Abstract

This article investigates the motivation behind the Tonga people’s initiation of the language revitalisation process. It is based on research conducted in the Binga District, which was the epicentre of the Tonga language revitalisation project in the Zambezi Valley. The participants in the study were purposively sampled from various stakeholders in the project, inter alia, traditional chiefs, officials from the education sector, former and serving employees of NGOs, members of the Tonga Language and Culture Committee (TOLACCO) and Chairpersons of the Zimbabwe Indigenous Languages Promotion Association (ZILPA). The article identifies a number of socio-cultural and religious factors that motivated and propelled the Tonga people to embark on a project of language revitalisation. Within the theoretical framework of Human Needs Theory, the article critically analyses how these factors motivated the Tonga community to embark upon their language revitalisation initiative.

摘要

本文研究了汤加人发起语言振兴过程的动机。它基于在Binga地区进行的研究，该地区是Zambezi谷汤加语言振兴项目的中心。该研究的参与者有意地从该项目的各个利益相关方中抽样，包括传统负责人，教育部门的官员，非政府组织的前任和在职雇员，汤加语言文化委员会（TOLACCO）的成员以及津巴布韦的主席。土著语言促进协会（ZILPA）。这篇文章指出了许多社会文化和宗教因素，这些因素促使并推动了汤加人民着手进行语言复兴计划。在人类需求理论的理论框架内，