Gastor Mapunda
Biographic Data
| ID | 5661870 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gastor Mapunda |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gastor |
| FAMILY NAME | Mapunda |
| SIGNATURE | MAPUNDA G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Dar es Salaam |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5683-0175 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 14 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
‘You call your teacher zombi ?’
Nicknaming of teachers in Tanzanian secondary schools is commonplace, and students use it to communicate their opinions about their social relations regarding their teachers. The study sought to identify which teachers’ nicknames exist in the schools, the reasons for their assignment, and whether or not the practice should continue. Open-ended questionnaires were administered to 263 students in five schools in three regions. We found that some ni…
A Person Can Be Called Jidulamabambasi
Among the Sukuma people of Tanzania, the practice of nicknaming is a powerful tradition that serves multiple functions. Nicknames highlight individuals’ moral traits, social status, indexing community approval or disapproval. Nicknames also weld relationships, ostracise individuals, and exert social pressure. Nicknaming is inspired by various triggers, including the target’s physical traits, habitual behaviour, occupation, wealth, sexual orientat…
Passivisation in Tanzanian Chingoni
This study investigates passivisation in the Tanzanian Chingoni language (N12), a relatively underexplored area in the language. We specifically aim to explore the strategies for encoding the passive and determine their extent of use. We employed two methods of data collection: elicitation from three proficient Chingoni speakers, and documentary review. Through elicitation, we gathered data from two males and one female speaker, all aged above 55…
Motivations for personal naming among the Sukuma of Shinyanga, Tanzania
This article examines Sukuma personal names by focusing on the factors which motivate their selection and bestowal on children. It argues that personal naming is systematic, and that it is carefully and consciously handled by the Sukuma-speaking community. In addition, the personal naming process is rule-governed, and its execution is influenced by certain factors which may vary or coincide among communities. The findings suggest that the choice …
“Simba yagongwa”
This paper attempts a linguistic analysis of metaphor use in the Tanzanian Swahili Uhuru daily headlines that report soccer events. We purposively and conveniently chose 35 headlines published in 1960s–2020s to examine metaphor use in the newspaper as a way of attracting readership and interest. We addressed four objectives, namely (i) explaining how the use of metaphors in soccer reporting headlines has evolved over time; (ii) establishing a typ…
“Uc4c 2FA8” – A Linguistic Analysis of Sayings on Bajaji Passenger Tricycles in Dar es Salaam City
The three-passenger tricycle, known as bajaji in Tanzania, is a popular means of public transport in Dar es Salaam. This popularity may be attributed to their affordable fares due to their efficient fuel consumption, short wait-time for passengers, and their slim size which allows them to slyly jump traffic queues. Many bajajis are inscribed with sayings that carry different messages in the form of texts, pictures, or a combination of both. Inves…
Emerging principles for researching multilingually in linguistic ethnography
This paper discusses collaborative ethnographic work investigating multilingualism within education in Botswana, Tanzania, and Zambia. The paper takes a reflective perspective on how research is conducted and the role that multilingualism and collaboration can play in the research process itself. As a team of thirteen individuals, working across four countries, we bring a range of multilingual repertoires to the project. In this paper we discuss …
Complementarity of communicative modes on meaning making in Tanzania’s digital telecom marketing
This article examines the complementarity of the communicative modes for making meaning in digital telecom advertisements. Using a social semiotic multimodal approach in its data analysis, we utilise the metafunction and composition frameworks for the interpretation and discussion. The study shows that advert makers incorporate various modes which represent real-life objects and experiences to promote products and services. The modes establish an…
Lexical Innovation through Swahilisation of English Lexicon in Online Advertisements
Morpho-phonological nativisation and syntactic applications of Kiswahili loanwords appear throughout telecommunication businesses’ advertisements, as can be collected from such companies’ Facebook pages. Word-by-word and line-by-line coding and analysis reveal a richness in the borrowing process and its implications for the contemporary Kiswahili lexicon. Apparently, nouns are more inclined to be borrowed than words from other grammatical categor…
Names of Contemporary Wooden Boats of Coastal East Africa
The coast of eastern Africa, commonly referred to as the Swahili coast, has a rich artisanal heritage of boats — both in their building and use. This iconic history is marked by the presence of various boat types that have historically been used for fishing and transporting people and cargo between coastal settlements (of eastern Africa), the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, Mafia, Comoros, Madagascar, and other distant parts of the Indian Ocean world…
