varieties, but within Kara the varieties are seen to be very similar. The Jita language is also considered quite similar.
7.2 Language variety relationships in the Kerewe language
7.2.1 Where is the best Kerewe language perceived to be spoken?
The following information was received from interviews conducted with the ward executive officers and village executive officers we spoke with in various areas, and with groups of people from each research
location. When the team asked participants to identify a village or area as the heartland of the Kerewe language, several different areas were mentioned, including Ngoma, Kagunguli, and Bukindo wards.
These places are all located on the eastern part of Ukerewe Island, not far from Nansio.
These same areas, as well as the village of Hamukoko, were again mentioned in answer to the question about where the best Kerewe language is spoken. Although they mentioned Kihungula and
Hamukoko, the group from the village of Bukondo said that their variety is good as well.
7.2.2 What are the perceived differences between speech varieties?
Linguistically, the Kerewe people divide their language into three main dialects corresponding to three geographical areas. The main dialect is spoken all over most of Ukerewe Island itself. The second dialect
is spoken on Bwiro Island and the area across from it on Ukerewe Island, in the southwest of Ukerewe. The third is spoken on Irugwa Island, which is considerably to the northeast. The research team did not
visit Irugwa Island due to its remoteness. Each of these varieties is considered part of the Kerewe language, but speakers pointed out a few differences, mainly in pronunciation. Kerewe speakers reported
they are able to tell by listening which of the three dialect areas a Kerewe speaker comes from.
7.2.3 What is the perceived comprehension between speech varieties?
Groups were asked to identify differences in the way people from the other Kerewe dialect areas speak, as well as differences between Kerewe and nearby languages such as Kara, Jita, and Zinza. Researchers
named an area and asked those in the group interview about the differences or similarities of each speech variety, and whether they themselves, and also children from their village, would be able to
understand speakers from that area.
Overall, the varieties spoken by the Kerewe people are perceived to be very similar to each other. Even though there are pronunciation differences between the three speech varieties, speakers are still
able to understand each other. The groups interviewed stated that even small children understand Kerewe speakers from the other speech varieties. With regard to their understanding of the Jita and Kara
languages, groups agreed that Jita and Kara are more similar to each other than to Kerewe. They can be understood well by Kerewe adults because they are spoken relatively nearby, but children are not able to
understand them. The Zinza language, on the other hand, is somewhat similar and somewhat understood by most, but mainly because of contact with Zinza speakers. There are differences in words and
pronunciation, and children do not understand Zinza well.
Table 13 summarizes how speakers of each variety perceive the other varieties according to responses from groups interviewed.
Table 13. Kerewe summary of perceived comprehension between varieties
