Environment as a Determinant Factor for Speech Style and Recognition: A Case of Swahili Language in Tanzania

Abstract

This study offers a fresh look at the impact of the environment in influencing speech styles, focusing on Swahili as a case study language. This study navigates beyond the usual concerns of speakers, topics, ages, and genders to explore how the environment we surround ourselves can impact our language habits in terms of how and what linguistic expressions we produce. The study is carried out using observation as a method of data collection in the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and includes a variety of settings such as restaurants, daladalas (public minivans), and mitumba marketplaces (second-hand clothing shops). The collected data was analyzed using the speech acts theory as a guiding framework to determine the various ways in which the environment influences speech. This paper serves high significance in the field by casting on the influence a social environment can have on our speech habits. By suggesting that environment can be a determinant of different speech styles and habits, the study opens up new dimensions to our knowledge of different dynamics that chiefly influence language use.