Investigating Weekday Naming in Safwa, Malila, Ndali, and Nyiha Languages: A Morphophonological Study

This study investigates weekday naming systems in the Safwa, Malila, Ndali, and Nyiha languages spoken in the Mbeya and Songwe Regions of Tanzania, focusing on their morphophonological structures and semantic organization. The main objective was to examine how weekday names are formed, how phonological variation occurs across the four languages, and how meaning is preserved despite structural differences. The study was guided by Generative Morphophonology Theory and Lexical Semantics Theory, which explain the interaction between word formation, sound patterns, and meaning. A qualitative research design was employed. Data were collected from Mbeya District, Ileje District, and Mbozi District, covering eight villages: Simambwe, Shibolya, Ilembo Usafwa, Italazya, Iyunga, Shitete, Sigamba, Nsongwimantanji, Isongole, Itumba, Mbebe, Idiwili, Ilomba, Iyula, Izyila, Iwiji, Ndola, and Igamba. The study involved 50 individual informants and 20 participants in focus group discussions, selected through purposive and snowball sampling. Documentary review was also used. Participants were mainly aged between 40 and 80 years. Data were analyzed thematically. Findings reveal that weekday names in the four languages follow a systematic morphological pattern characterized by prefixation (Lwa-, Pa-, Pach-, Pabh-) and numeral-based roots. Phonological variation such as /b/, /bh/, and /ch/ alternations was observed across languages. Despite these structural differences, semantic meaning remains stable, with weekdays consistently reflecting a numerical sequence equivalent to Swahili (Jumatatu to Jumapili). The study concludes that weekday naming in these languages is a product of structured morphophonological processes combined with stable lexical semantics. It contributes to the documentation of under-researched temporal naming systems in Bantu languages and highlights the interaction between language structure and meaning.