I

SSN:2320-
5407 I
nt.J.Adv.Res.6(
12)
,879-
893

Jour
nal
Homepage:-

www.
jour
nal
ij
ar.
com

Arti
cleDOI:
10.
21474/I
JAR01/8212
DOIURL:ht
tp:/
/dx
.doi
.or
g/10.
21474/
IJAR01/
8212

RESEARCHARTI
CLE

MAI
NTAI
NINGGURAGI
NALANGUAGEWI
THREFERENCETOSTATUSANDATTI
TUDE

Cher
netZer
gaWej i
raandDr.Tigl
uGezaNisr
ane
Col
l
egeofSoci
alSci
enceandHumanit
ies,
DepartmentofEngl
i
shLanguageandLi
ter
atur
e,Wol
i
te
Univer
sit
y
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
..
.
Manuscr
iptI
nfo Abst
ract
……………………. ………………………………………………………………
Manuscr
iptHi
stor
y
Recei
ved:16October2018 This paper descr ibes a r esear ch pr oj ect t hat exami nes
Fi
nalAccept ed:18 November maint ainingGur agi nal anguagewi thr ef er encet oat t i
tudeand
2018 status oft he l anguage i nt he communi tyi n Gur age Zone,
Publi
shed:December2018
Ethiopia.A t otalof 340 quest ionnai res di stributed t ot he
Keywor
ds:
speaker sofGur agi gnai nt heZone.Twent yf ourkeyi nformant s
Guragi
na, Gur age people, werei nter viewedf ort hei ropini onsont heuseandi mpor tanceof
l
anguage at ti
tude, language Guragi na.Besi des,6FGDswer econduct ed.Thef i
ndingsshow
st
atus, language shi f
t and thatpar ticipant s' attitudet owar dst hel anguagei sposi t
ive.They
mothertongueeducat
ion. alsoagr eedt hatGur agi gnai smul tifar i
ousi ndi alect,wi thsome
i
nt hecommuni t yv iewi ngi tasal anguageofsol idarity,whi l
e
othersbemoani tsi rrelev ancei nt hechangedci r
cumst ancesof
moder nl i
fe.Thef indi ngal sosuggest st hatt her espondent sare
notsat isfiedwi tht hei rcur r
entabi li
tyt ospeakt hel anguage; they
make l anguage shi ftt ot he use ofAmhar ic. Fur t
her mor e,
Guragi nai sal owst atusl anguagewi thlowsoci alandeconomi c
presti
geandpoordocument at i
on.Gur agi nai smai nlyusedat
homeandmar ketdomai ns.I nsteadAmhar ici st hedomi nant
l
anguagei nt hecour t, officeandr eligi ouspl aceswi t
hsomeshi ft
from Amhar ict o Gur agina and v ice-v er sa.Thus al ll evels of
governmentshoul dsuppor tt hepr of il
eandpr est igeofGur agina
l
anguagebyal lowi ngi tt obeusedi nar angeofpubl icf unctions
suchasl egalsi tuat i
on,heal thsi tuat ions.Besi dest hel ocaland
regi
onalgov ernmentshoul di ntroduceGur agi nal anguageasa
subjectt obet aughti nschool susi ngcompar at i
v eanal y si
sof
Guragi na l anguage v ar i
et i
es,and i nl ong t erm t he l anguage
should be used as medi um ofi nst ruct ion by st andar dizing
Guragi nav ariti
es.Besi des, Guragi nal anguagecent r
eshoul dbe
opened atWol kite Uni ver si
tyf orst udy ing t he l anguage and
document ation.

CopyRi
ght
,IJAR,
2018,
.Al
lri
ght
s

879
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SSN:2320-
5407 I
nt.J.Adv.Res.6(
12)
,879-
893

r
eser
v ed.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………….
..
.

I
ntr
oduct
ion
Languagei sacul turalresour cet obeusedt of i
tt hegoal sofv ari
ouset hno- l
inguisticgr oupsofasoci ety
.
Itdeter mineshowpeopl ear er elatedonet oanot herwi t
hinasoci ety.Accor dingt oFasol d(1984:
46)and
Fishman( 2006:10) ,peoplei nt er pretthei dentit
yoft heirinterl
ocutor sbasedonv erydel i
catefeatur
esof
behav ior,among whi ch language i s par t
icul
arly cent ral.Itbui l
ds human soci et i
es,sol i
dar
ity and
cooper ation,andpl aysacr uci alr oleint hedi str
ibutionofpowerandr esourceswi t
hinacommuni t
yand
amongcommuni t
ies( Bay e2012: 39;Wr ight2004: 5) .Att hesamet ime,l anguagecanbeempl oyedt o
i
nCco
l
urr
e
desap
son
wdei
n
l
lgA
aseut
xh
co
lr
us
d:C
e th
heer
pnaert&D
i
ci r
pa.
tT
oi
i gl
noufacommuni tyinpol it
icalandsoci alactiviti
es.
Addr ess: -
CollegeofSoci al Sci enceandHumani ties,Depar tmentofEngl i
shLanguageand
IL
tii
t
se
br
a
e t
lu
er
ivee,
Wo
dthal
ie
ttU
heni
v
dee
vr
s
ei
lt
oy
p.mentofacommuni t
yi sinsepar ablefrom t hepromot iononi t
slanguage.For
exampl e,Robi nson ( 1996: 4)st atest hatdev el
opmentcan be at tai
ned when peopl e getaccesst o
educat ion through t heirl ocall anguage.I tisdi f
fi
cul tto achi evet hedev elopmentofaski l
l
fuland
knowl edgeabl ecommuni tyunl esst hepeopl ehav ei nformat ioni nthel anguaget heyknow wel l.
Itis
beli
eved t hatpeopl edev el op sel f-r
espectand act ivelypar tici
patei n soci al,pol i
ticaland economi c
processeswhent heyuset hei rlanguage.

Asamul t
il
ingualnation,i n Ethi
opi
asev erallanguagescoexi st;int hepr ocesspeopl edev el
op the
tendencytouseonel anguagemor efrequentlythant heother.Thestatusandi mpor t
anceofal anguagein
societ
yandwi thi
nanindividualobtai
nslargelyfrom adoptedat t
it
udes.Usual l
y,formonolingualspeakers,
theyhaveonl yoneat ti
tudet owardstheirlanguagebecauset herearenoot herlanguageswhi chcanbe
madecompar i
son.Theyv aluethelanguageposi t
ivelyastheyseet heirlanguageasacent r
almeansf or
communi cation,soci
ali
zationandet hnicident i
ty.Theat ti
tudeswi l
lnor mallydependont hedegr eeof
symbolicorsoci o-
economi cv al
uemanifestedbyeachl anguage.

Thelanguagemaintenanceisthusnotmer el
ydependingonthetypeofatti
tudes,butal
soonthestat
us
andregularuseoft helanguage.Besides,att
it
udesinlanguageiscruci
alindet er
mini
ngtheext
entof
cur
rentusagesofalanguage, t
hepr ospectofextensi
on,andtheki
ndsofpresti
giouscont
extsi
nwhichit
wil
lbeusedordenieduse( Lewis,1981).

Statementoft heProblem
Ethiopiaisendowedwi t
hdi versi
fi
edethnicgroupswi t
ht hei
rownl anguages.Inthepast,Amharicand
foreignlanguageswer egi v
enahi ghpresti
ge.Asar esul
t,mostpeopl ehadal owesteem forot
herlocal
l
anguages.Recent l
y,howev er,the consti
tut
ion and the language-i
n educati
on poli
cy ofEthiopi
a
encour agetheuseofl ocallanguages.
Howev er,
inGur ageZonedomi nantl
anguages,Amhar i
candEngl i
shareusedinEducationinst
eadoflocal
l
anguage,Gur agigna.The l ocalpeople wer e ur
ged to giv
e high prest
ige forAmharic and f
orei
gn
l
anguages, butlowesteem tot hei
rownl ocall
anguage.

Forthisreason,t
herear est il
lchall
engesi nGuragelanguageuse,atti
tudesanddev elopmentdecisi
onsin
thezone.Theconst it
utionexpr essesal llanguageshav eequalstatusbutt hegov ernmentoft hezone
encouragestheuseofot herlanguagesast heonlyworki
ngorof f
ici
allanguage,alanguageofeducat i
on
and medi a.Thel ow st atusofGur agignal anguageisclearl
yr efl
ected i
nt hedi screpancybetween
governmentspendi ngonot herEthi
opianl anguagesandont hislanguage.Thisleadst ounf ai
rcont
est
amongt helanguagest hatl eadsthedeclineofGur agel
anguageuse.

Guragignaisnotusedwi delyforcommuni cati

onwi t
hinthecommuni t
yandatgov ernmentof f
ices.There
arealsoconstraintsintheuseoft helanguageinthemedi aaswell.Lackofterminologydevel
opmenthad
seri
ousi mpl
icationsforusi ngt helanguage.Li
nguist
icdiver
sit
ywithinGurageposedanot herchallengein
theuseoft hel anguagesasMOIi nschools.StandardGuragignaisnotdev el
opedbasedonanyoft he
actuall
yoccurri
ngdi alects.Thisstudythusdealswi t
htheatti
tudeofi t
speopletowar dsl
anguageuseand
i
tsst atusintheov erallparti
cipati
onoft hecommuni t
yi neducational
,economi c,soci
al,poli
ti
caland

880
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5407 I
nt.J.Adv.Res.6(
12)
,879-
893

cul
tur
aldevelopment.Therefor
e,thequest
ioni
s,doGuragepeopl
ehavenegat
iveat
ti
tudet
owar
dst
he
useofthei
rlanguageforeducati
on,medi
aandoffi
ci
alpur
posei
nthezone?

