The study was aimed at investigating challenges hampering mother-tongue education with special reference to Afan Oromo in the Eastern Hararge Zone, the Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The study mainly explored the available learning materials and the skilled teachers in mother-tongue education, attitudinal factors, the extent of stakeholders’ support for mother-tongue education, parents’ education and their awareness about education through mother tongue and parent school involvements. In the study, the researcher used a mixed method approach in which both quantitative and qualitative research designs were employed to corroborate the data obtained through one method by using other methods to minimise limitations observed in a single design. In the quantitative design, survey questionnaires were employed. Accordingly, 634 primary school teachers and 134 students were randomly selected and asked to fill the questionnaires. These quantitative data were analysed through the SPSS software and responses were analysed using the percentages and the chi-square. Qualitative data obtained through in-depth interviews and observations were analysed using thematic approaches. Documents on education policy, constitutions of the country and reports of the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia were also consulted and integrated with the analyses of the data. The study generally suggests unless strong political and administrative supports are given and public awareness about the mother tongue use in education and development is created, the effort to make Afan Oromo the language of education, intellectuals and development may remain fruitless. In this respect, all the stakeholders, intellectuals and leaders must work together to overcome challenges and dilemmas that impede the implementation of mother-tongue education. The practical works on the ground should match with the language policy of the country. Popular awareness raising activities and mobilization of the communities should be carried out carefully to involve all the communities / African Languages

This study investigates the role of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) in the development of the Oromo language. The main aim of the study is to provide an account of the contribution of this particular church to the maintenance and development of Oromo, which is spoken by the largest speech community in Ethiopia. The study draws on theoretical and methodological frameworks from the field of language planning and development. The main source of data was interviews and focus group discussions conducted with church leaders at different organisational levels and other members of the church community. In addition, documents found in the church archives were analysed. The findings indicate that a number of church activities have contributed to the maintenance and development of the language. These activities include translation and transliteration work of the Bible and other religious literature, literacy and educational programmes, media work as well as use of Oromo in the liturgy and church services. This study also examined the obstacles that hindered the development of Oromo. The main obstacle was the conflict within the EECMY that arose in 1995 over the use of the language. The study unearths the roots of the controversy through a brief historical examination of the church’s attempts to develop the language, despite opposition from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and earlier regimes, which proscribed the use of the vernacular languages in Ethiopia. Thereafter it focuses on the internal conflict after the change to a democratic government when the situation in Ethiopia became more favourable towards use of vernacular languages. It identifies the causes of the conflict, the way in which it was resolved and the effects which it had on the development of the language. Recommendations are made for further research and some suggestions are given regarding ways to promote the future development of the Oromo language. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics)

The study was aimed at investigating challenges hampering mother-tongue education with special reference to Afan Oromo in the Eastern Hararge Zone, the Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. The study mainly explored the available learning materials and the skilled teachers in mother-tongue education, attitudinal factors, the extent of stakeholders’ support for mother-tongue education, parents’ education and their awareness about education through mother tongue and parent school involvements. In the study, the researcher used a mixed method approach in which both quantitative and qualitative research designs were employed to corroborate the data obtained through one method by using other methods to minimise limitations observed in a single design. In the quantitative design, survey questionnaires were employed. Accordingly, 634 