Methodological sovereignty in community-driven language research: a decolonial mixed-methods approach to the revitalisation of Tonga language in Zimbabwe

Abstract

This paper advances a framework of methodological sovereignty in community-driven language research through a decolonial mixed-methods study on Tonga language revitalisation in Zimbabwe. Despite constitutional recognition of Tonga among the country's sixteen official languages, its marginalisation persists in education, governance, and public life. The study employed questionnaires and focus-group discussions (FGDs)across four Tonga-speaking districts to assess patterns of language use, intergenerational transmission, and grassroots activism. Quantitative findings (n = 100) show strong home use of Tonga (79 %) but weak institutional presence (41 %). Qualitative FGDs (n ≈ 6) established intergenerational pride alongside youth ambivalence and structural neglect. Guided by the Indigenous philosophies of Ubuntu and Sankofa, the research treated data collection as relational, ethical engagement rather than extraction. Ubuntu emphasises collective dialogue and mutual care in questionnaires and FGDs, while Sank of a grounds interpretation in historical return and cultural restoration. Together, these approaches illustrate that decolonial research requires both methodological and epistemic transformation. By embedding Indigenous worldviews in empirical practice, the study contributes to linguistic justice and reclaims agency in how Indigenous languages are studied and sustained