Thisst udyisrequiredtoi dentif

ythegapsbet weent hel anguageat tit
udesandt heactualpracticeof
l
anguageuseandst at
usi nthecommuni ty.Inourobser vati
onsinGur agezone, t
her earedissati
sfactions
putacr ossbythepeopl eint heuseandt hedev elopmentoft hei
rlanguaget oachi evetheintendedst atus
andst andardi
zati
on.IntheZone, i
tisclearlyobservedt hatthereiscont estinlanguagesuse.I tiscr ucial
torecognizelanguagetribulati
onsinthecommuni t
yandf indoutcont extualsoluti
onsbasedont heact ual
practi
ceoft helanguageusei nthecommuni t
y.Thest atusandi mpor tanceofal anguagei nsocietyand
withi
nani ndivi
dualobtainslargel
yfrom learntatti
tudes.
Therefore,the studyseekst oinvest
igatel anguage at t
itudesofGur age peoplet owardst heirown
l
anguage,t he language used i n diff
erentdomai ns and const r
aintst o mai ntain Gur
agigna as an
i
ndigenousl anguage.

Obj
ect
ivesoft
heSt
udy
GeneralObject
iveoftheSt
udy
Theov er
allobj
ectiv
eofthi
sst udyist
oinvest
igat
et hepr
act
icesofmai
ntai
ningGur
agi
gal
anguagewi
th
ref
erencetoatti
tudeandst
atusofthel
anguageinthecommunity
.

Specif
icObj ecti
vesoft heStudy
Specif
ical
ly,theobj ect
ivesofthi
sst udyareto:
1. Invest
igat et
heat t
it
udesGur agepeoplepossesstowardsGur agi
gnal anguage.
2. Identi
fyt heuseofGur agi
gnaLanguagei nf amil
y,mar ket,fr
iendship,rel
i
gion and empl
oyment
domai ns.
3. Findoutt hest atusofGuragignalanguageforvari
ousfunctions.
4. Assesst hef easibi
li
tyofincorporat
ingGuragi
gnaasasubj ectattheel ementar
yeducati
oncurr
icul
um.

Signif
icanceoft heStudy
Thisst udyi sconductedduet ot heseemi nglyrapi ddecli
neofGur agi
gnal anguageuse.Ther ef
ore,
fi
ndingsf rom thisstudyi shopedt ocr eateawar enessatt hecommuni tyleveltowar dsthedecl i
nein
usageoft helanguage,asani nit
ialrepresentati
onofcommuni t
y ’
sv i
ewt owar dsGur agignalanguage.It
couldalsobeper t
inentinformationf orlanguageplanni ngeffortsbyt hegov ernmentandot herbodiesof
Guragepeopl eandt hei
rcul turetopromot eandmai ntaintheGur agignalanguage.
Scopeoft hestudy
Thef ocusoft hisstudyisont heat t
itudesoft hecommuni tyt owardst heirl
anguage.Apar tfr
om that,i
n
theanal y
sisoflanguagest atusofrespondent s,thef ocusisont heirabil
it
yont heuseofGur agina.Thus
thestudyl i
mitedtocollectinformationont hesixsel ectedwor edabasedont heirdialectvari
ati
on.

Met
hodol
ogy
:-
Resear chDesi gn
Thi sst udyempl oy edami xedappr oachi nassessingtheat ti
tudeandst at
usofGur agignal anguage.
Sur veymet hodwasusedt omeasur etheat t
it
ude,l
anguageuseandl anguagest at
usoft hepar ti
cipant
s.
Qual it
ativemet hodswer ealsousedt ot r
iangul
atethedat acoll
ectedt hr
oughquant i
tat
ivemet hods.The
studypr ovi
desadet ai
leddescr i
ptionofl anguageattit
udesandpr acticesintheZoneandal soof f
ersan
i
nt erpretati
on whyt hese language at t
it
udes and practi
ces ar e empl oyed and how the communi ty
per cei
v edthecur r
entst at
usoft hel anguage.
Thedat awascol lect
edi nf ace-to-facei nt
ervi
ew andt hroughawr i
tt
enquest i
onnair
edi st
r i
butedt o
stakehol ders(t eachers,admi ni
strators,studentsandpar ents)
.Fur thermore,observati
onandFGDwer e
usedt ocol lectdat a.

Sampli
ngandPar t
icipantsoftheStudy
Thetargetpopulationf orthi
sstudylivesi
nGurageZone.Thezonehas14Wer edasandtwotown
admi
nistrat
ions.Si
xWer edasandsomesel ect
edoff
icesi
ntownadmini
str
ati
onswer
echosenbyusi
ng

881
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nt.J.Adv.Res.6(
12)
,879-
893

pur
posi
vesampling.Avai
labil
i
tysampli
ngwasempl oyedtoidenti
fythest
atusoft
hel
anguageinmarket
domai
n.Thedial
ectvari
ationwastakenintoconsi
derati
onduringthesel
ect
ionoft
heWeredasi
norderto
comeupwithdiv
ersif
iedresponsesonlanguageuseinthezone.

At otalof340 parti
cipantswer eselect
ed usi
ng st
rat
if
ied sampli
ng.Thedatawer ecol
lect
ed fr
om
respondents(t
eachers,st udents,community el
der
s,parents and gov
ernmentalwor
ker
sr andomly
select
edfrom t
hesixWer edas( Sodo,
Meskan,Muher,
Cheha,EnemoreandGeta).

Ther easonforincludi
ngpar entsint hestudyishomeandpar entsar eoftent helasti mport
antagentin
preservat
ionofanyl anguage( Ant onini
,2002).Parenti smodelf orchi l
drenl anguagel earni
ng and
i
nfluencet heli
keli
hoodofwhatl anguagewi llt
hechildrenadoptandl earn( Bartram,2006;Gal i
ndo&
Wor t
hy,2006).Ther esearcher
ssel ectedelementar
yschoolst udentsandt eacher st ocoll
ectdataabout
thei
rat t
it
udetoat t
endt heireducationandt eachintheirmothertonguer espect i
vely.Simil
arl
y,teacher
s
andst udentsattit
udeabouti ncorporati
ngGar agi
ngasasubj ecti nt
ot hecur riculum ofelement ar
y
educationisassessed,fortheyaretheonest obeaf f
ectedift
hepr ogram isimpl ement ed.

Similar l
y,whethert hepar ti
cipantsuset hei
rmot hert
onguei ndiffer
entdomai nsofcommuni cat
ionwas
assessed.Tocol lectdat aonat ti
tude,statusandt r
ansmi ssi
onofGur agignaacrossgenerat
ion,the
resear cherbeliev
est hatper t
inentdatawer eobtai
nedfrom communi tyel
der s.
Apartf r
om measur ingt hei
rat ti
tudes,governmentoffici
alsandexper t
sf rom cul
turalandeducati
onal
offi
ceswer eincl
udedi nthest udyassour ceofdatai nassessingthest atusofthelanguageandt he
practical chal
l
engesf acedinmai ntenanceoft hel
anguage.

Dat aCollecti
onI nst rument s
Quest i
onnai r
e
I
nor dert ogai nabet terunder st
andingoft hepar t
icipant s’t hought saboutt heirindi
genousl anguage,
l
anguageuseaswel l ast hei rlanguagebackgr oundaquest ionnai r
eonI ndigenousLanguagesSur vey(I
LS)
wasadapt edanddi stribut edt o340par ti
cipant st hati ncludedt eacher s,students,admi ni
stratorsand
officewor kers.Thequest ionnai rehasfoursect ions:sect i
ononedemogr aphicinformation,sectiont wo
the par t
ici
pant s’t hought s aboutt hei
ri ndigenous l anguage and sect i
on three language use.The
quest i
onnaireembr acedcl oseendedquest i
onst oobt ainadequat einf ormat i
onfrom thepar t
ici
pant s.
Intervi
ew
Twent yf ourkeyi nfor manti ntervi
ewswer econduct ed.Fourpar t
icipantsf rom eachsel ectedWer edas
wer epur posivelysel ect ed.Ther esearcherusessemi -struct ured interview inanef fortto draw out
researchpar ti
cipant s’ attit
udeonGur agi
gnal anguager evitali
zat ion.
Focusgr oupdi scussi on
Sixf ocusgr oupdi scussi onswer econduct ed.Wi t
hint hef ocusgr oupdi scussions,twelvepar ti
cipants
wer epurposiv elysel ectedf rom t eacher
s,st udent s,admi ni stratorsandof fi
cewor kersandpar ent s).Key
quest i
onswer esetbasedont hespecifi
cobj ectiveoft hest udy .Thi swoul dhel
pt ot r
iangulat
et hedat a
obt ai
ned.