primary school teachers and 134 students were randomly selected and asked to fill the questionnaires. These quantitative data were analysed through the SPSS software and responses were analysed using the percentages and the chi-square. Qualitative data obtained through in-depth interviews and observations were analysed using thematic approaches. Documents on education policy, constitutions of the country and reports of the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia were also consulted and integrated with the analyses of the data. The study generally suggests unless strong political and administrative supports are given and public awareness about the mother tongue use in education and development is created, the effort to make Afan Oromo the language of education, intellectuals and development may remain fruitless. In this respect, all the stakeholders, intellectuals and leaders must work together to overcome challenges and dilemmas that impede the implementation of mother-tongue education. The practical works on the ground should match with the language policy of the country. Popular awareness raising activities and mobilization of the communities should be carried out carefully to involve all the communities / African Languages

Cette thèse porte sur l’influence interlinguistique au cours du processus d’acquisition de l’espagnol comme langue tierce (L3) chez des enfants bilingues français/basque. Plus précisément, nous nous intéressons à l’accord en genre dans le syntagme déterminant et à la formation de composés nominaux (N+N et déverbaux). Le français et l’espagnol partagent les mêmes caractéristiques concernant les deux phénomènes puisqu’ils possèdent chacun deux genres grammaticaux (masculin et féminin) et qu’ils forment leurs composés avec la tête à gauche. Par contre, en basque, il n’y a pas de genre grammatical et les composés se forment avec la tête à droite. Cette configuration des langues, ainsi que les différents profils de nos participants, nous permettent d’explorer l’influence interlinguistique dès les étapes initiales d’acquisition de l’espagnol L3 à travers l’étude des facteurs les plus courants dans le domaine de l’acquisition de L3, tels que la typologie, l’usage et l’ordre d’acquisition des deux premières langues. Dans l’ensemble, une influence du français (typologiquement et structurellement plus proche de l’espagnol) pourrait avoir un effet facilitateur, tandis que le basque aurait un effet inhibiteur. Pour explorer ces possibilités d’influence, nous avons administré un test de description d’image écrite pour obtenir 1) des syntagmes formés par un déterminant, un nom et un adjectif de couleur (par exemple, « la casa roja », c’est-à-dire, « la maison rouge »); 2) des composés N+N (par exemple, « hombre rana », c’est-à-dire, « homme-grenouille »); et 3) des déverbaux (par exemple, « abrebotellas », c’est-à-dire, « ouvre-bouteille ») à 52 enfants bilingues (français/basque, âge : 10-11 ans) qui apprenaient l’espagnol comme L3 et à un groupe témoin de 21 locuteurs natifs d’espagnol du même âge. Les participants de L3 ont été divisés en trois groupes, selon leur langue dominante : L1 basque, L1 français et 2L1 basque/français. À partir des données collectées, nous avons analysé le niveau de maitrise des structures cibles en fonction des facteurs les plus couramment étudiés en acquisition de L2. Concernant le genre grammatical, nous considérons le genre par défaut, le type d’accord (déterminant ou adjectif), la transparence de la terminaison (-a / -o) et le critère analogique. En ce qui a trait aux composés, nous nous intéressons à la directionnalité (tête initiale ou finale) et la productivité des deux types de composés. Plus spécifiquement pour les composés déverbaux, nous étudions également leurs caractéristiques formelles (flexion verbale et -s générique). Conformément aux résultats de recherches antérieures sur le genre grammatical en espagnol, le taux d’erreur le plus élevé se produit avec le féminin, ce qui indique une stratégie consistant à utiliser le masculin comme genre par défaut. Nous avons également constaté que l’effet de la transparence de la terminaison était plus important chez les locuteurs ayant le basque comme langue dominante, qui ont acquis le français dans un contexte formel et qui ne l’utilisent pas quotidiennement à la maison. En revanche, le critère analogique semble avoir un impact plus important sur les locuteurs qui ont acquis le français à la maison et qui l’utilisent quotidiennement. Concernant les composés, compte tenu des pourcentages élevés de composés avec la bonne directionnalité, nos résultats suggèrent un effet facilitateur du français pour tous les participants, quel que soit l’âge ou l’ordre d’acquisition de leur L1/L2. En général, le français, la langue la plus proche, semble exercer une influence plus directe sur le processus d’acquisition de l’espagnol L3, mais le basque semble avoir une certaine influence sur les stratégies métalinguistiques mobilisées