individuals from the area for the same purpose. He approached one of the officials of the Nigeria Bible Translation Trust NBTT for assistance in developing the language. In response to Mr. A.’s request,
NBTT requested SIL Nigeria to do a survey of the said area with a view to gathering information that could lead to the commencement of a language development program in Kulere. NBTT’s most important
goal of the survey was to find out which of the five dialects of Kulere could be used as a basis for the development of the Kulere language and would best serve all the people.
1.2 Purpose, goals, and research questions
The purpose of the survey was to determine a reference dialect for a language development program in Kulere. To fulfill this purpose, the following goals were set:
• Determine the extent of linguistic relationships between the Kulere dialects spoken in Bokkos
and Wamba LGAs of Plateau and Nassarawa States respectively. •
Assess the sociolinguistic relationships between all the five Kulere dialects. •
Evaluate the interest of the Kulere people and the Kulere churches for Scripture translation into their language.
• Evaluate the vitality of Kulere within the area.
Based on the aforementioned goals, we aimed to answer the following research questions: •
What is the extent of linguistic similarity between the Kulere dialects? •
Do the speakers of the Kulere dialects understand each other’s dialects? •
How do the Kulere people perceive the groupings of their dialects? •
What is the nature and extent of interactions between and within the Kulere dialects? •
Do the Kulere people and the church denominations working among them have interest in the translation of Scripture into Kulere?
• Would Kulere continue to be spoken by future generations?
1.3 Research instruments and methodology
1.3.1 Interviews
In each village we visited, we asked the village chief if we could ask questions of a group of people of various ages, both male and female. During group interviews, with people coming and going, the size of
the group never remained the same. Because of this we did not have control over who answered the questions. However, we believe the answers and opinions given to our questions would most likely
reflect the consensus of the group. Besides, we interviewed groups of different age categories separately. We also interviewed school teachers, and religious leaders using applicable interview schedules.
The questions were posed using Standard English or Hausa, covering a wide range of concepts. If needed, the questions were interpreted into the local language by someone from the group who could
speak Standard English or Hausa and the vernacular. Responses were translated as necessary into English by the interpreter.
1.3.2 Participatory methods
Participatory methods PM help communities to reflect on issues that affect them using visuals in a creative way to ensure that all those present participate in the discussion. In each village, we used PM
tools, namely: •
Dialect mapping •
Domains of language use
1.3.3 Recorded Text Testing
We used Recorded Text Testing RTT, based on a model developed by SIL in Mexico as a tool for intelligibility studies of related speech varieties Casad 1974. In the RTT technique, a sample of speech
in the form of a narrative text is recorded from one location and replayed at a second location where people speak a speech form related to that of the first location. Ten questions covering the content of the
narrative are interspersed into the playback of the text in order to measure how well the subject understands the text. RTT scores are averaged for ten or so subjects for each location. For a thorough
description of the modified steps in the preparation and administration of the RTT and Post-RTT Interview, see section 3.1.
1.3.4 Wordlists