Procedur e
Partici
pantswer easkedt of il
linananony mousl anguagesur veyinAmhar icwhi chbeganwi than
atti
tudinalit
em aski nghowmucht heywoul dhav epr efer r
edt hequestionnai
ret obei nthei
rindigenous
l
anguage i ft heywer e as fluenti nt hatl anguage as t heywer ein Amhar i
c.Ot heri t
ems on t he
quest i
on¬naireassessed l anguageuse,at tit
udesaboutl anguageusei nv ari
ouspubl i
cand pr i
vate
contextsandcur rentst atusoft hel anguage.Parti
ci pant swer easkedaboutt hedegr eet owhi cht hey
mixedAmhar i
candt hei rmothert onguei ncommuni cation.Inaddi ti
on,
par t
ici
pantswer easkedt opr ovide
otherinformat i
on( e.g.age,gender ,et c).Parti
ci
pant swoul dr espondt omosti t
emson5poi ntLikert
scalesandsomeas' Yes'or'No' .
Pil
otSt udy
Pil
otst udywasconduct edt ov erif
ywhet herthequest ionsi nthequest i
onnai r
es,i nter
v i
ewsandFGD
guidescapt uretheint endedinf ormation,andt ochecki fthel anguageisclearenoughf ortherespondent s
tointerpretthequest ionspr operly.Itwascheckedwhet herthereisanybi aspr ovokingdi str
ustf r
om t he
si
deoft her espondent s.Thiswoul dhel ptocheckt heef fecti
venessoft hequest ionnai r
eandmet hods.

882
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5407 I
nt.J.Adv.Res.6(
12)
,879-
893

Thepi
l
otstudywasconduct
edi
nEnemor
eandGumerWer
edasusi
ngsi
xtypar
ti
cipantsrandomlysel
ect
ed.
s.
n I t
em Yes No Uncertai
n

F % F % F %

1 Al
lmember
sv al
uet
hei
rlanguageand 320 94.
1 0 - 20 5.
9
wi
sht
oseeitpr
omot
ed.

2. Most member s suppor

t l
anguage 270 79.
4 30 8.
8 40 11.
8
mai
ntenance.

3 Onl
yaf ew member
ssuppor
tlanguage 40 11.
8 250 73.
5 50 14.
7
mai
ntenance;

4 Somememberssuppor
tsl
anguageshi
ft 90 26.
5 140 41.
2 110 32.
4
(eg.t
oAmhar
ic)

5 Noonecar esift
helanguagei
sgiven 100 29.
4 210 61.
8 30 8.
8
up; al
l pref
er t
o use a dominant
l
anguage.

Methodsofdat aAnalysi
s
Datacol l
ect
edt hr
oughquestionnai
rewast abulat
edandanalyzedusi
ngf r
equencyandpercentage.
St
ati
sticalPackageforSoci
alScience(SPSS)sof t
war
ewasusedf oranal
ysi
s.Datacoll
ect
edthrough
i
nter
viewandf ocusgroupdi
scussionwer
eanalyzedqual
it
ati
vel
y.

FindingsandDi scussion
Inor dert oachiev etheobj ectiv
esoft hest udyint hef i
rstchapt eroft hisstudy,necessarydat awere
gatheredusi ngt hreemet hods:quest i
onnai
re,int
er v
iewandFocusGr oupDi scussi
on.Thedat acollect
ed
wereanal yzedusi ngf r
equencyandper centage.Int henextsect ions,thedat agatheredt hr
ougheach
met hod ar et r
eat ed separatelyand inter
pretat
ions ar e made wi ththe i nt
enti
on tor each possibl
e
conclusionst hatcanl eadt owor kablerecommendat ions.Int hi
sst udy ,fourspecif
icobjectiv
eswer e
explainedr egar
di ngmai ntai
ningGur agi
nalanguagewi t
hr ef
erencet oatt
itudeandst at
usoft helanguage
i
nt hecommuni ty.Fiv
eoft heitemsi nquesti
onnaireswer e
i
ncompl eteandt heywer ediscarded.Thusthree-hundredandf ourteenoft hei t
emsi nthequest i
onnair
e
werer eadyf oranal y
sis.Theresultsarepresentedint hesameor derwi t
hthespeci f
icobjecti
vesproduced
forthest udy.

Fi
ndingsofQuesti
onnai
re
Par
ti
cipant
sAtti
tudetowardsGur
agi
naLanguageMai
ntenance

Tabl
e1:
-Par
ti
cipant
sAt
ti
tudet
owar
dsGur
agi
naLanguageMai
ntenance

Ascanbeseeni nthet ableabovethemaj

ori
ty(94%)oftherespondentsindicat
edt hatal
lmember soft he
communi tyvaluetheirlanguageandwishtoseeitpromoted,andonl y5.9%oft hem reportedthatt hey
areuncertai
n.Wi t
hr egardstoatti
tudet
olanguagemaintenanceini t
em 2abov et hemaj ori
ty(79.4%)of
respondentsreportedt hatmostmember ssupportl
anguagemai ntenancewher easf ew (8.
8%)oft hem

883
I
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5407 I
nt.J.Adv.Res.6(
12)
,879-
893

dNoand11.
sai 8%ofthem Uncer
tain.Si
mil
arly73.
5%oft herespondent
srepl
iedNot othethi
rdit
em that
saysonl
yaf ewmember ssuppor
tlanguagemai nt
enance,and11.8%ofthem repl
iedYes.Thefindi
ngof
i
tem-1isconsi
stentwi
ththatofi
tem- 3whichindi
catesGuragepeopleval
uet hei
rlanguageandwantt o
seeitpr
omoted.

Concerningl anguageshiftinitem-4signifi
cantnumberofr espondent s( 41.2%)saidNo, wher eas26.5%
ofthem r epledYesand32.
i 4%oft hem wer eUncertai
n.Li kewisemost( 61.8%)oft herespondentssaid
Not oitem- 5thatgoesNoonecar esifthelanguageisgi venup;al lpr efertouseadomi nantlanguage,
and29. 4% oft hem repl
iedYest opreferadomi nantlanguage.Thef actt hatsome( 29.4%)oft he
respondent ssaidnobodycar esi fthelanguagei sgivenupandpr eferadomi nantlanguagesuchas
Amhar i
cseemsduet ot hef actthattheyuseAmhar i
c,notGur agi
na,i nsoci alandeconomi caspectof
thei
rli
ves.whathasbeenr epor t
edsof aritcanbeinferredt hattherespondent svalueGuraginalanguage
andwoul dl i
ket oseei tdevelopedandmai ntai
ned,butAmhar i
cdomi nanceseem t oinfl
uencesomeof
them topr ef
erlanguageshi f
t.

Par
ti
cipant
sAt
ti
tudet
owar
dsGur
agi
naLanguageUse

Tabl
e2:
-Par
ti
cipant
sAt
ti
tudet
owar
dsGur
agi
naLanguageUse

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s. I
tem St
rongly Di
sagr
ee Uncer
tai
n Agr
ee St
rongly
n Di
sagree Agree

F % F % F % F % F %

6 Gur
age cul
tur
e can sur
viv
e wi
thout 80 23.
5 230 67.
6 0 0 20 5.
9 10 2.
9
Gur
agi
na

7 I
tisimportantforGuragi
naspeakersto 0 0 5 1.
45 5 1.
45 70 20.
6 260 76.
5
passthei
rlanguageknowledget
of ut
ure
gener
ati
ons

8 TheuseofGur
agi
nai
sast
rongpar
tof 4 1.
45 16 3.
9 10 2.
9 60 17.
6 250 73.
5
myident
it
y.

9 Ther
eistoomuchsuppor
tforGur
agi
na 110 32.
4 50 14.
7 100 29.
4 80 23.
5
l
anguage

10 TheuseofGur
agi
nahel
psi
tspeopl
e 0 0 20 5.
9 50 14.
7 140 41.
2 130 38.
2

11 I
tismoreimpor
tantt
obeabl
etospeak 70 20.
6 120 35.
3 50 14.
7 60 17.
6 40 11.
8
Gur
agi
nathanAmhari
c.

12 The use of Gur

agi
na i
mpr
oves my 120 35.
3 120 35.
3 30 8.
8 30 8.
8 40 11.
8
wel
lbei
ng.

13 If
eelthatmostpeopleinmycommuni t
y 20 5.
9 10 2.
9 0 0 70 20.
6 240 70.
6
ar
enoti nter
est
ed in keepi
ng Gur
agi
na
st
rong

14 Iwouldl i
ke t
o be abl
eto hel
p ot
her 20 5.
9 20 5.
9 100 29.
4 200 58.
8
peopl
elear
nit.

15 Iam sat
isf
iedwi
thmycur
rentabi
l
ityt
o 20 5.
9 60 17.
6 20 5.
9 130 38.
2 110 32.
4
speak

16 I
tisimpor
tantt
o methatmychi
l
dren 20 5.
9 100 29.
4 220 64.
7
l
ear
nanduseGur
agi
na

Thesecondpartofthequesti
onnai
recont
ainsitemsf orassessi
ngthepart
ici
pant
s’at
ti
tudet
owar
ds
Gur
aginal
anguageuse.Thef
indi
ngsoft
hispartofthequest
ionnair
ear
eindi
cat
edbelow.

Thesixthi
tem i
nthetableabov eisdesignedt ofindoutwhetherGuragecultur
ecansur vi
vewithout
Guragi
na.Whil
e67.6% oft herespondentsdisagreedand23. 5% St
ronglyDisagr
eed,5. 9% and2. 9%
AgreedandStr
ongl
yAgr eedrespecti
vel
yt othi
si t
em.Themaj orit
y(Strongl
yDisagreedandDi sagreed
combined,
93.
1%)oftherespondentsbel
ieveinthefactt
hatcul
tureandlanguageareinseparabl
e.

