Undated
Eastern Tanzania
Dawida and saghala are eastern Bantu languages whose mutual influence complicates their classification. Dawida is described as historically related to E.60 caga, while saghala is associated with zone G; nevertheless, their contact draws both toward G.20 in the lexicostatistical trees. Swahili influence and additional non-Bantu borrowings further obscure the inherited relationships.
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The Story
Dawida and saghala illustrate the difficulty of classifying languages affected by both neighbouring varieties and a widespread vehicular language. The two languages are said to have influenced one another, even though dawida is historically associated with E.60 caga and saghala with the languages of zone G. Their classification therefore cannot be read simply as a direct reflection of genealogy.
The influence of saghala appears stronger in the trees because the pair does not attach consistently to E.60. This influence is considered sufficient to draw both languages toward G.20, although dawida’s greater historical distance probably increases the separation between the two varieties and weakens their attachment to broader groups.
Lexical evidence points to distinct histories of borrowing. Dawida and saghala do not take the same words from Swahili, and each also contains isolated lexemes borrowed from non-Bantu languages. The contrast between the reflex of *-boko ‘bras’ in E.60 and saghala and the reflex of *-kono in dawida, Swahili, and most surveyed G languages further illustrates the uneven distribution of shared forms.
The combined effects of mutual contact, Swahili as a vehicular language, and non-Bantu borrowing increase the apparent distance between dawida and saghala in some parts of the classification. Lexicostatistics can identify these complications and locate the problem, but the extract does not treat it as a method capable of providing a definitive answer.
Undated
Eastern Tanzania
Dawida and saghala are eastern Bantu languages whose mutual influence complicates their classification. Dawida is described as historically related to E.60 caga, while saghala is associated with zone G; nevertheless, their contact draws both toward G.20 in the lexicostatistical trees. Swahili influence and additional non-Bantu borrowings further obscure the inherited relationships.
Continue exploring
The Story
Dawida and saghala illustrate the difficulty of classifying languages affected by both neighbouring varieties and a widespread vehicular language. The two languages are said to have influenced one another, even though dawida is historically associated with E.60 caga and saghala with the languages of zone G. Their classification therefore cannot be read simply as a direct reflection of genealogy.
The influence of saghala appears stronger in the trees because the pair does not attach consistently to E.60. This influence is considered sufficient to draw both languages toward G.20, although dawida’s greater historical distance probably increases the separation between the two varieties and weakens their attachment to broader groups.
Lexical evidence points to distinct histories of borrowing. Dawida and saghala do not take the same words from Swahili, and each also contains isolated lexemes borrowed from non-Bantu languages. The contrast between the reflex of *-boko ‘bras’ in E.60 and saghala and the reflex of *-kono in dawida, Swahili, and most surveyed G languages further illustrates the uneven distribution of shared forms.
The combined effects of mutual contact, Swahili as a vehicular language, and non-Bantu borrowing increase the apparent distance between dawida and saghala in some parts of the classification. Lexicostatistics can identify these complications and locate the problem, but the extract does not treat it as a method capable of providing a definitive answer.