The following item from the Nairobi daily The Nation was seen on AllAfrica.com at http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200610060018.html . It offers some interesting perspectives. On the topic of Sheng etc. I would only note something written by David Crystal in his _The Language Revolution_: "any speech commmunity that allows the purist mentality to dominate its linguistic policy is signing the death warrant for its language." This is not to say that the "purist" position on language is bad, and indeed Crystal admits it is an important "pole" in the development of a language (where would a community be if no one worked for more traditional approach to the language). My interpretation from limited linguistic background (and absolutely no familiarity with Sheng) is that the dynamic of change and discourse about the change seems to be healthy. Others feel free to add or disagree... DZO
Kenya: Sheng is the 'Slanguage' of the Future The Nation (Nairobi) http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/ OPINION 6 Octobre 2006 Publié sur le web le 6 Octobre 2006 John Mugubi Nairobi Reading all the comments about Sheng in the newspapers reminded me of an article titled "Sheng is a secret code for deviance" by your columnist, Peter Mwaura, some time ago. By dismissing Sheng, these writers and others contend that it is not a proper language because it is principally spoken by the little educated, indolent, downright careless, drug-pushers or the unruly. Now, this is false reasoning. Speaking Sheng, just like Pidgin, Creole or the African-American slang, is, in most cases a question of choice. In cases where it is not premeditated, still, the speakers understand that it is different from the standard forms of language. Sheng was my first language back in the 1970s. It was the medium my family used best to communicate, and yet none of us knew the spelling of touting or drug-peddling. It was also no secret code for deviance in our case. That Sheng was literally my mother tongue did not stop me learning standard Kiswahili and English, and excelling academically. All languages metamorphose Therefore, the assertion that Sheng is responsible for the plummeting standards in the performance of language in schools is non-sequitur reasoning. A child who cannot distinguish between Sheng and the other languages is simply an incorrigible idiot. Blame his or her genes; Sheng is not the problem. Sheng is a language with clear bone (grammatical) structures and a visible face. If not, how could one learn and master sheer "vapour"? The commentators aver that Sheng is fluid and keeps changing. Which language on earth remains static? History demonstrates that all languages metamorphose. Otherwise, we would still be persecuting our tongues with the obsolete 'dosts', 'thous', and 'betwixts' of the Shakespearean epoch. I have been able to keep pace with 'Shengian' rapid transformations, so what is the big deal? Sheng is only more versatile and dynamic compared to other languages. With time, it will find its place and settle down in a more discernible pattern. Those who loathe their progeny 'fathee-ing' or 'mathee-ing' them, had better sprint to the pharmacist in advance. Just like the intransigent idealistic Pedagogy of Gradgrind and M'choakumchild in Charles Dickens's Hard Times failed miserably, the commentators are hankering for hypertension and heart attack. Sheng is the language of the future. It will surely be Kenya's lingua franca in due course. While our ethnic tongues are in for inevitable doom, Sheng will triumph. It is God's answer to the polarisation, compartmentalisation and consequent alienation that our native tongues engender. Indeed, if we are to deal with the cancer of ethnicity that defines our politics and socialisation, we must stop our children mouthing Kikuyu, Kikamba, Kiluhyia, Kijaluo or whatever tribal tongue. Let them talk Sheng. Sheng transcends ethnic fences and therefore forges unity among the speakers. We do not need our tribal tongues in this age of increased mixed marriages and cosmopolitanism. Yet, English and Kiwahili do not define who we are. Sheng, that blend of many of the languages prevalent in Kenya, is who we are. It is a fact that presently, most Sheng speakers cannot converse in their mother tongues. I have no apologies for not learning my mother tongue. My children, too, will escape the tribal stain. I am astounded that commentators even intimate that speaking and writing impeccable English is the ladder to socio-economic success. Give us a break! Why is a war-mongering syntax-mangler the president of the most powerful nation on earth? Why are semi-literates self-assuredly masquerading as ministers in our own government? The commentators must be fresh immigrants from Jupiter. How many Kenyans are 'vumiliaring' being Kenyans, languishing in abject poverty and joblessness, their chains of certificates and unblemished Anglo-Saxonian tongues notwithstanding? Sheng won't just vanish Doesn't one need to be related to the who-is-who in Kenya even to get a casual voter registration clerk's job? The way to go is to foster Sheng while making the boundaries of its usage unequivocal, for now. Sheng won't just vanish into thin air! Let us not be hoodwinked by our elders who are drier than a bone in their tribal ways. Sheng can play a momentous role in unifying us. Dr Mugubi is a lecturer, Department of Literature, Kenyatta University. Copyright © 2006 The Nation Nation Newspapers Limited, P.O. 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