WithregardstotheimportanceofpassingtheKnowl edgeofGur aginal

anguagetot henextgenerat
ion,
whil
eonly1.45%oft hei
nformantsdiscl
osedtheirdi
sagreementtothisit
em.97.1%(bothStronglyAgr
eed
andAgreed)oftherespondentsreport
edthati
tshouldbekeptandpassedt ot henextgener
at i
on.Thi
sis
consi
stentwit
hthef i
ndi
ngi nit
em sixabovewhichimpliesthef
actt hatt
herespondents’
cultur
ecouldbe
keptt
ot henextgenerat
ionift
heirl
anguageissurviv
ed.

Thesev
ent
hit
em i
sdesi
gnedt
ofi
ndoutwhet
hert
heuseofGur
agi
nai
sast
rongpar
tofi
dent
it
y.91.
1%

885
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(StronglyAgreedandAgr eed)oft hepart

ici
pant sdisclosedt heiragreementt othisitem.Thisfindi
ng
suppor t
stheonei ni tem-6wher ethemaj or
ityofrespondent sagr eedthatthei
rculturecannotsurvi
ve
withoutGuraginawhi chimpli
esthattheybeli
eveGuraginat obet heirident
ity.
Inthet ent
hitem whi chint
endstopoi ntoutiftheuseofGur agi nahelpsitspeople,38.2%and41.2%of
them respondedSt ronglyAgreeandAgr eerespectiv
ely .Wher eas5. 9%oft heinformantssaidDisagre,
14.7% oft hem repor edUncer
t taintothisit
em.Themaj orit
y( 79.4%)oft heparti
cipantsrepor
tedtheir
agreementt othi
sitem indi
catestheybeli
eveGur agi
nai shelpfultoitsspeakers.

Thef i
ndingssofarshowt hattherespondentshav
epositiv
eatt
itudetowardsthei
rlanguage.Accordi
ngto
Richardsetal.(
1985),positi
veatti
tudetowardsalanguagemayr efl
ectdegreeofimportancealanguage
has.Thisdegreeofimpor tancethattheinf
ormantsbeli
eveGuraginahascouldbebecausei thelpsthem
buil
dcultureandident
ity
.

Theel event
hi t
em i
sdev i
sedt ofi
ndoutwhet heri
tismoreimportanttobeabl etospeakGuragi
nat han
Amhar ic.While20.
6% r epl
iedStrongl
yDi sagreedand35.3% ofthem Disagreed,11.
8% and17.6% of
them reporedSt
t r
ongl
yAgr eedandAgr eedrespect
ivel
y.Basedont hedatathemaj or
it
yofrespondents
favoredspeakingAmhar ic(55.9%,StronglyDisagreedandDisagreedtogether)thanGuragi
na( 29.4%
StronglyAgreedandAgreedt oget
her)
.

Ther espondentsassumemor eimportancetoAmharict

hanGur aginaduet obettersoci alandeconomi c
stat
usi thas.
Thet welft
hitem ismeantt ofigur
eoutwhet hert
heuseofGur agi
nai mprovesther espondent s’wellbeing.
Ascanbenot edinthet abl
eabov e,whil
e35.3%and35.3%oft her espondentsrepliedSt r
ongl yDisagr ee
andDi sagreerespectiv
ely,11.
8%and8. 8%oft hem sai
dStronglyAgr eeandAgr eer especti
v ely
.Agr eat
dealof( 75.6%)r espondentssaidGur aginadoesnotimprovet heirwell
being.Thi sissi milarwi tht he
fi
ndingofi t
em elevenwher etherespondentsgavemoreimportancet ospeaki
ngAmhar i
cthanGur agina.

Thisfi
ndingi
mpliesthateventhought hepart
ici
pant
sshowedapositi
veatt
itudetowardsGuragi
nafori
ts
symbolicval
ue( cul
tur
eandi dentit
y),forexampleasi nit
ems-6and8abov e,t
heyalsogav eposi
ti
ve
att
it
udet oAmhar icduet oitssocio-economicprest
ige.Themoreprest
igiousal anguage,themore
posit
ivethespeaker’atti
tudetowar dsthelanguage,andt hel
essprest
igiousal anguage,themore
negati
vetheatt
it
udesar e(Bat
ibo,2005).

I
tem thirt
eeni
sdesi gnedwiththeviewtopoi
ntouti
fmostpeopleintherespondent
s’communit
yarenot
i
nterestedinkeepingGur agi
nast r
ong.Wit
hregardtotheresponsesgiventothisit
em,70.6% ofthe
respondentsr
epliedSt r
onglyAgreeand20.6% ofthemAgr
eewher eas5.9% and2.9% r edSt
epl
i rongl
y
DisagreeandDisagreerespect
ivel
y.

Agreatdealof(
91.2%)ofther
espondent
sindi
cat
edt
hatGur
agi
nai
snotget
ti
ngt
her
equi
redat
tent
ion
andcar
etomakei tst
rong.

Withregardtoit
em f our
teen,58.
8%and29.4%ofther
espondent
srepli
edt heySt
hatt r
onglyAgreedand
Agreedrespect
ivel
ythattheywouldl
iketobeablet
ohel
potherpeopl
elear
nGuragi
na.Thisindi
catest
he
respondent
s’posit
iveatt
it
udet ot
helanguage.

Thef i
ft
eent
hitem i
sconcernedwithther espondent
s’curr
entabil
i
tytospeakGur agi
na.Themajorit
y
(67.
6%)oft herespondent
sreport
edt hattheyarenotsatisf
iedwi
tht hei
rcur
rentabi
li
tytospeakthe
l
anguage.Only23.5%oft herespondentsreport
edthattheyaresati
sfiedwi
ththei
rabil
i
tytospeakin
Guragi
na.

Thisfindi
ngshowst hatthereislanguageshiftt
otheuseofAmharic
Thel astitem inthi
spar toft hequest i
onnair
eisdevi
sedt oi
dentif
ywhetheritisimpor t
anttothe
respondentsandthei
rchildrentolearnanduseGuragi
na.64.7%and29. 4%oftherespondentsr
epor
ted
StronglyAgreeandAgreer espect
ivel
yaboutt
heimport
anceofl
ear
ningandusi
ngGuragina.

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Thi
sfi
ndi
ngisconsistentwit
ht hef
indingofit
em-14abouti
mpor
tanceofl
ear
ningt
hel
anguaget
hat
i
ndi
cat
esthepar
ti
cipants’
posi
tiv
eatt
itudetot
helanguage.

Generall
y,thei
temsi ncl
udedinpar t-
twoofthequest i
onnairearemainl
yr elatedt orespondent
sat ti
tudet o
supportitsmaintenance;whet hertheybeli
eveGur aginahelpsthem buildt heircult
ureandi denti
ty.The
dataobtainedshowedt hatthepar tici
pant
shav eposi t
iveatti
tudetoGur agina.Itcanbei nf er
redt hat
Guragepeopl ehav eaposi t
iveat t
itudetowardsGur aginaforitssymbol icv alue(cult
ureandi dentity)
.
Howev er,t
hepartici
pantsindicatedt hei
rdi
ssati
sfacti
onwi thregar
dst ot her oleofGur agi
nai nbuilding
social
andeconomi cprest
igeofGur agepeople.

Guragi
naLanguageUseinDi
ffer
entDomains
Table3:
-Gur
agi
naLanguageUseinDif
fer
entDomain
s.
n I t
em Guragi
na Amhar
ic Amhar
ic&Gur
agi
na

F % F % F %

17 What language is most 30 8.

8 170 50 140 41.
2
commonl
y used f or oral
communi
cati
onincommuni
ty?

18 Whatlanguage is commonl
y 0 0 340 100 0 0
usedf
orwrit
ing?

19 What l
anguage i
s used f
or - - 340 100 - -
r
eadi
ng?

20 Whatlanguagedoy
ouusei
n 0 0 320 94.
1 20 5.
9
t
hecourt?

21 Whatlanguagedoy
ouuseat 0 0 280 82.
4 60 17.
6
heal
thsect
ors?

22 Whatlanguage(
s)doy
ouspeak 170 50 40 11.
8 130 38.
2
athome?

23 Whatl
anguagedoy
ouusei
n 0 0 300 88.
2 40 11.
8
of
fi
ce?

24 Whatlanguagedoy
ouuseat 50 27.
7 240 67.
6 50 14.
7
yourwor
kplace?

25 Whatlanguagedoy
ouuseat 130 38.
2 110 32.
4 100 29.
4
market
?

26 Whatl anguageyouusei
nthe 0 0 290 85.
3 50 14.
7
r
eli
giousplace?

Thesecondobj ect
iveoft hi
sr esearchist oidenti
fytheuseofGur agignalanguageinf amily
,mar ket,
fr
iendshi
p, r
eli
gion,employmentandeducat i
ondomai ns.Whenspeaker suset wolanguagestheywi l
lnot
usebot hlanguagesinal lci
rcumst ances,butwillchooseoneov ertheot heraccordi
ngt oparti
cipants,
si
tuati
on,contentofdiscourseandf unctionofint
eracti
on(Grosj
ean,1982; ascit
edinHohent al
,1998).To
addressthisobject
ivearoundten-it
emsar edevel
opedinPart-3ofthequest i
onnai
re.Thef i
ndingsoft hi
s

887
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893

par
toft
hequest
ionnai
rei
spr
esent
edbel
ow

Thi
spartoft hequesti
onnai
recontai
nsthreei
temst
oident
if
ythef
orm ofGur
agi
nat
hepar
ti
cipant
s
commonlyuse:Speaki
ng,wri
ti
ngandreadi
ng.

