Reported relationship between Tongwe and Bende

The people at each group interview said they can identify where a Tongwe person came from by the way heshe speaks question G1.2b, except for the group at Rukoma, where people answered that it was not easy to differentiate among Tongwe in Buhingu Division, “but maybe from Ikola” meaning Bende. From villages that responded positively to question G1.2b, participants reported that they know where someone was from by hisher accent and the words used question G1.3a. When groups in the villages were asked where Tongwe was spoken exactly the same way as they themselves speak question G1.3b, Kalya and Kashagulu said “in Buhingu Division.” Those in Rukoma said that starting in Ikola, Mpanda, Mwese, Bujombe, Mishamo, Uvinza until Ilagala which, in fact, covers the area of both Tongwe and Bende. In Uvinza they said “Mishamo villages.” In Chakulu and Ilagala the question was not answered. Only in the villages of Kalya and Uvinza did the research team receive an answer to the question inquiring about the villages where Tongwe was spoken differently question G1.3c. In Kalya those interviewed said that in the village of Ilagala, Tongwe is mixed with Ha, and that in the villages of Mwese and Karema people speak like the Tongwe in Mpanda. According to the Bende survey report, these are areas inhabited by Bende. In Uvinza those interviewed mentioned the villages of Mugambo, Kalya, those living in the Mahale Mountains and others living along Lake Tanganyika, as speaking differently from themselves. The best Tongwe is spoken question G1.4a in Kalya according to all except those in Kashagulu, where those interviewed said that in the subvillages of Ugalaba and Lufubu of Kashagulu, the best Tongwe is spoken. These subvillages are reportedly entirely Tongwe, while Kashagulu village, as a whole, is not. In Ilagala, Mugambo a subvillage of Buhingu was also mentioned. In three of the villages, the more general answer, “alongside Lake Tanganyika” was given. The groups interviewed in Kalya and Kashagulu gave reasons why Tongwe is spoken best where they had indicated question G1.4b. In Kalya they reported, “The accent here is genuine and there is no mixture with other languages.” In Kashagulu the answer was, “they speak the traditional language.” All the interviewed communities responded positively to the question about whether Tongwe from different villages visited one another. The relationship between Tongwe and Bende is covered in the next section. Nowadays, the Tongwe live in a vast area that falls under different units of government administration, and they are in contact with various ethnolinguistic groups. In the villages inland from the shore of Lake Tanganyika see map 1, people considered the Tongwe spoken in all the villages along the lake villages south of Rukoma and north of Lufubu, a subvillage of Kashagulu to be the same as theirs, and to be the best variety. Only within the villages situated along the lake were differences mentioned. As previously noted, those in the villages of Kalya and Kashagulu are considered to speak the best Tongwe. Within these villages, two distant subvillages, inhabited by Tongwe only, are reported to use “the traditional language.” Therefore, the KalyaKashagulu variety seems to hold the highest prestige. More research investigating the varieties spoken in the ethnically homogeneous remote subvillages is recommended.

5.4 Reported relationship between Tongwe and Bende

As mentioned, the Tongwe spoke of the Bende as part of the Tongwe community unless specifically asked about the Bende as a separate group. In fact, it was only in Ilagala and Uvinza that Bende was even mentioned as a separate language that resembles Tongwe question G1.5. Here people said that they spoke Tongwe with the Bende. A number of inquiries addressed the issue in more detail. The groups in Kashagulu and Kalya said the Bende and Tongwe are part of the same group, except for the fact that the Tongwe live by the lake, and the Bende live in the mountains. In other locations the people reported that Bende and Tongwe are different clans of the same ethnic group, and that their languages, traditions, customs, work and food are similar. When asked about the relationship between the Tongwe and Bende languages, the Tongwe in Kalya said that they understand each other. The Tongwe in Kashagulu reported their languages are the same with differences only in pronunciation. Others said that the languages are the same except for a few vocabulary items. The pronunciation was considered to be similar. Those attending the group interview in Uvinza believed that the Bende are “Tongwe who mix in words from Konongo.” Konongo is a neighboring group to the east of the Bende. At the end of the group interview, the participants in Kalya said that it would be better for Bende and Tongwe to have separate books because some words are different, and shared books would result in some meaning being lost. The research team first learned of the close relationship between the Tongwe and the Bende part- way through the Bende survey. By that time, it was not possible to inquire in more detail into the attitudes of the Bende towards the language of the Tongwe. A few questions were asked during the elicitation of the Bende wordlist in Majalila. Language informants there did not believe it would be possible for the Bende to use written materials produced for the Tongwe. The Bende and the Tongwe apparently do not have much contact with each other, and there seems to be a clear geographical border between the two. In the villages visited, the research team only came across a few people who identified themselves as Bende, living among the Tongwe. We did hear of Tongwe going to visit their relatives in the Bende area. The Tongwe frequently intermarry with other groups. During group interviews people expressed that they have become used to intermarriage with people from other ethnic groups question G4.4. It was only in one location, Ilagala, that mixed marriages with the Bende were mentioned. When this question was asked, “Bende” was not specifically mentioned; therefore, it is uncertain whether the Tongwe were thinking of the Bende as part of the Tongwe, or because such marriages do not in fact occur.

5.5 Lexical similarity between Tongwe and Bende