Browsing by Author "Muhidin, Jemal"

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    Language Use in Main Linguistic Domains in Kemissie Town
    (Addis Ababa University, 2013-10) Muhidin, Jemal; Meyer, Ronny (PhD)
    The purpose of this study is to describe language use patterns for the main linguistic domains in Kemissie town. The study is mainly based on information gathered through a questionnaire distributed among 214 randomly selected respondents. The findings show that Kemissie is a multilingual town where four languages are spoken side-by-side: Amharic, Afaan Oromoo, Afar, and Argobba. Amharic and Afaan Oromoo are the most frequently spoken mother tongues with almost the same number of speakers. While Afaan Oromoo is predominantly spoken by the respondents’ parents and spouses, Amharic is the most frequently used language of the respondents’ children and siblings. A comparison of intergenerational language use reveals a shifting process towards Amharic. On the other hand, Amharic and Afaan Oromoo are most frequently learnt as the second language in the family domain. In main domains, i.e., family, neighborhood, school, religion and administration, Amharic is clearly used as dominant means of communication by the majority of the respondents. The only exception is the court, where a combination of Amharic and Afaan Oromoo dominates.