanda, almost all Rwandans communicate and interact in Kinyarwanda, their mother tongue. It is, thus, expected that Rwandan children should be instructed in this home language. However, the status of English as a global language has also found echo in Rwanda, and this foreign language was adopted as medium of instruction from Primary 4 onwards. This thesis, therefore, aims to determine what role English as a medium plays in delivering quality education in Rwanda. To respond to the above question, the researcher investigated three secondary Third Form schools in the rural Gisagara District of the Southern Province. She wanted to explore the teaching and learning strategies deployed in the English language classrooms and the learning materials and infrastructure available at the schools. The focus was on English language classes as these were the spaces in which Rwandan children were explicitly exposed to English and where their proficiency in the language was developed. However, the researcher also needed to find out the effect that English had on the students’ academic performance, the correlation between their results in English and their results in content subjects, and the students’ and teachers’ perceptions of English as language of instruction. It is in this vein that a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches was used and various data collection techniques employed to obtain enriched data. Classroom observations and interviews with students and their English teachers were conducted. A questionnaire was also distributed to the students and their results in English and in content subjects were analysed to supplement the data generated by other methods. This study was guided by sociocultural theories of second language learning according to which language is a mediating tool that helps to adjust relationships between people that live in the same community. Language is, hence, a necessary artifact that is worth acquiring. For language learning to take place, learners need to interact with more knowledgeable people. In the classroom, it is the teacher who has to mediate this learning, assuming that he/she is more knowledgeable than the students. Classroom peer interactions in the target language also provide room wherein brighter students may assist their struggling classmates. Language across the curriculum approach and content-based instruction also inspired this study. These approaches suggest that language should be taught in context and especially through the content related to the students’ fields of study. The research findings indicate that the students were not proficient in English, the language of instruction, which hindered their school achievement. In addition, no correlation could be established between the students’ results in English and their results in content subjects. Indeed, despite the students’ poor performance in English they did better in this language than in the content subjects. Furthermore, not all students who fared well in English succeeded in the content subjects, and some students scored good marks in the content subjects whilst they failed in English. The findings also show that the teaching and learning strategies used in the language classrooms, as well as the learning materials and infrastructure at the schools, did not promote English acquisition. Ironically, despite English being a hindrance to the learning of other subjects, both the students and their teachers affirmed that they preferred that this language remain as medium of instruction. They believed that being competent in English could offer them more life opportunities than any other language.

Text in English / The study examines the social motivations that prompt the Rwandan bilingual speakers to code-switch from Kinyarwanda to English, French or Kiswahili in their casual conversations about real-life situations. Methodological techniques used for data collection are ethnographic non-participant observation, oral interviews, focus group discussions and shorthand notes techniques. Examples were examined and interpreted within Myers-Scotton’s Markedness Model as the main theoretical framework for the study. The research findings align with Myers-Scotton’s categories such as the sequential unmarked choice, code-switching itself as the unmarked choice, the marked choice and the exploratory choice respectively. The main social factors that influence code-switching among the Rwandan bilingual speakers were identified as signalling educated status, expressing different social identities, demonstrating measures of power, authority and prestige, narrowing or widening social distance, and maintaining relationships. These results support the hypothesis that code-switching is a strategy to maximise social benefits from the interlocutors in conversation. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Sociolinguistics)

This study aims to interrogate the representations of forgiveness in post genocide Rwandan fiction. The novels analysed are Inyenzi: A story of Love and Genocide (2007), Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust (2006) and God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation (2009). Inyenzi: A story of Love and Genocide represents romantic love as the possible beginning of reconciliation between the Tutsi and the Hutus after and the devastations of the genocide. Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust reveals that the individualistic portrayal of forgiveness is important to create communication between antagonistic ethnic groups. God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation demonstrates that forgiveness and reconciliation have the possibilities of being attainable on a national level through political reforms. The narratives succeed in portraying the representations of forgiveness but due to the subjectivities of the authors, the historicity of the genocide is undermined thereby compromising the foundations for forgiveness. This study suggests that future research on post genocide Rwandan could analyse creative works on forgiveness but focussing on the issue of restorative justice / English Studies / M. A. (English Studies)