Whi l
ethemaj ori
tyofther espondents(50%)discl
osedthattheyuseAmhar icfororalcommuni cati
onin
thesociety
,41.2%oft hem repli
edtheyuseAmhar i
candGur agina.Only8.8%oft herespondentsreport
ed
thattheyuseGur agi
naf ororalcommuni cat
ionint
hesociety.Thisshowst hatthecommuni tyisbil
ingual
andt hereisl
anguageshi f
t.Languagewhosespeaker sarehi ghl
ybili
ngualinadomi nantlanguageis
classi
fi
edasendanger edandi tsspeakersareli
kel
ytoshif
ttothedomi nantlanguage.

Ascanbeseeni nthetableabov
e,100%oftherespondentssai
dthatther schooseAmhar
espondent icas
al anguageofwr i
t i
ng.Simil
arl
y,100% ofthepar t
ici
pantschooseAmhar i
cforreading.Noneofthe
respondentschoseGur agi
naasalanguageofwrit
ingandreadi
ng.Failur
etouset helanguagef
orwri
ti
ng
andr eadi
ngseemst obeduet oli
mitedsoci
alandeconomi copport
unit
yt hatr
equir
est heuseoft
hese
skil
ls.

Thef
indi
ngsofi
tem-
18and19i
ndi
cat
est
hatt
hel
anguagei
svul
ner
abl
etobeendanger
ed.

Moreoveri
nthissect
ion,
thepar
ti
ci
pant
swereaskedtochoosethel
anguagetheyusei
nagivendomain.
Concer
ningtheuseofGuragi
nai
ndif
fer
entdomai
ns,sev
enitemsweresetandthefi
ndi
ngsar
epresent
ed
her
e.

Ascanbeseenintheabovetabl
e,i
ncourts94.1%ofthepar
ti
ci suseAmhar
pant icand5.
9oft
hem usea
mixoft
hetwo.Noneofthem useGuragi
naaloneint
hecourt
.

Simi
larl
y,i
nheal
thsector
s82.4%oft
her suseAmhar
espondent icand17.
6%oft
hem swi
tchf
rom Amhar
ic
toGuragi
naorvi
ce-ver hem useGur
sa.Noneoft agi
naal
onei
nhealt
hsector
.

However
,50% oftheparti
cipantssai
dtheyuseGuragi
naathome38. 2% bei
ngamixofGuragi
naand
Amhari
c.Theother11.
8%useAmhar i
cathome.Thef i
ndi
ngindi
cat
esthatther
eisal
soatendencyof
l
anguageshi
ftathome,andGur agi
nai
snotdominantev
enathome.

Inoff
ices, 88.
2%oft hem useAmharic, hem useGur
andnoneoft agi
naalone.11.8%ofthem useami xof
thetwo.
Inworkpl aces27.7%oft heparti
ci
pantsuseGuragi
naand14.7%oft hem makeashi f
tf r
om Amhari
ct o
Guraginaorvice-
versa,and67.7%ofthem useAmhari
c.
Inmar ket,38.2%oft heinfor
mantsuseGur agi
nawhereas32.4%oft hem useAmhar ic.29.
4%ofthem
usebot h.Inmarketwher emostofthepeopl ear
eindi
genous,Amharicissti
llcompet
ingwi t
hGuragina
andtherei sashi
ft.

I
nreli
giousplaces,85.
3%oft her
espondent
suseAmhar
icand14.
7%oft
hem mi
xthet
wo.Nobodyuses
Gur
aginaaloneinsuchplaces.

General
ly,itcanbeinferr
edt hatAmhar icisdominant
lyusedf orspeaking,wri
ti
ngandr eadi
nginGurage
communi ty,butGuraginaifusedi tisrestri
ctedt
oor alcommuni cat
ion.Ont heotherhand,Guragi
nai s
mainlyusedathomeandmar ketdomai ns.Amharicist hedominantlanguageinthecourt,of
ficeand
rel
i
giouspl aceswithsomeshi ftfr
om Amhar ictoGuraginaorv i
ce-v
ersa.IfaGuraginaisusedi nother
domainot herthanhome, i
tisof t
enmi xedwithAmharic.

TheStat
usofGur agi
naLanguageacrossGener
ati
ons
Tabl
e4:-
Languageuseacrossgener
ati
ons

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893

I
nor dertoassessthestatusofGur aginalanguageacrossgenerati
ons,fouri
temswer ei
ncludedi
nthe
questi
onnair
e.It
em-27wasdev i
sedt oidentif
yifthepart
ici
pant
spar ent
s/grandparent
sspeakGuragi
na
well.Themaj or
it
y,79.
4%, ofthepartici
pantssaidYes,andonly4.9%oft hem r edNo.Thi
epl
i sindi
cat
es
thatGuragi
naisparent
al/
grandparentallanguage.

Withregardstoitem- 28t hati

ntendstoidenti
fywhethertheparti
cipantsspeakGur agi
nawell70.
6%of
t dYes,and20.
hem sai 6%oft hem sai
dNo.Thedat aclearl
yshowst hatsomepartofthepeoplecannot
speakGuragina.
Ascanbeseeni nt het ableabove,55.
9%oft hepar t
ici
pantsrepor
t edthatchi
l
drenory ounggenerat
ion
donotspeakGur agi naand38. 2%oft hem wereUncertai
n.Itisonly2.9%ofther espondent
sthatsaid
chil
drenspeakGur agina.Thisimpliest
hatthelanguageisendangered.

Alanguagei
ssai
dtobeendanger
edwhent
hechi
l
drenar
enotl
ear
ningt
ospeakt
hel
anguageal
though
t
heymayunderst
andi
tal
it
tl
e.

Si
milar
ly,64.
7% oftheinf
ormant
srepor
tedt
hattheydonotbeli
evethatt
hei
rGuragi
gnaski
lli
sbeing
st
rengt
henedtimetoti
me.Iti
sonl
y32.4%oft
herespondent
sthatr
eporedYesi
t ndi
cat
ingt
hei
rGuragi
na
i
simprov i
ngfr
om t
imetoti
me.

From thefi
ndi
ngsofthispartofthequest
ionnai
re,wecanunder
standthattheuseofGuragi
nais
decl
ini
ngfrom par
ent
al/
grandpar
ent
algener
ati
ontot hey
ounggenerat
ion.I
tiscommonlyspokenby
ol
derspeaker
s.
s.
n I
tem Yes No Uncer
tai
n

F % F % F %

27 Can y
ourparent
s/gr
andpar
ent
s speak 325 95.
1 15 4.
9 - -
Gur
agi
nawel
l?

28 Cany
ouspeakGur
agi
nawel
l
? 240 70.
6 70 20.
6 30 8.
8

29 Are chi l
dren/ young gener
ati
on 10 2.
9 190 55.
9 130 38.
2
speakGur
agi
gnawel
l
?

30 Doy oubeliev
ethaty
ourGur
agi
gnaski
l
l 110 32.
4 220 64.
7 10 2.
9
st
rengthenedti
metoti
me?

TheStatusofGur
aginaLanguageforVar
iousFuncti
ons
Tabl
e5:Guragi
naLanguageforVar
iousFunct
ions
s.
n I tem I would not Iwoul
dpar
ti
cipat
e I hav e al
ready
par
ti
cipat
e par
ti
cipate

F % F % F %

31 Readi
ngGur
agi
ganewspaper
s 280 82.
4 40 11.
8 20 5.
9

32 Wat
chi
ngGur
agi
naTV 230 67.
6 60 17.
6 50 14.
7

33 Li
steni
ngt
oradi
opr
ogr
ams 290 85.
3 0 0 40 11.
8

34 Li
steni
ngt
omusi
c 60 17.
6 230 67.
6 50 14.
7

889
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,879-
893

35 Vi
ewi
ngGur
agi
nal
anguagewebsi
tes 250 73.
5 90 26.
5 0 0

36 Havi
ng or
gani
zi
ed Recor
ding 210 61.
8 70 20.
6 60 17.
6
Gur
agina

Inordertoachievet hethi
rdspeci
fi
cobj ect
iveset,sevenit
emswereincludedascanbeseeni nt abl
e-5
above.Wi thregards item-31 t
he respondentsr epl
ied t
hatthey would notparti
cipateinr eading
Guraginanewspaper s.However,11.
8% oft hem saidtheywouldpart
ici
pateinreadi
ngGur aginanews
paper.Only5.
9oft hem havesaidthattheyhav eexperi
enceofr
eadi
ng.Thisimpli
esthatt her
ei slitt
leor
noaccessofGur aginanewspaper.

Withregardswat chi
ngTV,themaj or
it
y,67.6% ofthem indicat
edtheywoul
dnotparti
cipat
einthis
l
anguageact i
vi
ty.14.
7%oft hem r
epli
edtheyhavetheexper
ienceofwatchi
ngTV.Thi
ssmallnumberof
oppor
tunit
iescouldbewatchi
ngTVshowst ransl
atedt
oGuragina.

