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Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow. A renowned linguist, Joshua Fishman...

Read the passage below and then answer the questions that follow.
A renowned linguist, Joshua Fishman, identifies one of the signals of a dying language as its loss of ‘intergenerational’ use. ‘Intergenerational’ use means that there are old people, middle-aged people and young people using it. In other words, the language is not only alive among the older generation.
It is possible to argue that there is evidence that many Kenyan indigenous languages have begun their walk towards death. Many parents in urban areas speak to their children in English or Kiswahili at home. The unfortunate thing in urban areas is that, while a child who does not learn English or Kiswahili at home will learn it well enough at school, the only social institution that would pay attention to the acquisition of the indigenous language is the home. Increased social mobility, urbanization, inter-ethnic marriages and formal education have hampered the transmission of indigenous languages to the next generation. Of these factors, urbanization is seen to have contributed to the weakening of indigenous languages in various ways.
To begin with, in urban areas and cosmopolitan areas, the natural environment for the acquisition, development and transmission of indigenous language is absent. Relatives, particularly grandparents whose only language is the indigenous language, are not part of the urban social set-up. The growing child, therefore, finds that English and Kiswahili are sufficient communication tools. This reduces the motivation to learn and use the indigenous language. Thus, many of the children growing up in urban settings lack basic oral skills in their parents’ indigenous languages. If this is not checked, these young people will have no indigenous language to pass onto the next generation, and this will keep reducing the number of speakers of those particular languages.
Another aspect of urban life that affects language transmission in Kenya is that most mothers are career women. They rely on domestic helps to bring up their children. These domestic helps, in most cases, speak a different indigenous language from that of the employers. In nearly all such situations, the parents instruct the domestic help to speak to their children either in Kiswahili or in English.
Inter-ethnic marriages are more common in urban areas than in the rural areas. Within the patriarchal family structure in Kenya, it is expected that the wife in such a marriage will learn her husband’s language and then pass it on to the children. However, the environment in urban area does not enable the wife to learn her husband’s language. In many of such cases, the wife chooses to address the children in Kiswahili or English and leaves the husband, in the limited time he has with the children to pass on his language. It is thus, understandable if such children, who also spend most of their playtime with children from other language groups, develop better skills in a common language such as Kiswahili or English.
Another characteristic of the urban areas is that the desire to communicate across language groups surpasses the wish to express oneself in the indigenous language. The language of choice in social gatherings is therefore a common language such as Kiswahili. Insistence on using indigenous languages in such social gatherings is viewed as arrogance.
It is important to note that a lot of development in Kenya takes place in the urban areas and, therefore, the urban population is associated with prestige and is viewed as the pacesetter in many aspects of life. Thus, what happens in urban centres soon spreads to rural areas, including the use of a common language for communication.
Urbanization and westernization have also led to the disintegration of the traditional social structures within which the various genres in indigenous languages were used. Ceremonies in which people expressed themselves in song, dance, poetry and speeches in their indigenous languages have been largely replaced by modern ceremonies conducted either in Kiswahili, in English, or in both Kiswahili and English. This reduces the environments in which indigenous languages are used and makes it difficult for the young generation in the urban areas to develop language skills in these languages.
History shows that urbanization is here to stay. It is, therefore, important for societies to find ways of keeping the indigenous languages alive.

a) Drawing your illustration from the first paragraph, identify one signal of a dying language.

b) What evidence does the writer give to prove that Kenyan indigenous are dying out.

c) State the factors that have hindered the transmission of indigenous languages to the next generation.

d) Identify and explain the imagery in the second paragraph

e) In what ways does the urban social set-up interfere with the natural environment for the acquisition of the indigenous language.

f) What role do domestic helps play in language transmission?

g) In note form outline the writer’s argument on how urbanization has contributed to the weakening of indigenous languages.

h) Explain the meaning of the following expression as used in the passage.

checked

patriarchal family structure

Answers

1. a) It’s loss of intergenerational” use (1mk) which means there are no old people, middle-aged people and young
people using it/the language is only alive among the older generation.

b) Parents speak to their children in English or Kiswahili at home thus denying them the only opportunity
available to learn their indigenous language.

