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AMANI LUSEKELO MWAMAKOMBE

Associate Professor, Dar Es Salaam University College Of Education
Education:

Diploma in Teacher Education, Mtwara Teachers College, B A (Education), MA (Linguisctics) University of Dar es Salaam, PhD (African Languages and Literature), University of Botswana, Botswana

Teaching:

Introduction to general linguistics, the linguistic theory of syntax, linguistic morphology, sociolinguistics of international languages, contact linguistics and linguistic field methods.

Research:

The morphology and syntax of Kiswahili, language use in rural Tanzania, language contact in Africa, morphosyntax of argument structure in Bantu languages, the syntax of the noun phrase in Bantu, linguistic landscape in Africa, anthropological linguistics of non-Bantu languages of Tanzania, grammaticalisation in Bantu languages, the language in education in Africa and the morphology of Kiswahili.

Projects:

1. Amani Lusekelo. 2023. Plant Nomenclature and Ethnobotany of the Hadzabe Society of Tanzania. Cape Town: University of Western Cape/CASAS. 2023.

2. Peter Mziray & Amani Lusekelo . 2023. The morphology of plant names in Chasu. Journal of Linguistics and Language in Education, vol. 17(1), pp. 1-22.

3. Mdoe, K., Lusekelo, A. & Amir, J. M. An investigation of the medicinal plants to treat humans and catlle among Datooga. UDSM Competitive Research Grants, 2023.

1. 2021: Investigation of Medicinal Plants in Nyamwezi and Sukuma  Society: The case of treatment of respiratory disorders. (UDSM Competitive Research Grants)

2. 2020: An Ethnolinguistic and Eco-criticism Study of the Hadzabe Names of Medicinal Plants (with Micky Mgeja), University of Dar es Salaam Competitive Research Fund, 2019/2020 cycle.

3. 2018 – 2023: Partnership project between Leiden University in Netherlands and University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania (The PI is Dr. Jenneke van Wal): Bantu Syntax and Information Structure (Burundi, Cameroun, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania and Uganda).

4. 2018 – 2021: Partnership project between Hamburg University in German and University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania (The PI is Prof. Dr. Roland Kiessling): Datooga lexico-grammar of motion in dialectological and historical perspective (Tanzania).

5. 2018: Book Completion Project, University of Dar es Salaam Competitive Research Fund, 2018/2019 cycle.

6. 2014 – 2015: African Humanities Program (AHP) Research Project: The documentation of the culture of the hunter-gatherer Hadzabe community in Tanzania.  

Tanzania Partnership Programme Research Project: Understanding Language Contact in Education amongst the Maasai and Arusha Children of Monduli District in Tanzania

7. 2012 – 2013: Endangered Language Fund: The Hadza (Tindiga) Documentation Project, Documentation of the cardinal directions and naming strategies. 

8. 2010 – 2012: USHEPiA Programme, University of Cape Town, Doctoral Studies at the University of Botswana 

9. 2009: DAAD Short-Term Scholarship – Institute for African Studies, University of Cologne 

Publications:

1. Amani Lusekelo. 2023. Plant Nomenclature and Ethnobotany of the Hadzabe Society of Tanzania. Cape Town: University of Western Cape/CASAS. 

2. Peter Mziray & Amani Lusekelo . 2023. The morphology of plant names in Chasu. Journal of Linguistics and Language in Education, vol. 17(1), pp. 1-22.

3. Lusekelo, A. & Amir, H. M. 2023. Naming plants in Nyamwezi and Sukuma societies of Tanzania. Kioo cha Lugha, vol. 20(2), pp. 217-238.

4. Amani Lusekelo. 2023. Potrayal of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Political Cartoons in Tanzania.  Congent Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10, pp. 1-18.

5. Jenneke van der Wal &  Amani Lusekelo. 2022. The V and CV augment and exhaustivity in Kinyakyusa. Studies in African Linguistics, vol. 52(2), pp. 324-346.

6. Amani Lusekelo. 2022. Locating the Hadzabe people in the wilderness: Kinship relations and naming systems of the Hadzabe society in Tanzania. Utafiti Journal of African Perspectives 17 (1), 130-154.

7. Amani Lusekelo & Jonas Manyasa. 2022. "Doing Gender" in the First-Names of Persons in Nyamwezi and Sukuma. SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics 19 (2), 35-52.

8.Lusekelo, A. (2021). Framing of COVID 19 News in Font-Page Headlines of Standard (Hardcore) Swahili Newspapers in Tanzania. Ethnologia Actualis. Vol.21 (2): 84-113.

9. Lusekelo, A.,  Alphonce, C & Nyinondi, O.S. (2021). The Language of the Public Spaces in Tanzanian Universities during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Ethnologia Actualis. Vol.21 (2):36-58.

