The ethnic label Zinjibari in Omani society has various connotations that depend on who is using the term and about whom it is being used. Through participant observation and within the context of ethnolinguistic identity theory, this qualitative study aims to demonstrate how the label Zinjibari can function as an outgroup or ingroup label, as a mark of solidarity, as a term of prestige or as a slur. It is also proposed that these different connotations influence language choice among Oman’s Swahili speakers.
Al RasheedM (2005) Transnational Connections and National Identity: Zanzibari Omanis in Muscat In: DreschPPiscatoriJMonarchies and Nations: Globalisation and Identity in the Arab States of the Gulf. London: I.B. Tauris96–113.
2.
BarkerVGilesH (2004) English-only policies: perceived support and social limitation. Language and Communication2477–95.
BourhisRYSachdevI (1984) Vitality perceptions and language attitudes: some Canadian data. Journal of Language and Social Psychology3(2): 97–126.
5.
CargileAGilesHClémentR (1995) Language, conflict and ethnolinguistic identity theory. Research in Human Social Conflict1189–208.
6.
ChattyD (2000) Women working in Oman: individual choice and cultural constraints. International Journal of Middle East Studies32241–254.
7.
CouplandR (1938) East Africa and its Invaders: From the Earliest Times to the Death of Seyyid Said in 1856. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
8.
CroucherSM (2009) How limiting linguistic freedoms influences the cultural adaptation process: an analysis of the French Muslim population. Communication Quarterly57(3): 302–318.
9.
EllingerB (2000) The relationship between ethnolinguistic identity and English language achievement for native Russian speakers and native Hebrew speakers in Israel. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development21(4): 292–307.
10.
Freeman-GrenvilleGSP (1962) The East African Coast: Select Documents from the First to the Earlier Nineteenth Century. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
11.
GalloisCOgayTGilesH (2005) Communication Accommodation Theory: A Look Back and a Look Ahead In: GudykunstWTheorizing about Intercultural Communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage121–148.
12.
GilesHByrneJ (1982) The intergroup model of second language acquisition. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development317–40.
13.
GilesHJohnsonP (1981) The Role of Language in Ethnic Group Relations In: TurnerJGilesHIntergroup Behavior. Oxford: Basil Blackwell199–243.
14.
GilesHJohnsonP (1987) Ethnolinguistic identity theory: a social psychological approach to language maintenance. Journal of the Sociology of Language6869–99.
15.
GilesHBourhisRYTaylorDM (1977) Towards a Theory of Language in Ethnic Group Relations In: GilesHLanguage, Ethnicity, and Intergroup Relations. London: Academic Press307–349.
16.
GilesHCouplandJCouplandN (1991) Accommodation Theory: Communication, Context, and Consequence In: GilesHCouplandJCouplandNContexts of Accommodation: Developments in Applied Sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press1–68.
17.
HechtMLJacksonRLPittsMJ (2005) Culture: Intersections of Intergroup and Identity Theories In: HarwoodJGilesHIntergroup Communication: Multiple Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang21–42.
18.
HoggMAD'AgataPAbramsD (1989) Ethnolinguistic betrayal and speaker evaluations among Italian Australians. Genetic, Social and General Psychology Monographs115153–181.
19.
KhilkhanovaEKhilkhanovD (2004) Language and ethnic identity of minorities in post-Soviet Russia: the Buryat case study. Journal of Language, Identity & Education3(2): 85–100.
20.
LiebkindKHenning-LindblomASolheimE (2006) Group size, group status and stimulus valence as determinants of intergroup bias: stereotyping in Finland and Sweden. Nordic Psychology58262–278.
21.
LiebkindKJasinskaja-LahtiITeräsahoM (2007) Ingroup vitality and intergroup attitudes in a linguistic minority. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology48409–418.
22.
MatsunagaMHechtMLElekENdiayeK (2010) Ethnic identity development and acculturation: a longitudinal analysis of Mexican-heritage youth in the Southwest United States. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology41(3): 410–427.
23.
MiddletonJ (1992) The World of the Swahili. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
24.
PetersonJE (2004a) Oman's Diverse Society: Northern Oman. Middle East Journal5831–51.
25.
PetersonJE (2004b) Oman's Diverse Society: Southern Oman. Middle East Journal58254–269.
26.
PettersonD (2002) Revolution in Zanzibar: An American's Cold War Tale. Oxford: Westview Press.
27.
PurdieNOliverRCollardGRochecousteJ (2002) Attitudes of primary school Australian Aboriginal children to their linguistic codes. Journal of Language and Social Psychology21410–421.
28.
Rawwas A (2004) ‘Stripping the language of the Quran’. Oman, 19 May. Available at om.s-oman.net/archive/index.php/t-131800.html (Arabic version).
29.
TajfelH (1974) Social identity and intergroup behavior. Social Science Information13(2): 65–93.
30.
TajfelHTurnerJC (1979) An Integrative Theory of Intergroup Conflict In: AustinWCWorchelSThe Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Monterey: Brooks/Cole33–53.
31.
ValeriM (2007) Nation-building and communities in Oman since 1970: the Swahili-speaking Omani in search for identity. African Affairs106/424479–496.
32.
YzerbytVProvostVOlivierC (2005) Not competent but warm … really? Compensatory stereotypes in the French-speaking world. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations8(3): 291–308.
