The Iraqw society reflected in their language

A close inspection of the anthropological literature on Iraqw (Cushitic, Tanzania) reveals that central properties in their culture include the relative importance of social relations and hence community over kinship relations, the relevance of relative rather than absolute time, the centrality of space in culture and the importance of ritual cleansiness. The paper investigates to what extend the Iraqw language reflects this. Language being a social construct is expected to reflect social structure over time, both in lexicon and in grammar. Indeed the Iraqw language reflects their social structure in a number of way. Their verbal art emphasizes the need for peace in the community and is strongly communal in performance. This is evident, for example, in the rituals for lifting a curse. The centrality of community is reflected in various part of the lexicon. expression for pride being one of them, or the factor of companionship in possession. It is also grammaticalised in an extension of the function of the impersonal subject pronoun to express actions done together. Iraqw mythology and tales never attempt to indicate a point on time and only report chronology of event. This conceptualisation of time is reflected in the absence of lexical elements for absolute time and the abstract notion time. Furthermore the language forces specification of gender in any direct address: the second person pronoun is gender specified, kinship terms used for address are all gender specified as is the interjection for attention. Iraqw shows signs for a disappearing in-law respect register.