Theparti
cipants,85.3%ofthem,repor
tedthattheywoul
dnotpart
ici
pateinl
ist
eningtor
adi
opr
ograms.
Only11.8% oft hem sai
dtheypart
ici
pat
ei nli
steni
ngtoradi
o.Thisli
tt
leopport
unit
ycoul
dbethatof
tr
ansl
atedlist
eningpr ogr
ams.

Theparti
cipants,67.6%,showedhi ghfr
equencyoflist
eningtoGuraginamusics.I
nthi
sregardGuraginais
ofgoodst atussinceGur agi
nahassomesi ngersthatmakei nt
eresti
ngmusi cs.Thefi
ndingshowst hat
Musicisani mpor t
antfuncti
onofGur agi
nat hatcontri
butetomai ntai
ningandexpressingcult
ureand
i
denti
tyofGur age.
Thedatai ni t
em- 35indi
catest hatGur
aginaisnotal anguageofwebsi te,73.
5% oft herespondents
st
atedtheyhav enosuchexper ience.

Simil
arl
y,i
nitem-35wecanseet hathighproport
ionoftherespondentsstatedthattheywoul
dnot
part
ici
pateinrecordi
ng and documenti
ng the l
anguage,61.
8%. A l anguage which i
s notwi
del
y
documentedandrecor
dedisvi
abletoendangerment.

Thefindingsofthi
spar tofthequesti
onnai
reindi
catedt
hatGuraginaisofal ow st
atuslanguagewi th
regar
dst oit
sfunct
ioninthenewspaperandmedia.Thatmeansi
thasl owaccesstober eadandlistened
byawi dercommunity.Si
milar
ly,
ithasl
owstatusofit
sdocument
ations.I
tisnotwidel
yusedinwr i
ting.

Frequency/Stat
usofGur agi
naLanguageusewithOt her
s
Table6:Thefrequencyofrespondent
sGur
aginalanguageusewi
thotherpeopl
e
s. I tem Never Rarely Somet
imes Of t
en Al
way
s
n
Who do y ou speak F % F % F % F % F %
Guragi
na?

37 Spouseorpar
tner 35 10.
3 20 5.
9 110 31.
1 90 26.
8 85 25.
3

38 Chi
l
dren 180 52.
9 40 11.
8 80 23.
5 0 0 40 11.
8

39 Par
ent
(s) 10 2.
9 20 5.
9 40 11.
8 90 26.
5 180 52.
9

40 Gr
andpar
ent
(s) 10 2.
9 20 5.
9 20 5.
9 30 8.
8 260 76.
5

41 Si
bli
ng(
s) 20 5.
9 50 14.
7 170 50 10 2.
9 90 26.
5

42 Ot
herf
ami
l
ymember
s 10 2.
9 120 35.
3 170 50 20 5.
9 20 5.
9

43 Co-
wor
ker
s 120 35.
3 150 44.
1 50 14.
7 20 5.
9

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44 Non-
rel
ated 20 5.
9 70 20.
6 190 55.
9 30 8.
8 30 8.
8

45 Communi
tymember
s 10 5.
9 50 29.
4 70 44.
1 10 5.
9 15 8.
8

I
nor dertofi
ndoutthest
atusofGur agi
nal
anguageusewi t
hot her
sandi
dent
if
ywi
thwhom t
he
par
ti
cipant
suseGur
agi
namostf
requent
lyni
nei
temsweredesi
gned.

I
nthetabl
eabov
e,itcanbeseent
hatmost(
31.
5%)oft
herespondent
suseGur nasomet
agi imeswi
tht
hei
r
par
tner
.26.
8%ofthem Oft
enand25.
3%speakGur naal
agi ways.

Withchi
ldren52.
9% neveruseGuragi
na.26.
5% useoft 9% useal
enand52. wayswi
thpar
ent
s.Thi
s
confi
rmsthatGur
agi
nai
swi del
yusedbypar
ent
algener
ati
on.

Themajori
tyofrespondentsreportedalwayswit
hsibl
ings(
26.5%)
,rarel
ywithot
herfami
lymembers
(35. ,somet
3%) imes with co-workers(44.1%)
,someti
meswit
h non-r
elat
ed (
55.
9%),someti
mes wi
th
communit
ymember s(44.1%).

Thefi
ndi
ngsi
ndi
cat
ethatthemaj
ori
tyofthecommuni yr
t arel
yusesGur
agi
nawit
hchi
l
drenandwi
th
fami
l
ymember somet
s, imeswit
hco-
worker
s,non-
rel
atedandcommunit
ymember
s.

Teachi
ngGuraginainSchoolsasSubj
ect
Table7:
-Par
ti
cipant
sAtti
tudetowar
dsincorpor
ati
ngGuragi
nai
nschoolcur
ri
cul
um
s. I t
em St
rongly Di
sagree Uncer
tai
n Agr ee St
rongl
yagr
ee
n di
sagree

F % F % F % F % F %

46 Guragi
nashoul
dbet
aughti
n 20 5.
9 22 6.
6 6 5.
2 60 17. 230 64.
7
school 6

47 I
t i simpossibletoteach 130 38.
2 50 14. 10 29.
4 20 5.
9 40 11.
8
Gur
aginaatschoolbecause 7 0
ofi
tsdial
ectdi
ffer
ence

48 I
tisri
ghtforpeopl
enott
o 130 38.
2 150 44. 15 4.
4 15 4.
4 30 11.
8
l
ear
nGuragi
na. 1

49 Incl
uding Gur
agina in t
he 40 11.
8 30 8.
8 7 2.
2 120 35. 143 42.
1
curr
iculum is pr omoti
ng 3
cult
ure and i
denti
ty oft
he
people

50 Suppor
tingtoembrancet
he 7 2.
2 17 5.
3 53 14.
7 23 6.
6 240 70.
6
l
anguagei ncur
ri
cul
umsf or
school
s

I
nor dert
oaddressthet
hir
dspeci
ficobj
ect
ivethatstat
esthefeasi
bil
i
tyofi
ncludi
ngGuragi
nalanguagei
n
theschoolcurri
cul
um.TheAtti
tudequesti
onnair
ei ncl
udestheitemsforidenti
fyi
ngtherespondent
s’
bel
ieftoincor
porat
eGuragi
nainaschoolcurr
iculum.Thefindi
ngsofthispartofthequest
ionnai
reare

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pr
esent
edbel
ow.

Wit
hregardstoit
em 46,t
hatint
endstoident
if
ywhetherGur
aginashoul
dbet
aughti
nschool
s64.
7% of
t
her sSt
espondent rongl
yAgreed and17.
6%oft hem Agr
eed.

Whilet
hehomeandt
hecommunityr
emai
nthemostcruci
aldomai
nsf orl
anguageuseandt
ransmi
ssi
on,
school
scanpl
ayanimpor
tantr
oleasanaddi
ti
onalpl
acewherelanguagesareusedandshowntobe
val
ued.

I
tem- 47wasdev isedtofindoutwhet heritisimpossiblet oteachGur aginaatschoolbecauseofi t
s
dial
ectdiff
erence.Whi l
e38.2% oft herespondentsrepliedStronglyDi sagree,14.7% ofthem report
ed
Disagreetothisitem.11.8%and5. 9%oft hepart
ici
pantsr epledSt
i r onglyAgreeandAgr eerespecti
vel
y
i
ndicatedthatdialectdi
ff
erencecouldbeachal l
engetoi ncludethelanguagei nthecur
ricul
um.Howev er,
theresponseoft hemajori
tyofrespondentsimpl
iesthatdi al
ectdif
ferencei snotthechal
lenge.

Regar
dingi
tem-48,t
hemaj or
it
y( 44.1%)ofthei
nfor
mantssaidDisagreeonthisit
em whichst
atesiti
s
ri
ghtf
orpeopl
enottolear
nGur agina,and38.
2%ofthem r
epl
iedthattheySt
ronglyDisagr
eetot
hisi
tem.

It
em-49wasdesignedtopoi ntoutpart
icipant
s’opi
nionwhet heri
ncl
udi
ngGur agi
nainthecur
ri
cul
um
promot
escul
tureandidenti
tyofthepeople.Themajori
ty,42.
1%,ofthepart
ici
pant dSt
ssai r
ongl
yAgree
and35.
3%oft hem r
eporedAgr
t eet
othisitem.

Thi
sindi
cat
est
hattheplaceofGuraginai
nt hecurr
icul
um i
sbel
i
evedt
ohav
eagr
eatr
olei
npr
omot
ing
cul
tur
eandmai
ntai
ningi
denti
tyofGuragepeople.

Findi
ngsf r
om Intervi
ew
Regardingparti
cipant
s’at
ti
tudetowar
dsGur agi
nauseandat ti
tude,i
tisfoundthatGur
agi
nai
simport
ant
tobuildast r
ongGur ageident
it
y,topreser
veanddev el
opt helanguage,tojust
if
yacommonorigi
n,to
faci
li
tat
eintergr
oupcommuni cati
on,t
oachievegoodgovernanceandt odevel
opeconomy.