10. Lusekelo, A. & P. C. Mdukula. 2021. The Linguistic Landscape of Urban Tanzania in Dodoma City. Utafiti Journal of African Perspectives, vol. 16(1), pp. 63-94.

11. Lusekelo, A. & A. Buberwa. 2021. Swahili and English Sell, But What about Iraqw and Sukuma? Tanzanian Native Languages and Ethnic Affiliations in Bottom-Up Commercial Signage. Journal of Education, Humanities and Scinces, vol. 10(1), pp. 77-103.

12. Lusekelo, A. 2021. Linguistic Aspects of the Forms of Address in Nyakyusa. Language in Africa, vol. 2(1), pp. 62-90.

13. Lusekelo, A. (with O. Nyinondi). 2020. Lexical verbs expressing modality in Great Lakes languages and beyond: The case of Runyambo and Luguru languages. Journal of West African Languages, vol. 47(2).

14. Lusekelo, A. (with M. Mgeja). 2020. Linguistic and social outcomes of interactions of Hadzabe and Sukuma in north-western Tanzania. Utafiti (Journal of African Perspectives), vol. 15(2).

15. Lusekelo, A. (with V. Mtenga). 2020. Historicity of personal names in Tanzania: The case of the names in the Rombo-Chagga community in Kilimanjaro. International of Modern Anthropology, vol. 2(13), pp. 100-121.

16. Lusekelo, A. (with L. Mpobela)(2020). Adjectives in Runyambo. South African Journal of African Languages (SAJAL) vol. 40(1), pp. 120-129

17. Lusekelo, A. (2019). Endocentric and exocentric compounds in Kiswahili. SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics, vol. 16 (4): 22-47.

18. Lusekelo, A. (2019). Why did you choose Runyambo instead of Ruhaya for your research project? By the way, why not choose Kiswahili, the national language? ‘Forces’ acting upon the choice of language of research in Tanzania. Journal of Linguistics and Language in Education, vol. 13 (2): 22-49.

19. Lusekelo, A. (2019). The incorporation of the Kiswahili names of cereals and tubers in the non-Bantu languages in Tanzania. Utafiti (Journal of African Perspectives), vol. 12 (2): 1-20.

20 Lusekelo, A. (2019). Adaptation of Sukuma Loanwords in the Western Dialects of Datooga (Taturu) and its Dialectological Implications. EthnologiaActualis - The Journal of Ethnographic Research.

21. Lusekelo, A.(2019). The Linguistic Situation in Orkesumet, an Urban Area in Simanjiro District of Tanzania. Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities, vol. 20 (1): 30-60.

22. Lusekelo, A. (2019). African Linguistics in East Africa. In A History of African Linguistics, ed. H. Ekkehard Wolff, pp. 133-152. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

23. Lusekelo, A.(with Marie-Claude Simeone-Senelle, Wolbert G. C. Smidt, Ronny Meyer, Angelika Jacobi, Bruce Connel, AkinibiyiAkinlabi). (2019). African Linguistics in North-Eastern and so-Called Anglophone Africa. In The Cambridge Handbook of African Linguistics, ed. H. Ekkehard Wolff, pp. 73-972. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  

24. Lusekelo, A. (2018). The Cardinal Directions in Eastern Bantu Languages. Journal of Humanities, vol. 26: 49-71.

25. Lusekelo, A. (2018). An Account of Intercultural Contact in Nyakyusa Personal Names.African Study Monographs, vol. 39(2): 47-67.

26. Lusekelo, A.(2018). Lexical Borrowing in Africa with Special Attention to Outcomes of Languages In Contacts In Tanzania. Mgbakoigba: Journal of African Studies, vol. 7(2): 1-22.

27. Lusekelo, A.(with C. Alphonce). (2018). The linguistic landscape in urban Tanzania: An account of the language of billboards and shop-signs in district headquarters.Journal of Language, Technology and Entrepreneurship in Africa, vol. 9(1): 1-28.

28. Lusekelo, A.(with L. P. Muro) (2018). Naming Practices in Contemporary Machame-Chagga Culture. International Journal of Modern Anthropology, vol. 2 (11): 64-83.

29. Lusekelo, A. (2017). Additive and substitutive borrowing against semantic broadening and narrowing in the names of architectural structures in Tanzanian Bantu languages. Unizik Journal of Arts and Humanities, vol. 18(1): 19-45. 

30. Lusekelo, A. (with L. Mpobela. (2017). Lexical categories in African languages: The case of adjectives word-class in Nyakyusa. Journal of Languages, Technology and Entrepreneurship in Africa, vol. 8(1): 1-31. 