par nos participants. / This study focuses on the issue of cross-linguistic influence (CLI) throughout the acquisition process of Spanish as an L3 by bilingual French/Basque children. Specifically, we are interested in gender concord within the Determiner Phrase (DP) and the formation of nominal compounds (N + N and deverbals). French and Spanish share the same characteristics regarding the two phenomena, as they display two grammatical genders (masculine and feminine), and compounds are head-initial. Conversely, there is no grammatical gender in Basque and compounds are head-final. This configuration of languages, together with the different profiles of our bilingual participants, allows us to explore cross-linguistic influence from the initial stages of acquisition of L3 Spanish through the most common factors in the field of L3 acquisition, namely typology, use and order of acquisition of the first two languages. Overall, an influence of French (typologically and structurally closer) would have a facilitating effect, while Basque would have an inhibitory one. In order to explore these possibilities of influence, we administered a written image description task to elicit 1) phrases made up of a determinant, a noun and a color adjective (e.g., “una casa roja”, “a red house”), 2) N + N compounds (e.g., “hombre rana”, “frogman”) and 3) deverbal compounds (e.g., “abrebotellas”, “bottle opener”) to 52 bilingual children (French/Basque, age: 10–11 years) learning Spanish as an L3, and to a control group of 21 native speakers of Spanish of the same age. The L3 participants were divided into three groups, based on their dominant language: L1 Basque, L1 French, and 2L1 Basque/French. From the data collected, we analyzed the level of accuracy for the target structures in relation to the most commonly studied factors in L2 acquisition. Regarding grammatical gender, we considered the transparency of the ending (-a/-o), the default gender and the analogical criterion. Concerning the compounds, we studied directionality (head-initial vs. head-final) and the productivity of both types of compound. As for the deverbals, we also studied their formal characteristics (verbal inflection and generic -s). In line with the results of previous research on Spanish grammatical gender, the highest error rates occur with feminine, which points to a strategy of using masculine as the default gender. We also found that the effect of the transparency of the ending was greater with Basque-dominant speakers, who acquired French later in a formal context and do not use it at home on a daily basis. In contrast, the analogical criterion seems to be favoured by speakers who acquired French at home and use it every day. As for the compounds, given the high percentages of compounds with the correct directionality, our results suggest a facilitating effect of French for all participants, regardless of age or order of acquisition of their L1/L2. In general, French, the closer language, seems to exert a more direct influence on the process of acquisition of L3 Spanish, but Basque seems to have some influence in terms of the metalinguistic strategies used by our participants. / La presente investigación se centra en la influencia interlingüística a lo largo del proceso de adquisición del español como L3 por parte de niños bilingües francés/euskera. Concretamente, nos interesamos por la concordancia de género dentro del sintagma determinante y la formación de compuestos nominales (N+N y deverbales). El francés y el español comparten las mismas características en cuanto a los dos fenómenos, al tener dos géneros gramaticales (masculino y femenino) y formar sus compuestos con el núcleo a la izquierda. En cambio, en euskera no hay género gramatical y los compuestos se forman con el núcleo a la derecha. Esta configuración de lenguas, junto con los diferentes perfiles de nuestros participantes bilingües, nos permiten explorar la influencia interlingüística desde las etapas iniciales de adquisición del español L3 a través de los factores más comunes en el campo de la adquisición de L3, como la tipología, el uso y el orden de adquisición de las dos primeras lenguas. De manera global, una influencia del francés (tipológica y estructuralmente más cercana y también la L2 de algunos participantes) podría tener un efecto facilitador, mientras que el euskera tendría un efecto inhibidor. Para explorar esas posibilidades de influencia, administramos una prueba escrita de descripción de imágenes para elicitar 1) sintagmas formados por un determinante, un sustantivo y un adjetivo de color (p. ej., “la casa roja”), 2) compuestos N+N (p. ej., “hombre rana”) y 3) deverbales (p. ej., “abrebotellas”) a 52 niños bilingües (francés-euskera, edad: 10-11 años) que aprendían español como L3 y a un grupo de control de 21 hablantes nativos de español de la misma edad. Los participantes de L3 fueron divididos en tres grupos, según su lengua dominante: L1 euskera, L1 francés, y 2L1 