Language ideologies, policies and practices within the multilingual Kenyan context

Abstract

Kenya is linguistically diverse with approximately 66 native and 8 non-native languages; out of which 33 are developing, 15 are vigorous, 2 are in trouble and 4 dying. Generally, actively used native languages in Kenya have been on the decline due to a number of forces such as colonisation, globalisation and language policies. This presentation focuses on educational language policy implementation in Kenya and illustrates its effects on the use of “minority languages”. The study establishes that language policies in Kenya are ad hoc declarations that have had negligible impact on the use of native African languages in schools and other formal settings. The policies greatly favor English following the logic of pre-colonial practices of assimilation and exclusion. English and Kiswahili, the regional lingua franca, remain the most prominent languages in formal education, overshadowing over fifty native African languages spoken in Kenya. English continues to be used in classroom and formal settings even in areas where native languages are dominantly spoken. Those who advocate for the use of English view it as a language of science and technology and that which propels one to a higher social status. English is also promoted as a language that helps to ease mobility within and beyond the East African region