New book calls for State to give more priority to growing Kiswahili

Book title: Lugha na Fasihi Katika Karne ya 21

Editors:Mosol Kandagor, Nathan Ogechi & Clarissa Vierke

Publisher: Moi University Press (2017)

Reviewer:Enock Matundura

Kiswahili is no doubt the East and Central African region’s foremost language of wider communication. It is estimated that it has about 120 million speakers across the globe - majority of who come from East Africa and the Great Lakes region.

Against all odds, Kiswahili has continued to rival established languages such as English and French - and is touted to edge out other notable languages in Africa that equally have many speakers such as Hausa, Igbo, Bambara and Wolof in West Africa, Arabic in North Africa, among others, to become the lingua franca of the continent.

Kiswahili language and its literature, therefore, has over time attracted the attention of scholars from within and without the continent. The book under review is an attempt by scholars of the language from local and international universities to share their thoughts on the strides that have been made by Kiswahili in the 21st century.

The 418-page book is divided into five major sections and 41 chapters. The sections are: Lugha, Isimu na Maendeleo ya Kiswahili (Language, linguistics and development of Kiswahili), Fasihi na Masuala Ibuka (literature and emerging issues), Tafsiri, Ukalimani na Mawasiliano (Translation, Interpretation and Communication, Matumizi ya Lugha, Vyombo vya Habari na Diskosi (Language use, the Media and Discourse) and Sera ya Lugha na Ufundishaji wa Kiswahili (Language Policy and the Teaching of Kiswahili).

The contributors of chapters in this book, published in honour of Prof Naomi Luchera Shitemi formerly of Moi University, who died on September 28, 2013, include Profs Odeo Isaac Ipara (Kibabii University), Inyani Simala (The Est African Kiswahili Commission), Sangai Mohochi (Rongo), Wendo Nabea (Egerton), Noordin Mwanakombo (Moi), John Habwe, Rayya Timammy (Nairobi), and Miriam Mwita (Baraton). Others are Prof Mwenda Mukuthuria (Maasai Mara), Drs Obuchi Moseti (Moi), Omari Ontieri (Maasai Mara), Pendo Malangwa, Amani Lusekelo (Dar es Salaam), and Chacha Mwita Leonard (Kenyatta), among others.

The preface of this book is written by Prof Mohammed Hassan Abdulaziz of the University of Nairobi – regarded as the doyen of Kiswahili scholarship in East Africa. Prof Abdulaziz founded the departments of Kiswahili and Other African Languages in the 1970s at the universities of Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. Most of the contributors in this book are therefore either his former students or products of his students.

Prof Abdulaziz says this of Prof Shitemi (a former student at the University of Nairobi in the 1980s): “It is coincidental that many articles in this book, to a great extent, focus on the areas (of study) in which Prof Shitemi was a great enthusiast. Therefore, the publication of this book adds to the contribution towards those areas proving that there is a lot of research being done in Kiswahili linguistics and its literature.”

The most recurring motif in most of the chapters, however, is the lamentation by the writers that although Kiswahili is an official language of Kenya together with English – as captured in Article 7 of the Kenyan Constitution, the efforts of operationalising this has rather been slow. Despite much work done towards developing the Languages of Kenya Policy and Bill, not much progress has been achieved.

The Languages of Kenya Policy and Bill were initially drafted at the ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts. Later, they were transferred to the ministry of Communication and Technology. The legislative process has stalled since 2013. Unless Kenya sets up a National Kiswahili Council, the country may not achieve much in matters Kiswahili development.

Enock Matundura, translator of Barbara Kimenye’s Moses series (Oxford University Press), teaches Swahili literature at Chuka University