Linguistic Change on Lamu Island: A Sociolinguistic Approach in the Light of Historical Influences and Contemporary Globalisation
al-Taḥawwulāt al-Lughawīyah fī Jazīrat Lāmū: Muqārabah Sūsyūlisānīyah fī Ḍawʼ al-Taʼthīrāt al-Tārīkhīyah wa-al-ʻAwlamah al-Muʻāṣirah
التحولات اللغوية في جزيرة لامو: مقاربة سوسيولسانية في ضوء التأثيرات التاريخية والعولمة المعاصرة
Abstract
Lamu Island is among the oldest coastal towns on the eastern coast of Africa, having been for centuries a vital centre of linguistic and cultural interaction between Swahilis and Arabs, and Omanis in particular, within the commercial and religious network of the Indian Ocean. In recent decades, however, the island has witnessed deep linguistic change as a result of tourism and globalisation, directly affecting the standing of Swahili and of its traditional dialect, Ki-Amu. The research rests on a central question concerning the nature of the linguistic changes occurring on Lamu Island and the extent to which Swahili continues as a symbol of identity amid the growing dominance of English as the language of economy, tourism and education. It further seeks to understand how these changes have reshaped speakers' attitudes towards their own language, in a balance between cultural belonging and practical pragmatism, and includes analysis of shifts in the lexicon.
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Romanization follows the ALA-LC Arabic table used by the Library of Congress and the British Library. The original Arabic is carried in the parallel MARC 880 fields, linked by subfield $6 — the standard treatment for non-English resources.
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=LDR 00000naa a2200000 a 4500 =001 MHF-MOMBASA2026-008 =003 OM-MaHAFIL =008 260905s2026 ke o 1 ara d =040 \\$aOM-MaHAFIL$beng$erda$cOM-MaHAFIL =041 0\$aara$beng =100 1\$6100-01$aMādī, Mādaghīs,$eauthor. =245 13$6245-02$aal-Taḥawwulāt al-Lughawīyah fī Jazīrat Lāmū: Muqārabah Sūsyūlisānīyah fī Ḍawʼ al-Taʼthīrāt al-Tārīkhīyah wa-al-ʻAwlamah al-Muʻāṣirah /$cMādaghīs Mādī. =242 10$aLinguistic Change on Lamu Island: A Sociolinguistic Approach in the Light of Historical Influences and Contemporary Globalisation$yeng =264 \1$6264-03$aMumbāsā :$bJamʻīyat al-Istiqāmah al-Khayrīyah al-Islāmīyah al-ʻĀlamīyah,$c2026. =300 \\$a1 online resource. =336 \\$atext$btxt$2rdacontent =337 \\$acomputer$bc$2rdamedia =338 \\$aonline resource$bcr$2rdacarrier =500 \\$aPermanent citation identifier: MHF-MOMBASA2026-008. =500 \\$aConference theme (in Arabic): المحور الأول: التأثير العُماني في السواحلية. =520 3\$aLamu Island is among the oldest coastal towns on the eastern coast of Africa, having been for centuries a vital centre of linguistic and cultural interaction between Swahilis and Arabs, and Omanis in particular, within the commercial and religious network of the Indian Ocean. In recent decades, however, the island has witnessed deep linguistic change as a result of tourism and globalisation, directly affecting the standing of Swahili and of its traditional dialect, Ki-Amu. The research rests on a central question concerning the nature of the linguistic changes occurring on Lamu Island and the extent to which Swahili continues as a symbol of identity amid the growing dominance of English as the language of economy, tourism and education. It further seeks to understand how these changes have reshaped speakers' attitudes towards their own language, in a balance between cultural belonging and practical pragmatism, and includes analysis of shifts in the lexicon. =546 \\$aText in Arabic; title also romanized (ALA-LC); abstract and keywords in English. =653 \0$aSociolinguistics =653 \0$aLamu =653 \0$aKi-Amu dialect =653 \0$aLanguage shift =653 \0$aGlobalisation =653 \0$aSwahili identity =711 2\$6711-04$aMuʼtamar al-Istiqāmah al-Duwalī al-Thānī: al-ʻUmānīyūn wa-al-Sawāḥilīyah bayna al-Taʼthīr wa-al-Taʼaththur$d(2026)$c(Mumbāsā) =773 0\$6773-05$tMuʼtamar al-Istiqāmah al-Duwalī al-Thānī: al-ʻUmānīyūn wa-al-Sawāḥilīyah bayna al-Taʼthīr wa-al-Taʼaththur$dMumbāsā : Jamʻīyat al-Istiqāmah al-Khayrīyah al-Islāmīyah al-ʻĀlamīyah, 2026$gpaper no. 8$wMHF-MOMBASA2026-008 =856 40$uhttp://app.mahafil.co/p/arch-mombasa-2026/8$yLanding page (Arabic) =856 40$uhttp://app.mahafil.co/p/arch-mombasa-2026/8/en$yLanding page (English) =880 1\$6100-01/(3/r$aمادي، مادغيس،$eمؤلف. =880 13$6245-02/(3/r$aالتحولات اللغوية في جزيرة لامو: مقاربة سوسيولسانية في ضوء التأثيرات التاريخية والعولمة المعاصرة /$cمادغيس مادي. =880 \1$6264-03/(3/r$aممباسا :$bجمعية الاستقامة الخيرية الإسلامية العالمية،$c2026. =880 2\$6711-04/(3/r$aمؤتمر الاستقامة الدولي الثاني: العُمانيون والسواحلية بين التأثير والتأثر =880 0\$6773-05/(3/r$tمؤتمر الاستقامة الدولي الثاني: العُمانيون والسواحلية بين التأثير والتأثر