Imagined Futures and New Technology
Building on investment theory, this study analyses the language attitudes of secondary school students in Songea, Tanzania, with a focus on identity and access to digital technology. The study involved 467 secondary school students aged 14–21 years. The data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Less than half of the students had access to digital technology. Most of them lacked the required linguistic resources. English, a challe…
Contact-induced language alternation in Tanzanian Ngoni – an empirical study of frequency and patterns
The codeswitching pattern is different in rural Tanzania compared to urban agglomerations around the world. Even in very rural areas people in Tanzania are bilingual in Swahili, the national and local lingua franca, and their own first language. The result of this language contact is understudied and has only recently been focused on. This paper presents quantitative and qualitative results of a study of the language Ngoni in contact with Swahili…
Borrowing in Tanzanian Ngoni Lexicon
The Tanzanian language Ngoni has interacted for long with Swahili, which is the more prestigious and dominant lingua franca in Tanzania. This language contact situation affects Ngoni, which frequently borrows terms from Swahili, both for concepts which are new to the Ngoni speakers, but also terms which replace existing Ngoni vocabulary. This paper investigates how borrowed words are integrated, based on a framework including semantic generalisat…
Is the Tanzanian Ngoni language threatened? A survey of lexical borrowing from Swahili
Tanzania's post-independence language policy has promoted Swahili as a means of achieving national and linguistic unity. This policy has affected the Ngoni language in south-western Tanzania. Today, Swahili has permeated communication all over Tanzania, even in rural and remote areas. This paper discusses lexical borrowing and especially borrowing in the basic vocabulary, which is considered less susceptible to borrowing, to establish the vitalit…
Emerging principles for researching multilingually in linguistic ethnography
This paper discusses collaborative ethnographic work investigating multilingualism within education in Botswana, Tanzania, and Zambia. The paper takes a reflective perspective on how research is conducted and the role that multilingualism and collaboration can play in the research process itself. As a team of thirteen individuals, working across four countries, we bring a range of multilingual repertoires to the project. In this paper we discuss …
Is the Tanzanian Ngoni language threatened? A survey of lexical borrowing from Swahili
Tanzania's post-independence language policy has promoted Swahili as a means of achieving national and linguistic unity. This policy has affected the Ngoni language in south-western Tanzania. Today, Swahili has permeated communication all over Tanzania, even in rural and remote areas. This paper discusses lexical borrowing and especially borrowing in the basic vocabulary, which is considered less susceptible to borrowing, to establish the vitalit…
Names of Contemporary Wooden Boats of Coastal East Africa
The coast of eastern Africa, commonly referred to as the Swahili coast, has a rich artisanal heritage of boats — both in their building and use. This iconic history is marked by the presence of various boat types that have historically been used for fishing and transporting people and cargo between coastal settlements (of eastern Africa), the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, Mafia, Comoros, Madagascar, and other distant parts of the Indian Ocean world…
Is the Tanzanian Ngoni language threatened? A survey of lexical borrowing from Swahili
Tanzania's post-independence language policy has promoted Swahili as a means of achieving national and linguistic unity. This policy has affected the Ngoni language in south-western Tanzania. Today, Swahili has permeated communication all over Tanzania, even in rural and remote areas. This paper discusses lexical borrowing and especially borrowing in the basic vocabulary, which is considered less susceptible to borrowing, to establish the vitalit…
Borrowing in Tanzanian Ngoni Lexicon
The Tanzanian language Ngoni has interacted for long with Swahili, which is the more prestigious and dominant lingua franca in Tanzania. This language contact situation affects Ngoni, which frequently borrows terms from Swahili, both for concepts which are new to the Ngoni speakers, but also terms which replace existing Ngoni vocabulary. This paper investigates how borrowed words are integrated, based on a framework including semantic generalisat…
Contact-induced language alternation in Tanzanian Ngoni – an empirical study of frequency and patterns
The codeswitching pattern is different in rural Tanzania compared to urban agglomerations around the world. Even in very rural areas people in Tanzania are bilingual in Swahili, the national and local lingua franca, and their own first language. The result of this language contact is understudied and has only recently been focused on. This paper presents quantitative and qualitative results of a study of the language Ngoni in contact with Swahili…
Imagined Futures and New Technology
Building on investment theory, this study analyses the language attitudes of secondary school students in Songea, Tanzania, with a focus on identity and access to digital technology. The study involved 467 secondary school students aged 14–21 years. The data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Less than half of the students had access to digital technology. Most of them lacked the required linguistic resources. English, a challe…
