Linguistics, Languages and Literature Research Papers/Topics

Interactional Metadiscourse in Doctoral Thesis Writing: A Study in Kenya

Abstract/Overview Scientific writing especially doctoral dissertation writing commands a high level of objectivity, room for new knowledge, and involvement of the reader. This is manifested in the way the writers demonstrate commitment and detachment to the claims they make and how they position writer-reader relations. Commitment and detachment in a writer’s claims are linguistically shown by the use of interactional metadiscoursal markers. Interactional metadiscourse markers are, ther...

Ekegusii Subject and Object Markers: Affixes or Clitics?

Abstract/Overview Bantu languages are known for their agglutinative nature and complex verbal morphology. A single verbal complex has several affixes including the subject markers (SMs) and object markers (OMs). The precise status of the SMs and OMs in Bantu remains unresolved. These markers have been analysed as agreement markers in some languages while in others, they are analysed as incorporated pronominals and in other languages as clitics. The objective of this paper is to determine ...

The Role of Indigenous Languages in Sustainable Development in Kenya

Abstract/Overview A developed nation is a knowledgeable nation in educational, social, political, economic and cultural spheres. For individuals to develop educationally, socially, politically, economically and culturally, they need to interact with government agencies that disseminate related policies. Effective interaction and communication of related policies occurs through language and effective communication is achieved through a language that the communicants understand best. Theref...

Syntactic Aspects Of Ekegusii Subject And Object Markers

Abstract/Overview The verbal complex in Bantu languages is an important unit in the syntactic structure. The verbal word in Bantu, in particular, EkeGusii, has a structure which accommodates affixation of a variety of morphemes as prefixes and suffixes before the final vowel (Bresnan & Mchombo, 1987; Sozinho & Mbiavanga, 2008; Iorio, 2015; Sikuku, 2013; Ondondo, 2015 among others). Notable among these are the Subject Marker (SM) and the Object Marker (OM). The SM and OM represent their co...

Pedagogical Challenges in the Teaching and Learning of Oral Skills in English in Secondary Schools in Kenya

Abstract/Overview Oral skills in English are taught and examined in Kenyan secondary schools with the purpose of developing fluency and accuracy in speech communication. However, majority of students do not attain intelligibility at the close of their study. Oral skills are examined in paper one of the English language exam though in written form. In 2016 the students scored a mean of 29.15 in the paper. In 2017, the students scored 25.89 indicating a decline of 3.26 points. This shows th...