Linguistic Forms and Communicative Strategies of Machinga Interaction with Customers in Tanzania: A Sociolinguistic Analysis

Abstract

The analysis of linguistic forms and communicative strategies in business ignored factors such as the nature of business and customers’ behaviour by primarily focusing on communication procedures involved and that take place in trading structures. This study analyses Machinga’s (Petty-traders) language practices by specifically studying their linguistic forms and communicative strategies when engaging in small enterprises. The study is informed by the Speech Act Theory developed by John Austin in 1962. This study was conducted in three (3) wards of the Mbinga District, namely Masumuni, Mbinga ‘A’, and Mbinga ‘B’. A qualitative approach and case study design were adopted. The purposive sampling technique was employed. The data were collected through observing and recording conversations between petty-traders and their customers in Mbinga District between February and May, 2024 and analysed thematically. The collected data were analysed thematically to identify recurring themes and patterns. The findings revealed that petty-traders in Mbinga District use linguistic forms and communicative strategies such as loan words, code mixing, accent, parallelism, poor sentence structure, phrases, and registers to facilitate business communication with their customers. These data present the great role of language in business interactions and portray the interlocutors’ sense of community membership. The study concluded that petty traders (Machinga) in Mbinga District utilise a range of linguistic forms, such as phrases, syntax, parallelism, grammar, and lexicon, alongside various communicative strategies like code mixing and switching, borrowing, word choices, accent, and tone. These language practices are important in the business contexts and should be nurtured and acknowledged, as language plays a crucial role in promoting socioeconomic development within the speech community. The study advocates for educational institutions in collaboration with local government to adopt short courses in business communication skills, intending to fulfill the language needs of petty traders. Capacity building programmes would enhance their language skills and ultimately promote appropriate communication in marketing and business.