Covertness in Communication by the Elderly to the Young: a Case of Dholuo
Abstract
The study analyzed the impact of covertness in communication by the elderly to the
young: a case study of Luo language in Nyakach District of Kisumu County, Kenya.
Indirect communication can positively or negatively influence communication
between the parties involved. In this study, use of riddles, proverbs and sayings acted
as the major cause of covertness in communication. There are also other factors such
as intermarriages, technology and environment and education that have resulted to
covertness in communication between the elderly to the youth.
The objectives of the study were to examine how intermarriage between the luo and
other communities has resulted to covertness in communication, to investigate how
generation changes and age gap has heightened covertness in communication by the
elderly to the young and to examine the behavioural changes of the youth as a result
of the use of covertness in communication. The objective helped the study to get an
inner insight of the real cause of covertness in communication between the elderly to
the youth. The study employed a survey research strategy. The data was collected
from the council of elders of age sixty-five and above and the youth of age between
fifteen and twenty nine from the rural part of Kisumu County using closed-ended and
likert scaled questionnaires. Forty questionnaires were administered; twenty which
were filled by elders with my assistance of direct interview and the other twenty were
filled by the youth respondents. The collected data was displayed by use of pie
charts, bar graphs and tables. The study found out that intermarriage, generation
changes and age gap along with education have had an impact on covert use of
language. In conclusion, the study noted that indirect communication can be of both
positive and negative influence to communication.
Citation
Master of arts degree in linguisticsPublisher
University of Nairobi Department of Languages and Literature