Thedomai nsinwhichGur agi

nacanbeused,t heexi stingpossibi
li
tiesandt hepotenti
alrisksi nusing
Guragi
nahav ealsobeenaddr essed.Manypar ticipantsi ndi
catedthatt heywoul
dl i
ket oseeGur agina
usedinalldomai ns,suchaseducat ion,admi nistr
ationandmedi a.Someot hers,howev er,limi
tt he
commonGur agi
nauset omassmedi aand/ oreducat ion.Ont heot herhand,someoft her espondents
rej
ectacommonGur aginausei nadmi nist
rati
on.A commonGur aginausei nadmi nist
rationisnot
recommendedbecauseGur ageZonei sinhabit
edbyGur aginaspeakersandnon-Guraginaspeaker s,such
asQabenaandLi bi
dowhomaynotunder standt hecommonGur agina.Thisfi
ndingisconsi stentwith
Fekede'
s(2015).

Thekeyinformant sexpl
ainedt heexi st
ingpract
icesi
ncour t
s.Theyr eport
edt hatcour
tsusei nterpr
eters.
Theinter
pretat
ionisbotht ot heclientsandjudgesast herear ejudgeswhodonotunder standGur agina
andcli
entswhodonotunder standAmhar i
c.Incaseswher ejudgesunder standGuragi
nacl i
entsmayuse
Guragi
nabutt hejudgesdonotuseGur agi
nat oavoidbi as.Thekeyi nformantssuggestt heuseof
Guragi
naincour tsinthefuture.Manyoft hem alsot
hinkt hatGur agi
nashoul dbeusedincour tsofeach
Guragedistr
icts.Theyarguet hatther eshouldnotbeanymi sunder st
andingbecauseofl anguageused.
Withregardst heuseofGur agi naincour tsFekede( 2015)ci t
eshi sinformant,Weldegebriel,acour t
scenar
iowher eacl i
entwaswr ongl
yj udgedbecauseofmi sinter
pretati
onasf oll
ows:

"Yesterday,Iwentt oacour troom andwhent heytoldmet hepr

oblem t
heyfacedduet olanguage
i
nterpreterisapity.Awomanaccusedofherhusbandf ornotsupply
ingherwit
hbasicneeds,butthe
i
nterpreterexplai
nedt heissuetot hecourtdi
ff
erentl
yasi fshewantedadi v
orce.Thenexttimeshe
comest othecour t
,thewomanf oundhersel
fdivor
ced.Shet henbegantocryandshoutthatshehas
neveraskedf oradivorcebutforsuppl
yoffoodstuff
s”.

Tosummar
izet
hef
indi
ngsf
rom i
nter
view,Gur
agepeopl
ehav
eposi
ti
veat
ti
tudet
owar
dst
hei
rlanguage.

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Theybeli
evethatGuragi
naisi
mpor
tanttobui
ldastr
ongGur ageident
it
y,t
opr eser
veanddev
elopthe
l
anguageandt ojust
ifyacommonori
gin.Howev
er,t
hei
rresponsesshow thattheuseofGuragi
nain
di
ffer
entdomainsisl
i
mi t
ed.

FindingsofFocusGr oupDi scussi on

Thedi scussantsint hefocusgr oupdiscussi onr eportedsomegener alattri
butestowardsGur age.Some
Guragepeopl ewer eashamedoft heirident i
ty;theyf ail
edt ouset hei
rl anguage.Gur
agepeopl eare
courteous;t heyuseAmhar ici ftherear enon- Gur agi
naspeaker sasinter
locutors.SomeGur agepeople
hidet hemsel vesbynotspeaki ngGur agina.Int hepast, Guragepeopleweremockedbyot hersbecauseof
thei
rlanguage.
Heret heat tri
butesshowt hatani ndividualoragr oupi snotconsideredGuragei fhe/shefai
ledtospeak
his/herl anguageeitherf
orpur poseofaccommodat i
ngot hers,
example,Amhar icspeaker
sorbecausehe
i
sashamedofusi nghisownl anguage, Gur agina.

Someofther
espondent
sr epor
tedthefol
lowi
ngconcerningatt
it
udetowardsGuragi
na.
1. Far
mersmixAmharic,andevenEngli
shwordthattheyhearthem f
rom cadr
es,wi
thGur
agi
na.
2. I
ntowns,
peoplemixlanguages.
3. Thenewgener
ati
onusesGur amayl
e‘amixedlanguage.

General
ly
,thepar t
ici
pant
sexpr essedthatGuragi
naisal ow statuslanguagesinceitisnotcommonl y
used indif
ferentdomains.Mor eover,theyexpr
essed thatchildr
enar enot,gener al
ly,speaki
ng the
l
anguage,thosewhouset helanguageismi xi
ngitwit
hAmhar ic.Thisindi
cat
est hatthereislanguage
shi
ftandthereisl
owi nt
ergener
ational
languagetr
ansmission.

Di
scussi
on:
-
Few studieshav eexaminedhow soci
alpsychol
ogi
calvar
iabl
es(e.gatt
itudes,i
dent
it
ies,etc)aff
ect
l
inguist
icbehaviouramongstmembersoftheGuragecommuniti
es.Thepresentst
udyexami nessoci
al
psychologi
calandlanguagedat
acol
lect
edfr
om membersofthecommuniti
es.

Oneoft hespecif
icobj
ecti
vesoft hi
sresearchwast oinvest
igatetheatt
it
udeGur agepeoplepossess
towardsGuragina.Thepar
ti
cipantsshowedaposi t
iveat
tit
udetowardsGuraginaforit
ssy mbol
icval
uein
promotingcult
ureandidenti
ty.Thi
sisconsistentwit
hFekede's(2015)f
indi
ngt hatGuragepeopl
ev al
ue
thei
rlanguage.

I
nordertounder standt hesoci alpsy chologi
calpr ocessesunder ly
ingthecompl exit
iesoflanguageand
i
denti
typhenomena, Gilesandhi scolleaguesproposedat heoryof“Ethno-l
inguist
icidenti
ty”.I
tshouldbe
not
edthatempi ricaltesti
ngoft hist heorysuggest sthatlanguageuseandi dentit
yarer el
atedreci
procall
y:
l
anguageusei nf l
uencest hef ormat ionofgr oup i denti
ty,and gr oup i
dent i
tyinfl
uencespat ter
nsof
l
anguageatti
tudesandusage( seeGi l
es&Coupl and, 1991;Sachdev &Bourhis,1990).Theschol ar
sfurther
hi
ghli
ghtthatwor kingt ostr
engt henal anguager equiresadet ail
edunderstandingoft hatlanguageoni ts
ownterms,it
shi story,i
tsstatus, theatt i
tudeoft
hecommuni t
y,etc.

Thesecondspeci f
icobjecti
veofthi
sstudywast oidenti
fywhetherthepart
ici
pantsuseGur agi
nai n
diff
erentdomainsofhome, market
,heal
thcentre,
cour t
,workplacesandsoon.Thef i
ndi
ngi
ndicatedthat
Guraginaismainlyusedathomeandmar ketdomai ns.Thisfi
ndingisal
soconsi
stentwit
hFekede'sr
esult
thattherespondent
sr ar
elyuseGur
aginaexcepthomeandmar ketdomains.

Domainsanal y
sisarei ncludedint hi
sstudybecausedomai nsandl anguageat ti
tudesareinterrelat
ed.
Accor
ding to Hohent al(1998),attit
udes,whi ch develop i
n a societ
ydur ing a courseoft i
me,can
det
erminet hedomai nsinwhi chapar ti
cul
arl anguagei susedi nasociety,andthereforedeterminet he
pl
aceal anguageholdsi nasoci ety
.Whenspeaker susetwolanguages,theywillnotusebot hlanguages
i
nallcircumstances,butwi llchooseoneov ert heotheraccordingt
opar ti
cipants,si
tuati
on,cont entof
di
scourseandf unct
ionofi nter
acti
on( Gr
osjean, 1982;ascit
edinHohent al
,1998).

Duet
othesoci
o-economi
cint
erest
,Gur
agepar
ent
sseem t
oal
l
ow t
heuseofAmhar
icl
anguagei
nthe

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893

home,whi chledtocodemi xingbetweenAmharicandGuragignalanguage.Thisaff

ectedt
heneedt o
conversei
nt hemothertongue.
Thef actthatther
eisnoschoolsy l
l
abusthatrequi
resGuragignafl
uencyf orthepri
maryschooland
secondaryschoolyearsofast udent,i
tisnotsurpr
isi
ngthatifonegoest oaGuragehousehold,
i
tis
commont hattheyoungchildrenspeakandarespokentointheAmhariclanguage.

Fewerandf ewerspeakersoft
helanguagespeakGuragignalanguagetothei
rchi
ldrenathome.Amhari
c
l
anguagehast akenov erandbecamet hepredominantlanguageofcommuni cati
onwi t
hintheGur
age
communi t
y.ThefactthatAmhari
clanguagebecomest hedominantlanguagei
snotonlyevidenti
nur
ban
areasbutaswelli
nr emoteGur
agev i
ll
agesinwhichami xt
ureofAmhar i
candGuragignai
sev i
dent
.

Theav ai
l
abil
it
yofGur
agi
gnal
anguagei
nthemedi
a,suchasi
nthel
ocalnewspaper
sandr
adi
oseemst
o
beinappl
icabl
e.

