Sound devices and meaning in Ganda tongue twisters.

Abstract

This study aims at examining the sound devices and their meaning in Ganda tongue twisters. The study objectives included; examining the various sound devices and their meaning in Ganda tongue twisters; to examine the role played by sound devices in achieving aesthetic effects of Ganda tongue twisters; to examine the function of sound devices in the construction of meaning in Ganda tongue twisters. It argues that there are several sound devices that are found in Ganda tongue twisters as well as other folk traditions and these are; alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhythm, internal and end rhyme. Furthermore, the tongue twisters use mnemonic features that is, sound patterns or sound devices to teach pronunciation and for entertainment among others. However, there are only a few of them which are found in Ganda tongue twisters so this study analyses tongue twisters from other folk traditions. The study was carried out in Kampala district, Uganda. It involved Luganda teachers from randomly selected secondary schools and the study mainly used an interview guide to collect data from the respondents. The study concludes that, a specific sound device carries meaning in a particular tongue twister in all folk traditions, Ganda inclusive.