A Sociolinguistic Study of Cultural Value Orientations in Luguru and Sukuma Greeting Systems

Abstract

This study investigates how greetings manifest cultural value orientations in Luguru and Sukuma. Informed by Schwartz’s (2006) theory of cultural value orientations, the study comparatively analyses the linguistic forms and interactional patterns to reveal the values encoded within the two Bantu communities and their alignment with the theory. The study collected data through unstructured observation of six informants aged 40 and above from each language group, using interviews and simulated participant observation in the districts of Maswa and Mvomero. The findings reveal that Sukuma greetings predominantly manifest the orientations of Hierarchy and Embeddedness, whereas Luguru greetings reflect Hierarchy, Embeddedness, Egalitarianism, and Harmony. The study demonstrates that greetings serve as repositories of cultural knowledge and symbolic markers of what a community considers morally appropriate and respectful. Linguistically, the study shows that greeting forms and their interactional sequencing function as structured linguistic systems through which cultural value orientations are expressed and reproduced. Therefore, the study offers empirical sociolinguistic evidence of how greeting practices constitute a key domain for expressing culturally grounded values. Keywords: Greeting systems, cultural value orientations, Luguru, Sukuma, sociolinguistics DOI: 10.56279/jlle.v19i2.3