The following article from the Nairobi paper The East African Standard was seen on AllAfrica.com at http://allafrica.com/stories/200505090814.html ... DZO
Kiswahili Could Become Second Official Language The East African Standard (Nairobi) http://www.eastandard.net/ May 9, 2005 Posted to the web May 9, 2005 Masinde Kusimba Nairobi The Government is working on a policy to have Kiswahili adopted as an official language by the end of the year. The Director of Cultural Services, Mr Silverse Anami, said Kiswahili will then be used alongside English as an alternative official language. English is the only legislated official language while Kiswahili is classified as a national language, applying only in informal situations. Anami said there was need to promote the usage of Kiswahili in official places saying the language got a boost last year when it was adopted as the African Union's (AU) official language. "By the virtue of being the AU's official language, people all over the continent are struggling to use Kiswahili and it is high time we gave it the prominence it deserves," said Anami. He regretted that Kiswahili had been treated as inferior to English and French. Anami said a task force headed by Kenyatta University Kiswahili lecturer Prof Kimani Njogu had been established to come up with a programme aimed at legislating Kiswahili as Kenya's official language. "This will see the government adopt Kiswahili and use it in official documents," said Anami, adding that the move was aimed at promoting indigenous languages. He said court proceedings and Parliamentary Hansard among other official documents, will also be written in Kiswahili when the legislation goes through. Anami was speaking in Eldoret when he presided over Marakwet Cultural Day at Eldoret Municipal Hall. He said an East African Kiswahili Council comprising of the language experts had been formed to work on the modalities of adopting Kiswahili as East Africa's official language. -- ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> What would our lives be like without music, dance, and theater? Donate or volunteer in the arts today at Network for Good! http://us.click.yahoo.com/pkgkPB/SOnJAA/Zx0JAA/TpIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
