Aspects Of The Morphology Of Atsam Language
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Aspects Of The Morphology Of Atsam Language
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
General Background.
This paper focusses on Atsam morphology. Atsam is one of the languages spoken in the Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. ‘Chawei’ is another name for Atsam language.
This chapter will provide the historical and linguistic background, geographical location, genetic classification, scope of study, and chapter summaries.
Historical background.
According to oral tradition, the Atsam people are an ethnic group living in Kaduna state. They are mostly found in states such as Plateau, Nassarawa, and the Federal Capital Territory. Atsam people descended from Sango Kattaf.
Geographical Location
Kauru Local Government Area in Kaduna State is home to individuals who speak Atsam. They share borders with Plateau, Kaduna Local Government in the south, and Zango Kattaf in the west. Atsam is spoken in six districts of Kauru L. G. A., which are
Damakasuwa, has its district headquarters in Damakusuwa Chawei. This district includes settlements including Kisari, Mangual, and Refingura.
Zambina Chawei. It includes settlements including Baduru, Kurmi, and Risga.
Fadan Chawei. With its district headquarters in Fadan Chawei. This district includes villages like Talo and Riban.
Pari with its district head in Kaffin Chawei. This district includes villages like Kaffin Chawei and Pari, among others.
Kamaru district, with its district seat in Kizakoro, includes settlements such as Kihoba and Kamaru.
Barkin Kogi.
Each district is led by a district head.
Sociocultural profile.
Cultural practice
Culture encompasses a people’s entire way of life, including their beliefs, way of living, and art. Culture must be studied firsthand, which includes researching behaviour, customs, language, and so on.
The aspects of Atsam that we will explore here are their language, festivals, religion, marriage ceremony, sorts of food they eat, and jobs they do.
Traditional Festival
One of the festivals in Atsam is “SHAKDODO” Shakdodo is the name of a man who became enraged due to his wives’ bad behaviour and transformed into a river. Shakdodo is scarified as commanded by the priests, and food and household animals like as goats, fowl, Guinea-corn are used to make sacrifices to the river.
Women are not allowed to participate in this celebration, any woman detected, will be punished by providing goods like Goat, Fowl to appease the river.
Marriage Ceremony
A few steps must be done before a man and a woman can marry in Assam. First, there is an intermediary between the wife and her husband’s family. It is the intermediary’s responsibility to communicate the intentions of both families.
The bride’s family will then determine whether they want their daughter to marry the man. After numerous consultations, a date is decided, this time; dowry of the woman (bride) is paid along side with tubers of yam, kolanut, and certain yards of cloth. However, if the couple wishes to have a church wedding or a nikkah program, a separate day will be designated for it.
BURIAL CEREMONY
The Atsam people execute burial ceremonies in a variety of ways, depending on the sex of the deceased. If an old man dies, a rite known as “SHANGBARI” is conducted in his honour for seven days.
On the 40th day, another rite known as “PEPIYON” is held to please the dead not to forget his family members; these ceremonies are not performed for women.
Mode of administration
Atsam is divided into six districts, each led by its own district head. The heads are responsible for maintaining law and order within their respective jurisdictions.
The district heads are backed by a number of village heads within their domains, while ward heads, also known as Mai’angwa, are located below the village head. The Mai’angwa reports to the village chief. Mai’angwa is the village head, district head, and chief (Res – Tsam).
OCCUPATION
The Atsam people’s main occupations are farming, crafting, and beekeeping, with farming being the most common.
RELIGION
Christianity is the prevalent religion among the Atsam people. According to the informant, there are not many Muslims in Assam.
1.5 Sociolinguistic Profile
The Atsam language is used to communicate in schools, churches, and markets. Atsam is spoken in Kauru Lacal Government Area of Kaduna State, while it has been claimed that the Hausa language has led to the extinction of numerous languages spoken in Nigeria’s north.
Schools use Hausa as a medium of instruction, with English as the target language. Atsam is a minority language among the Atsam people, whereas Hausa is a language of general communication.
Neighbouring language groups communicate with Atsam language because of their distinct nature in terms of accommodating, peacekeeping, and friendly actions.
Atsam speakers number only approximately 30,000, and it is utilised as a medium of communication among Atsam speakers in markets and during festival seasons.
METHODOLOGY
The methodology for this research is as follows.
Data Collection
Data analysis
This research was made feasible by a multilingual informant
Name of informant: Mr. Sunday Danladi.
Age of the informant: 45 years.
Religion of informant: Christianity.
Marital Status: Married
Years in hometown: -25 years.
Aside from Atsam, languages spoken include English, Hausa, and Tyap.
Occupation: Police Officer
Data analysis –
The means of data elicitation are the following:
The Ibadan wordlist of one hundred lexical elements.
The Hypothetical Frame Technique
Structured and unstructured oral interviews.
The Ibadan wordlist of lexical elements is a list intended to elicit
Similar products in multiple languages. The wordlist includes items common to human culture, such as body parts and numerals.
The frame approach helped in tiny measures to ascertain
the real contextual usage and forms of words, as well as the different morphological forms that words might take.
Oral interviews, both formal and unstructured, have also been used to gather data. Structured questions are ones that are prepared ahead of time for the informant, whereas unstructured questions use the informant’s response as a source of further information. Materials used include:
Writing supplies
Recording tapes and cassettes
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