Complementarity of communicative modes on meaning making in Tanzania’s digital telecom marketing
This article examines the complementarity of the communicative modes for making meaning in digital telecom advertisements. Using a social semiotic multimodal approach in its data analysis, we utilise the metafunction and composition frameworks for the interpretation and discussion. The study shows that advert makers incorporate various modes which represent real-life objects and experiences to promote products and services. The modes establish an…
Lexical Innovation through Swahilisation of English Lexicon in Online Advertisements
Morpho-phonological nativisation and syntactic applications of Kiswahili loanwords appear throughout telecommunication businesses’ advertisements, as can be collected from such companies’ Facebook pages. Word-by-word and line-by-line coding and analysis reveal a richness in the borrowing process and its implications for the contemporary Kiswahili lexicon. Apparently, nouns are more inclined to be borrowed than words from other grammatical categor…
Names of Contemporary Wooden Boats of Coastal East Africa
The coast of eastern Africa, commonly referred to as the Swahili coast, has a rich artisanal heritage of boats — both in their building and use. This iconic history is marked by the presence of various boat types that have historically been used for fishing and transporting people and cargo between coastal settlements (of eastern Africa), the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, Mafia, Comoros, Madagascar, and other distant parts of the Indian Ocean world…
“Uc4c 2FA8” – A Linguistic Analysis of Sayings on Bajaji Passenger Tricycles in Dar es Salaam City
The three-passenger tricycle, known as bajaji in Tanzania, is a popular means of public transport in Dar es Salaam. This popularity may be attributed to their affordable fares due to their efficient fuel consumption, short wait-time for passengers, and their slim size which allows them to slyly jump traffic queues. Many bajajis are inscribed with sayings that carry different messages in the form of texts, pictures, or a combination of both. Inves…
Emerging principles for researching multilingually in linguistic ethnography
This paper discusses collaborative ethnographic work investigating multilingualism within education in Botswana, Tanzania, and Zambia. The paper takes a reflective perspective on how research is conducted and the role that multilingualism and collaboration can play in the research process itself. As a team of thirteen individuals, working across four countries, we bring a range of multilingual repertoires to the project. In this paper we discuss …
Motivations for personal naming among the Sukuma of Shinyanga, Tanzania
This article examines Sukuma personal names by focusing on the factors which motivate their selection and bestowal on children. It argues that personal naming is systematic, and that it is carefully and consciously handled by the Sukuma-speaking community. In addition, the personal naming process is rule-governed, and its execution is influenced by certain factors which may vary or coincide among communities. The findings suggest that the choice …
“Simba yagongwa”
This paper attempts a linguistic analysis of metaphor use in the Tanzanian Swahili Uhuru daily headlines that report soccer events. We purposively and conveniently chose 35 headlines published in 1960s–2020s to examine metaphor use in the newspaper as a way of attracting readership and interest. We addressed four objectives, namely (i) explaining how the use of metaphors in soccer reporting headlines has evolved over time; (ii) establishing a typ…
‘You call your teacher zombi ?’
Nicknaming of teachers in Tanzanian secondary schools is commonplace, and students use it to communicate their opinions about their social relations regarding their teachers. The study sought to identify which teachers’ nicknames exist in the schools, the reasons for their assignment, and whether or not the practice should continue. Open-ended questionnaires were administered to 263 students in five schools in three regions. We found that some ni…
A Person Can Be Called Jidulamabambasi
Among the Sukuma people of Tanzania, the practice of nicknaming is a powerful tradition that serves multiple functions. Nicknames highlight individuals’ moral traits, social status, indexing community approval or disapproval. Nicknames also weld relationships, ostracise individuals, and exert social pressure. Nicknaming is inspired by various triggers, including the target’s physical traits, habitual behaviour, occupation, wealth, sexual orientat…
Passivisation in Tanzanian Chingoni
This study investigates passivisation in the Tanzanian Chingoni language (N12), a relatively underexplored area in the language. We specifically aim to explore the strategies for encoding the passive and determine their extent of use. We employed two methods of data collection: elicitation from three proficient Chingoni speakers, and documentary review. Through elicitation, we gathered data from two males and one female speaker, all aged above 55…
Tanzania (9 works) · Linguistics (8 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies (6 works) · Swahili (6 works) · Computer Science (5 works) · Geography (5 works) · Pedagogy (4 works)