c) Personification – walk towards death – means languages are gradually becoming extinct.

d) Increased social mobility

Urbanization

Inter-ethnic marriages

Formal education
e) Relatives whose only language is the indigenous languages are absent.
- The child finds that English and Kiswahili are sufficient communication tools hence do not need to learn the
indigenous language.

f) The domestic help speaks a different language from that of the employer hence are instructed to speak to the children either in English or Kiswahili. This affects/hinders the acquisition of the indigenous language.

g) Has interfered with the natural environment for the acquisition of indigenous language.
- Most mothers are career women who rely on domestic helps who do not speak their indigenous languages.

h) Checked – controlled stopped from getting worse/going on.

ii) Patriarchal family structure – a family set up controlled by the man giving power and importance to the ma

marto answered the question on June 11, 2019 at 08:09

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They are best seen not on foot or from outer space but through the window of an aero plane; the newly cleared lands, the expanding wave of roads and settlements, the spirals of smoke and the shrinking enclaves of natural habitat. In a glance, we are reminded that the once mighty wilderness has shriveled. We measure it in hectares and count the species it contains; knowing that everyday something vital is slipping from us, a million year old history fading from sight.
I invite you now to try to visualize the loss in biological diversity due to the reduction of natural habitat. Consider the loss, most invincible to us today but destined to be painfully obvious to our descendants that occurs when entire wilderness is degraded or destroyed. On a worldwide basis, extinction is accelerating and could reach ruinous proportions before too long. Not just birds and mammals are vanishing but such smaller forms such as mosses and insects. A conservative estimate of the current rate of extinction is 1000 species a year, mostly because of the destruction of forests and other key habitats in the tropics.
To arrest this devastation, we must protect biological diversity. One compelling reason for doing so is that we are part of life on earth and share its history. The acceptance of this fact does not diminish humanity but raises the status of non human creatures. We should pause and think before treating them as disposable matter.
Another reason why we should fiercely want to conserve land and species is that there is material gain involved for ourselves, our kin and our community. Looked at it from that perspective, the diversity of species is one of the most important resources. It is also the least utilized. We must come to depend entirely on less than one percent of living species for our existence, with the reminder waiting untested and fallow.
It is therefore not surprising that recent estimates show that we have only utilized about 7000 kinds of plants for food, with emphasis on wheat, maize, rye, and a dozen other highly domesticated species. Yet, at least 75800 species exist that are edible and superior to the ones we use. Among the potential star species is the winged bean found in New Guinea. It contains more potential than cassava and has a nutritional value equivalent to that of soya bean. It matures within few weeks and wonderfully, the entire plant can be eaten; tuber, seeds, leaves, flowers, stems, and all. It can be eaten raw or ground into flour. What’s more? A coffee like beverage can be extracted from it. Any wonder that it has been called a one- species supermarket?
Also unexploited are natural resources that have medical value. These have been called the sleeping giants of the pharmaceutical industry. Actually, one is every ten plants species contains compounds which can combat cancer. One such species is the rosy periwinkle found on the West Indies. You have no doubt heard of the neem plant (baptized “maurubaini” in Kenya) which is reputed to cure or manage a host of ailements.
If we, the inhabitants of the old good earth, know what is good for use, we will arise, one on all, and conserve our biodiversity with all that we have got.

Questions

1. What evidence of the destruction of the wilderness can be seen from the air?

2. Why will the destruction of the habitat become very obvious to future generations?

3. Rewrite the following sentence to begin: it ………
Not just birds and mammals are vanishing but such smaller forms as mosses and insects.

4. Add a question tag.
To arrest this devastation, we must protect biological diversity…….

5. Why does the author think there is no conflict between humans and non- humans?

6. In note form summarize the evidence the author gives to show that we have utilized the diversity of species.

7. In what way is the winged bean similar to supermarket?

8. Why are some natural products referred to as sleeping giants?

9. Explain the meaning of the following words and phrases are used in the passage

i) Visualize

ii) Ruinous

iii) Conservative estimate

Date posted: June 11, 2019. Answers (1)

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