Mbugu
[aka Ma'a, Mbougou, Wama'a]Classification: Mixed Language
·threatened
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Threatened
100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
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~7,000
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"The Mbugu people are identified by two distinct language varieties, KiMbugu cha ndani ['inside language'] and KiMbugu cha kawaida [a Swahili phrase that means the 'usual language'] (Dimendaal 1989:29). Ethnically, outsiders refer to speakers of both forms as WaMbugu (Swahili) or Mbugu (English). Insiders use Ma’a as the name of the cha ndani variety. They might also refer to those who speak this variety as Ma’a. The Ma’a speakers themselves refer to the speech of their kin who do not speak Ma’a as either KiMbugu cha kawaida or else KiPare since it is so much like the language of their Pare neighbors. In addition to this division of the ethnic group, there exists another large segment of people who are Mbugu ethnically but who no longer speak either form of their ancestral language... Cha kawaida speakers comprise between 60 percent and 65 percent of the Mbugu population... my estimate is that the cha ndani speakers are close to 35 percent or 40 percent of those that claim to be ethnic Mbugu."
- DOMAINS OF USE
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- SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS
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- TRANSMISSION
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- MORE ON VITALITY
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"Mbugu cha ndani speakers speak cha ndani a majority of the time in the domain of the home. Cha ndani also is used occasionally in interpersonal exchanges outside of the home, but the number of those able to use this form is small so its use is limited. ... When asked this question [“What does the future look like for the Mbugu
language?”] or a similar question, two-thirds answered that their language was being lost. In another question over two-thirds answered that the Mbugu young people are leaving their language in order to speak Swahili. ... Increasingly, Mbugu parents are not teaching their children how to speak their own language, a reality that many parents readily admit. ... The language of cha kawaida is actively in a process of language shift and it is unacceptable to the Mbugu Community as authentic Mbugu and cha ndani is experiencing systematic
decline." - GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
- The government aggressively supports Swahili language programs nationwide.
- OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
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Swahili
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Sambaa
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Pare
- LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS
"Most Mbugu people are able to speak Swahili with adequate structural accuracy and vocabulary to satisfy all social, work, and church requirements. ... Code switching between Swahili and the mother tongue is easy and natural. ... the Mbugu people usually have a firm grasp on [Sambaa and/or Pare]. Mbugu children learn these languages at an early age when they are playing with their neighbors."
- PLACES
- Tanzania
- LOCATION DESCRIPTION
"The Mbugu area is located in the northeastern corner of Tanzania in the Usambara Mountain range. ... The largest concentration of Mbugu is the
Magamba/Malibwi area, the second area of concentration is the Tetei/(Bumbuli) area, and the last area is that of Fuizai. In each of these areas, small pockets of Mbugu people can be found. ... The Mbugu people are never found in an isolated situation; instead, they live in villages intermixed with the Sambaa and Pare."