Assessing Attrition of Terms of Traditional Culture among Kara Young Adult Native Speakers in Tanzania

This study assesses attrition of native lexicon among Kara young adult native speakers in the context of intensive borrowing of Swahili-L2 vocabulary by focusing on extent, type of indigenous knowledge vulnerable to attrition and observed factors for attrition. The study is qualitative using case study design and purposive sampling through administering multiple performance tasks. It involves 30 participants in two age categories, collecting oral data that is first transcribed and then organised in thematic chunks for analysis. Descriptions are also essential for illustrations. The finding reveals attrition in a wide range of native lexicon. This attrition is not total erasure but rather inaccessible lexical memory. Arithmetic, finger names, wind types, local tools, artefacts, and disappeared objects are the most attriting aspects of indigenous knowledge compared to kinship terms, body parts and immediate objects and concepts relevant to contemporary use. Swahili has much influence on Kara-L1spakers leading to infrequent use of Kara terms for some objects and concepts. This study recommends more research on attrition in native environment especially in intense contact areas.