31. Lusekelo, A. (2017). Education-Induced Borrowing in Tanzania: Penetration of Swahili Nouns into Maa (Maasai) and Hadzane (Hadzabe). Language Matters, vol. 48 (1): 3-26.

32. Lusekelo, A. (2017). The Swahili Noun Phrase in its Sentential Aspect. Mkwawa Journal of Education and Development, vol. 1 (1), pp. 35-46.

33. Lusekelo, A. (2017). Language Usage, Style and Content of Mass Media Outlets in Tanzania: The Case of Hardcore and Tabloid Kiswahili Newspapers. In LughanaFasihikatikakarneyaishirininamoja, ed. by MosolKandagor, Nathan Ogechu&ClaissaVierke, pp. 375-392, Eldoret: Moi University Press, Kenya.

34. Lusekelo, A. (2016). The spread of Kiswahili lexis into the interior Bantu: The case of names of New World cereals and tubers in Tanzanian Bantu. Kioo cha Lugha: Journal of the Kiswahili Research, vol. 14: 50-73.          

35. Lusekelo, A. (2016). Lexical Semantics and Selection of TAM in Bantu Languages: A Case of Semantic Classification of Kiswahili Verbs. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, vol. 4 (1): 89-102.

36. Lusekelo, A.(2016). The Nature of Conditional Sentences in Nyakyusa. Journal of Education, Humanities and Sciences, vol. 5 (1): 36-51.

37. Lusekelo, A. (2016). An onomastic account of food and personal names utilized in contemporary Nigerian novels. UDOM Journal of Humanities, vol. 3 (1): 74-89.

38. Lusekelo, A. (2016). The Language of Caricatures in Political Landscape in Tanzania: The Case of Selected MasoudKipanya’s Cartoons. Sanaa Journal, vol. 1 (1): 22-37.

39. Lusekelo, A. (2015). Distribution of 標-features in Bantu DPs and vPs: The Case of Concord and Agree in Kiswahili and Kinyakyusa. Journal of Linguistics and Language in Education, vol. 9(1): 1-42.

40. Lusekelo, A. (2015). The consequences of the contacts between Bantu and non-Bantu languages around Lake Eyasi in northern Tanzania, International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, vol. 3(1): 62-75.

41. Lusekelo, A. (2015). The Hadzabe Society of Tanzania: Contacts, Sociolinguistics and Onomastics. Ibadan: John Archers Publishers Limited. 

42. Lusekelo, A. (2014). ‘Similar’ languages contact but ‘different’ languages change: Historical lessons from loanwords in Tanzanian Bantu communities. Journal of Education, Humanities and Sciences, vol. 3 nos. 1 & 2. pp. 91-110.

43. Lusekelo, A. (2014). Linguistic Morphology: A Student Guide. E&D Vision Publishing Limited, Dar es Salaam.

44. Lusekelo, A. (with D. I. Kapufi). (2014). An Analysis of Metaphoric Use of Names of Body Parts in the Bantu Language Kifipa. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, vol. 2(1): 106-118.

45. Lusekelo, A. (with K.Mkumbo& E.Mwita) (2014). Sam Maghimbi: An editorial preview. Journal of Education, Humanities and Sciences, vol. 3 nos. 1 & 2. pp. v-xiii.

46. Lusekelo, A. (2014). The encroachment of the personal names and naming system of the Hadzabe. In FEL XVIII Okinawa: Indigenous Languages - Value to the Community, edited by Ostler, Nicholas & Patrick Heinrich. (pp. 88-92). Bath: Foundation for Endangered Languages, JAPAN.

47. Lusekelo, A. (2013). Language Contact in Lake Eyasi Area in Northwestern Tanzania. Journal of Historical Society of Nigerian, vol. 22: 137-157.

48. Lusekelo, A. (2013). Swahili loanwords nativisations in the languages of Tanzania. HURIA Journal of the Open University of Tanzania, vol. 14, pp. 151-162.

49. Lusekelo, A. (2013). DP-internal and V-external agreement patterns in Eastern Bantu: Re-statement of the facts in Eastern Bantu. Journal of Linguistics and Language in Education. vol. 7(1): 19-47.

50. Lusekelo, A. (2013). ViambishiYambwakatika Kiswahili Sanifu: MatumiziyakekatikaTaarifaMbalimbalindaniyaMagazetiya Kiswahili. Mulika: Journal of the Institute of Kiswahili Studies, vol. 32: 130-141.

51. Lusekelo, A. (2013). Criteria for Identification of Determiners in Bantu Noun Phrases. Journal of the Linguistics Association of Southern African Development Community [SADC] Universities, Volume 4, Issue No. 1, pp. 4-16.

52. Lusekelo, A. (2013). Acoursebook of syntactic theories: With Special Reference to Kiswahili and English. Iringa: Kasenyenda Publishers, Tanzania.

