Cover not available
Part of
Grammatical and Sociolinguistic Aspects of Ethiopian Languages
Edited by Derib Ado, Almaz Wasse Gelagay and Janne Bondi Johannessen †
[IMPACT: Studies in Language, Culture and Society 48] 2021
► pp. 119–136

Sociolinguistic functions of the secret language of Gurage females

| Jigjiga University
This paper is concerned with the sociolinguistic functions of the secret language spoken by a minority group within the Gurage, namely the Fedwet. This is the name of the speakers and the linguistic variety, mainly used by women who were followers of a former local religious tradition in Gurage found in southern Ethiopia. The qualitative approach of data gathering and analysis was used. Primary data were gathered by elicitation of words, recording of free texts and interviews. A total of 20 consultants participated in the interview, 12 of them also participating in the elicitation of words and the performance of texts. The interview responses were quantified for a descriptive statistical analysis. It was found that the sociolinguistic functions of Fedwet include the establishment of a secret communication among young girls to form a specific identity, and for various religious purposes. The motive for using it is related to the social position of women and the traditional belief system of Gurage.
Keywords: sociolinguistic function, gender, secret language
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Religion and the Damamwit cult
  • 3.Related literature and conceptual framework
  • 4.Method of data collection and analysis
    • 4.1The sociolinguistic interview
    • 4.2Elicitation
  • 5.The motive for using a different language
    • 5.1Social position of Gurage females
    • 5.2Religious practices of Gurage females
  • 6.The sociolinguistic functions of Fedwet
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • Notes
  • List of abbreviations
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 23 April 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/impact.48.05hai
References (20)
References
Anbessa Teferra. 1987. Women’s speech among the Sidama. Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Journal of Ethiopian Studies 20: 44–59.Google Scholar
Bahru Zewde. 2002. Systems of local governance among the Gurage: The Yajoka Qicha and the Gordana Sera. In Ethiopia: The Challenge of Democracy from Below, edited by Bahru Zewde and Siegfried Pausewang, 17–28. NordiskaAfrikainstitutet and Forum for Social Studies: Sweden by Elanders Gotab, Stockholm.Google Scholar
Edwards, John. 2009. Language and Identity. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Etaferahu Hailu. 2019. Description of the Social Varieties Used by the Gurage: Fedwet and Fuga. PhD dissertation, Addis Ababa University.Google Scholar
Evans, Vyvyan & Green, Melanie. 2006. Cognitive linguistics. In Cognitive Linguistics: An Introduction, 1–36. Edinburgh: EUP. For North America: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Gebreyesus Hailemariam. 1991. The Gurage and Their Culture. New York NY: Vantage Press.Google Scholar
Ilker, Etikan, Sulaiman Abubakar Musa & Rukayya Sunus Alkassim. 2016. Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics 5(1): 1–4. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Labov, William. 1981. Field methods of the project on linguistic change and variation [Research technical 143. Sociolinguistic Working Paper Number 81]. Washington DC: Southwest Educational Development, & Austin TX: Southwest Educational Development Lab.Google Scholar
Leslau, Wolf. 1952. Popular interpretation of bird sounds in Ethiopia. American Folklore Society 65(258): 361–364. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 1964. An Ethiopian Argot of a Gurage Secret Society. In Ethiopian Argots, Wolf Leslau. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Lewis, M. Paul & Simons, Gary F. 2016. Sustaining Language Use: Perspectives Community-Based Language Development, Dirk Kievit & Bonnie Brown (eds). Dallas TX: SIL International.Google Scholar
Manfredi, Stefano. 2008. Rendok: A youth secret language in Sudan. Estudios de Dialectologia Norteafricana Y Andalusi 12: 113–29.Google Scholar
Newmeyer, Frederick. 2003. Formal and functional motivation for language change. In Motives for Language Change, Raymond Hickey (ed.), 18–36. Cambridge: CUP. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sentalem Seja. 2005. The Celebration of Moyet (የሙየት በዓል አከባበር). Unpublished BA Senior Essay. Jimma University.Google Scholar
Shack, William A. & Marcos, Habte-Mariam. 1974. Gods and heroes: Oral traditions of the Gurage of Ethiopia. In Oral Traditions of the Gurage of Ethiopia, William A. Shack and Habte-Mariam Marcos. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Shack, William A. 1966. The Gurage: A People of the Enset Culture. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Trudgill, Peter. 2000. Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society, 4th edn. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.Google Scholar
Wardhaugh, Ronald. 2006. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 5th edn. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Wolfer, Claudia. 2011. Arabic secret languages. Folia Orientalia 47(2): 8–49.Google Scholar
Wolfson, Nessa. 1976. Speech events and natural speech. Language in Society 5: 189–209. DOI logoGoogle Scholar