euskera/francés. A partir de los datos recogidos, analizamos el nivel de dominio de las estructuras metas en función de los factores más comúnmente estudiados en adquisición de L2. En cuanto al género gramatical, consideramos el género por defecto, el tipo de concordancia, la transparencia de la terminación (-a/-o) y el criterio analógico. Con respecto a los compuestos, estudiamos la direccionalidad (núcleo inicial vs. final) y la productividad de ambos tipos de compuesto. En cuanto los deverbales, estudiamos además sus características formales (flexión verbal y -s genérica). En línea con los resultados de investigaciones anteriores sobre el género gramatical en español, la tasa de error más alta ocurre con el femenino, lo cual apunta a una estrategia de uso del masculino como género por defecto. También encontramos que el efecto de la transparencia de la terminación era mayor con los hablantes que adquirieron el francés en un contexto formal y que no lo usan en casa de manera cotidiana. En cambio, el criterio analógico parece tener un impacto mayor en los hablantes que adquirieron el francés en casa y que lo usan todos los días. En cuanto a los compuestos, dados los altos porcentajes de producción de compuestos con la direccionalidad correcta, nuestros resultados sugieren un efecto facilitador del francés para todos los participantes, independientemente de la edad o del orden de adquisición de sus L1/L2. De manera general, el francés, la lengua más cercana, parece ejercer una influencia más directa en el proceso de adquisición del español L3, pero el euskera parece tener cierta influencia en las estrategias metalingüísticas movilizadas por nuestros participantes. / Tesi hau frantses / euskaldun elebidunek gaztelania hirugarren hizkuntza gisa (H3) ikasterakoan gertazen den hizkuntza arteko eraginari buruzkoa da. Zehazkiago, generoarekiko komunztadura aztertzen dugu determinatzaile sintagman eta hitz elkartuetan (izen + izen eta aditz elkartuak). Frantsesak eta gaztelaniak ezaugarri berdinak dituzte bi fenomenoei dagokienez, bakoitzak bi genero gramatikal (maskulinoa eta femeninoa) baitituzte eta hitz elkartuek burua ezkerrean dute. Bestalde, euskaraz ez dago genero gramatikalik eta hitz elkartuek burua eskuinean dute. Hizkuntzen konfigurazio honek, baita gure parte-hartzaileen profil desberdinak ere, gaztelania H3 gisa jabetzerakoan hizkuntza arteko eragina aztertzeko aukera ematen digu, hasierako urratsetatik, H3 jabekuntza arloko faktore ohikoenen azterketaren bidez (hala nola hizkuntzen tipologia, erabilera eta eskuratze hurrenkera). Orokorrean, frantsesaren eraginak (tipologikoki eta egituraz gaztelaniatik hurbilago) eragin errazgarria izan dezake, eta euskarak, berriz, eragin inhibitzailea. Eragin posible hauek aztertzeko, idatzizko irudi deskribapenaren proba pasatu dugu, 1) izen bat eta kolore adjektibo batez osatutako sintagmak (adibidez, "la casa roja", hau da: "etxe gorria"); 2) izen + izen hitz elkartuak (adibidez, "hombre rana", hau da: "igel gizona"); eta 3) aditzez osatutako hitz elkartuak (adibidez, "abrebotellas", hau da, "botila irekitzekoa"). Gaztelania H3 gisa ikasten ari ziren 52 haur elebidunek (adina: 10-11 urte, frantsesa / euskara elebidun) eta gaztelania ama hizkuntza duten adin bereko 21 haur kontrolen talde batek parte hartu dute. Gaztelania H3ko partaideak hiru taldetan banatuak izan ziren, hizkuntza nagusiaren arabera: euskara H1, frantsesa H1 eta 2H1 euskara / frantsesa. Bildutako datuen oinarrian, xede-egituren ezagutza maila aztertu dugu bigarren hizkuntzaren jabekuntzan aztertu ohi diren faktoreen arabera. Genero gramatikalari dagokionez, genero defektiboa, komunztadura mota (determinatzailea edo adjektiboa), bukaeraren gardentasuna (-a / -o) eta irizpide analogikoa kontuan hartzen ditugu. Hitz elkartuei dagokienez, bi hitz elkarte moten norabidea (hasierako edo amaierako burua) eta produktibitatea interesatzen zaizkigu. Bereziki aditz elkartuentzat, haien ezaugarri formalak ere aztertzen ditugu (inflexioa eta -s generikoak). Gaztelaniaz genero gramatikalari buruz egindako aurreko ikerketekin bat eginez, huts kopuru handiena femeninoarekin gertatzen da, maskulinoa genero defektibo gisa erabiltzeko estrategia erakutsiz. Gainera, ikusi da amaieraren gardentasunaren eragina handiagoa zela euskara hizkuntza nagusi zuten eta frantsesa testuinguru formalean eskuratu eta etxean egunero erabiltzen ez duten hiztunengan. Aldiz, badirudi irizpide analogikoak eragin handiagoa duela etxean frantsesa ikasi duten eta egunero erabiltzen duten hiztunengan. Hitz elkartuei dagokienez, norabide zuzena duten hitz elkartuen ehuneko altuak direla eta, gure emaitzek frantsesaren eragin errazgarria erakusten dute parte-hartzaile guztientzat, H1 / H2 jabetze adina edo hurrenkera edozein dela ere. Orokorrean, frantsesak, hizkuntza hurbilena, gaztelania H3 jabetzeko prozesuan eragin zuzenagoa duela dirudi, baina badirudi euskarak nolabaiteko eragina duela gure parte hartzaileek mobilizatutako estrategia metalinguistikoetan.