53. Lusekelo, A. (2013). Tense, Aspect, Modality and Negation in Kinyakyusa: A Bantu Language of Tanzania and Malawi. Saarburuecken: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.

54. Lusekelo, A. (2013). Word Categorization in African Languages: The Case of Ideophones in Swahili. In: Adegbite, Wale, Ayo Ogunsiji&OyeTaiwo (Eds). Linguistics and the Glocalisation of African Languages for Sustainable Development: A Festschrift Ii Honour of Prof.  Kola Owolabi. Ibadan: Universal Akada Books Limited. pp. 369-389.

55. Lusekelo, A. (2012). The expression of Cardinal Directions in the Tanzanian Bantu languages. OccasionalPapers in Linguistics (OPiL), University of Dar es Salaam, pp. 1-18.

56. Lusekelo, A. (2012). Rich and highly educated, poor and less educated: The rising gap between the urban and rural youth in Tanzania. In: Youth, Democracy and legal reform progresses. Dar es Salaam: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. pp. 51-59.

57. Lusekelo, A. (with J. Rugemalira, H. Muzale, P. Ezekiel, B.P. Lema, D. Ngonyani, G. Mrikaria, K. Kindija, J. Taji, N. Asheli). (2012). Harmonization of the Orthography of the Bantu Languages of Tanzania. The Center for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS), South Africa, Monograph Series No. 250. 

58. Lusekelo, A. (2011). Book review: ToveSkutnabb-Kangas, Robert Phillipson, Ajit K. Mohanty and Minati Panda (eds.) 2009. Social Justice through Multilingual Education. Bristol, Buffalo / Toronto: Multilingual Matters Limited. xvii + 389 pages. https://www.afrikanistik-aegyptologie-online.de/archiv/2011/3030

59. Lusekelo, A. (2010). Comparative study of the motion domain in Tanzanian Bantu languages. KISWAHILI: Journal of the Institute of Kiswahili Studies, vol. 73, pp. 13-31.

60. Lusekelo, A. (2010). Morphology-Pragmatics Interface: The Case of the Tanzanian Commercials in Swahili Newspapers, Afrikanistik Online.

61. Lusekelo, A. (2010). Adverbs as a word category in Kinyakyusa. Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, vol. 8. pp. 59-88.  

62. Lusekelo, A. (2009). A description of Kinyakyusa reduplication. SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics, 2009, vol. 6, No. 2. pp. 23-43.

63. Lusekelo, A. (2009). The structure of the Nyakyusa noun phrase. Nordic Journal of African Studies, vol. 18 (4): 305–331.

64. Lusekelo, A. (2009). The structure of the Swahili noun phrase: Evidence from fictional narratives. In: Burger, Willie & Marné Pienaar (eds.) Die Tand van die Tyd: Opstelle opgedra aan Jac Conradie. Bloemfontein: Sun Press. pp. 45-60.

65. Lusekelo, A. (2009). Book review: A Grammar of Yeyi. A Bantu Language of Southern Africa. 2008. Frank Seidel. RüdigerKöppeVerlag, Köln 464 pages. Afrikanistik online. https://www.afrikanistik-aegyptologie-online.de/archiv/2009/2027

66. Lusekelo, A. (2009). Book review: Wilhelm J.G. Möhlig and Jekura U. Kavari 2008. Reference Grammar of Herero (Otjiherero). Bantu Languages of Namibia. With a Glossary Otjiherero-English-Otjiherero.Southern African Languages and Cultures, Vol.3. RüdigerKöppeVerlag, Köln. Afrikanistik online. http://www.afrikanistik-online.de/archiv/2009/1984

67. Lusekelo, A. (2009). Book review: Christina Higgins 2009. English as a Local Language: Post-colonial Identities and Multilingual Practices. Bristol: Multilingual Matters Ltd. 176 Pages. Afrikanistik online. https://www.afrikanistik-aegyptologie-online.de/archiv/2009/2089.

68. Lusekelo, A.(2008). Lexicalization of motion events in Kiswahili and Kinyakyusa. Kiswahili: Journal of the Kiswahili Research, vol. 71. pp. 11-23.

69. Lusekelo, A.(2008). Book review:  Nancy C. Kula and Lutz Marten (2007). Bantu in Bloomsbury: Special issues on Bantu linguistics. SOAS working papers in linguistics, vol. 15, 256 pages. Kiswahili: Journal of the Kiswahili Research, vol. 71 (pp. 108-116).

70. Lusekelo, A. (2008). A descriptive account of the Bantu verbal extensions in Kinyakyusa. Journal of Research in African Languages and Linguistics (RALL), vol. 8. pp. 83-116.