Mor eover,parentsseem tobereluctanttospeakGuragignalanguageathome, butuseAmhar i

clanguage
tocommuni catewiththeirchi
ldren.Homeandpar entsespecial
ly,of
tenthel astimport
antagenti n
preservati
onofanyl anguage(Ant onini
,2002).Parenti smodelf orchil
drenl anguagelear
ning and
i
nfluencet hel i
keli
hoodofwhatl anguagewi l
lthechildrenadoptandl ear
n( Bartr
am,2006;Gal i
ndo&
Wor thy
, 2006).

Bar
renaetal
.(2007)detailsev
eralr
easonswhycommuni
ti
esst
ruggl
etor
evi
vet
hei
rlanguagesamongst
ar
elackofst
atusforthelanguageoroff
ici
alsuppor
t.

Educati
onal
,fi
nancialandpol
it
icalconst r
aint
si m¬posedbyfeder alandr egi
onalgovernment
shave
severel
yimpededchange,andr ei
nforcedt helow st
atusofGur aginalanguage.Gur
aginaasmother
tonguemedium ofi
nstr
uct
ioni
snotav ail
able;i
snotacurri
cul
um subjectandnotamedium.

Thelow statusoft
helanguageiscl
ear
lyr
efl
ect
edint hedi
screpancybet
weenfeder
alspendi
ngon
‘
off
ici
al’l
anguage(i
e.Amharic)andonGur
agi
nalanguagewhichear nsnoorl
it
tl
ebudgetf r
om t
he
gov
ernment .

Summar
y,Concl
usi
onAndr
ecommendat
ions:
-
Thi
schapterdeal
swi t
hthesummaryofthef i
ndi
ngs,concl
usi
ons,recommendat
ionsofal
ter
nat
ive
sol
uti
onsf
ormaint
aini
ngGur
agi
nal
anguagebasedonthef
indi
ngsofthestudy
.

Themai nobj ectiv

eoft hi
sst udywast oexami nemai ntai
ningGur aginalanguagewi t
hr ef
erencet o
att
it
udeandst atusoft helanguagei nthecommuni ty.Inor dertoaddr essthi
sobjecti
vethef ol
lowing
specif
icobjectiveswer efor
mul ated:
1. Invest
igatet heat t
it
udesthespeaker spossesst owardsGur agignalanguage
2. Identi
fytheuseofGur agignaLanguagei nf amily,fri
endship,rel
igion,employmentandeducat i
on
domai ns
3. Findoutt hest atusofGuragignalanguageforv ari
ousf uncti
ons
4. Assesst hef easibi
li
tyofincorporat
ingGuragignaasasubj ectattheelementaryeducat
ioncurri
culum.

I
nt hecour seofanswer ingthesequest i
ons,descri
pti
vesurveymethodwasempl oyed.Tothiseffect
questi
onnaire,i
nter
v i
ew andclassroom observati
onwer euti
l
izedasinstrumentdur i
ngdat acoll
ect
ion.
Purposiv
esampl ingwasempl oyedtoincludetherequir
edlanguagevari
eties.Si
mpl erandom sampling
wasusedt oselecttheparti
cipants.Accordi
ngly,t
heinfor
mant spar
ti
cipatedandpr ov i
deddependable
data.Furt
hermore,theobtai
neddat awereanalyzedbyemployingfr
equencyandper centage.

SummaryofFi ndings
Themajorfi
ndingsofthestudyareli
stedbel
ow.
1. Therespondent sval
ueGuragi
nalanguageandwoul
dli
ket
oseei tdevel
opedandmai nt
ained,butt
he
dominantroleofAmharicseemstoinfl
uencesomeoft
hepar
ti
cipantstomakelanguageshift
.

894
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5407 I
nt.J.Adv.Res.6(
12)
,879-
893

2. Thepar ti
cipant sshowedaposi tiveat titudet owar dsGur aginaf ori tssy mbol i
cv al uei npr omot ing
cultureandi dent i
ty .Theybel ievet hatGur agi nai sast rongpar toft heiri dent i
tyandt hatconnect ion
wi t
ht hel anguagei scr itical fort heirwel l
bei ng.
3. The r espondent sr epor ed St
t rongl y Agr ee,64. 7 %,and Agr ee,29. 4 %,r espect i
v elyaboutt he
i
mpor t
anceof learni ngandusi ngGur agina.
4. Ther espondent sar enotsat i
sf i
edwi tht heircur rentabi li
tytospeakt helanguage; theymakel anguage
shiftt otheuseofAmhar ic.
5. Ther oleofGur agi nai nwr itingandr eadi ngi sl imi ted.I fusedi ti sr estri
ct edt oor alcommuni cation.
6. Gur aginai smai nlyusedathomeandmar ketdomai ns.Amhar ici sthedomi nantl anguagei nt he
cour t,offi
ceandr eligiouspl aceswi thsomeshi ftf rom Amhar ict oGur agi naorv i
ce- ver sa.
7. Themaj or i
ty,55. 9%,oft hepar ticipant sr epor tedt hatchi ldrenory ounggener at iondonotspeak
Gur agina.TheuseofGur agi nai sdecl i
ningf rom par ental/grandpar ent algener ationt ot hey oung
gener ation.I ti
scommonl yspokenbyol derspeaker s.
8. Itisonl y2. 9%oft her espondent st hatsai dchi l
dr enspeakGur agina.Thi si mpl i
est hatt hel anguagei s
endanger ed.Al anguagei ssai dt obeendanger edwhent hechi ldrenar enotl ear ningt ospeakt he
l
anguageal t
hought heymayunder standi tal itt
le.
9. High pr opor ti
on oft he r espondent s st ated t hatt hey woul d notpar ti
cipat ei nr ecor ding and
document ingt hel anguage,61. 8%. Al anguagewhi chi snotwi delydocument edandr ecor dedi s
viablet oendanger ment .
10.Gur aginai sofal ow st atusl anguagewi thr egar dst oi tsfunct ioni nthenewspaperandmedi a.The
participant s,67. 6%,showedhi ghf requencyofl isteningt oGur aginamusi cs.Thef i
ndi ngshowst hat
Musi ci sani mpor tantf unct ionofGur aginat hatcont ri
but etomai ntainingandexpr essi ngcul tureand
i
dent ityofGur age.
11.Inusi ngGur agi na,wi thchi l
dr ent hemaj or it
yofr espondent sr epor tednev er
,52. 9%,26. 5%useof ten
and52. 9% useal wayswi thpar ent s.Si mi larly,t hemaj orit
yofr espondent sr epor tedal wayswi th
sibli
ngs( 26.5%) ,r arel ywi thot herf ami lymember s( 35.3%) ,somet imes wi thco- wor kers( 44.1%),
somet imeswi thnon- rel ated( 55.9%) ,somet imeswi t hcommuni tymember s( 44.1%) .
12.Whi le38. 2%oft her espondent sr epl edSt
i rongl yDi sagr ee,14. 7%oft hem r epor tedDi sagr eet ot he
i
mpossi bil
ityoft eachi ngGur agi nai nschoolcur r i
cul um duet odi alectdi fference.11. 8%and5. 9%of
thepar ti
cipant sr epl edSt
i rongl yAgr eeandAgr eer espect ivelyindi catedt hatdi alectdi fferencecoul d
beachal l
enget oi ncludet hel anguagei nt hecur riculum.

Conclusi
ons:-
Basedont hef i
ndi
ngsanddi scussionsmadei nthi
sstudy ,t
hef ol
lowingconcl
usionsweremade.
1. Guragepeopl ehaveposi ti
veattit
udetowardsthel anguage.Theywantt opr eser
veandmai nt
ainthe
language;theywantt hei
rlanguagetobetaughtinschool .
2. Thel anguageissuscept i
bletoendangermentsinceintergenerati
onall
anguaget r
ansmissi
onisweak;
chil
drengenerall
yarer el
uctanttospeakGuragina,speakingGur agi
naisconfinedtohomeandmar ket
domai ns,andther
ei slanguageshifti
notherdomai ns.
3. Guraginaisalowst atuslanguagewi t
hlowsocialandeconomi cpresti
ge;poordocumentat
ion.

Recommendat ions
Onthebasi soft hefindi
ngsandt heconcl usionsdr awnoutoft hem, thefoll
owi ngrecommendat i
onswer e
made.
1. Guraginal anguagecent reshoul dbeopenedatWol kiteUniv ersityfordocument ingandstudyi
ngt he
language.
2. Alllevelsofgov ernmentshoul dsuppor tthepr ofil
eandpr estigeofGur aginalanguagebyal l
owingit
tobeusedi nar angeofpubl i
cf uncti
onssuchasl egal sit
uati
on, healt
hsituations,etc.
3. Inshor tter
m, theregionalandl ocalgov ernment sshoul dintroduceGur aginalanguageasasubj ectto
bet aughtinschool susi ngcompar t
ativeanaly sisofGur aginal anguagev ari
eties,andinlongt er
mi t
shouldbeusedasmedi um ofinstructionbyst andardizingGur aginavari
ti
es.
4. TheZonal governmentshoul dseekway sforusi ngGur aginainl ocal r
adiosandot hermedia.
5. Furtherresearchshoul dbedoneont heext entoft hedialecti
cal differ
encesexi stamongt hev ari
eti
es.

Ref
erences:
-

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I
SSN:2320-
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nt.J.Adv.Res.6(
12)
,879-
893

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