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According to Webb & Kembo Sure (2000:47), Kenya has a population of approximately 24 million and is home to 42 languages, which largely correspond to the 40 ethnic groups plus Kiswahili and English. Several of these languages have a sizeable number of speakers, for example Kikuyu (spoken by 20% of the population), Dholuo (spoken by 14%), Luluya (spoken by 13%), Kikamba (spoken by 11 %), Kalenjin (also spoken by 11%), Ekigusi (spoken by 6.5%), and Kimeru (spoken by 5% of the population). Kiswahili has a long history as a lingua franca in the area, and it had already been present as such for several centuries, when English was introduced to the area in the nineteenth century (cf. Michieka, 2005:176). At that time Cartier Roadster Replica British settlers arrived, following the establishment of trade with the region. As a result, English was used in administration, in law and in the many institutions of education which the British established (cf. Zuengler, 1982; Mazrui & Mazrui, 1996; and more recently Michieka, 2005).
For many Kenyans, this array of languages implies that they can potentially draw on all of these various resources to conduct their communicative activities depending on situational demands. Below is a quote from Webb & Kembo Sure (2000:100), who envisage what this might look like for one young Kenyan: An urban Kenyan boy will wake up on a Sunday morning and use his mother tongue (maybe Kikuyu, Dholuo, Suba, Maasai, or Tugen) with his family, go out to buy bread from a nearby shop and use Kiswahili to negotiate the purchase with the vendor. On his way home from the kiosk, he meets a friend with whom he might speak Sheng, or a mixture of Sheng,Cartier White Gold Plated Link Bracelet, Kiswahili, and English. After breakfast, he goes to church, where the service may be in English or Kiswahili, depending on the socio-economic status of the family and the surrounding community. At school the next day, he speaks English in all his lessons except for the Kiswahili lesson. On the playground, depending on the type of school he attends, he uses Kiswahili and English. If it is a high-cost private school, the usual playground language is English, whereas at the less expensive public schools it may be either English or Kiswahili. When he goes to the headmaster's office, the boy may use Kiswahili to address the secretary, but he will certainly speak English to the headmaster.
However, it is largely privileged individuals who have a high command of several languages, including English and the different forms it assumes in Kenya but also abroad. They can choose from a wide spectrum of linguistic features and select those features which they consider suitable to construct their identities. But this is not the case for large parts of the population. The linguistic repertoire of a Kenyan individual 'is largely determined by the speaker's ethnic background (which usually correlates with regional origin),Cartier 14K Yellow Gold Plated Double C Decor Ring with Diamond, social and economic status, and educational achievement' (Skandera, 2003:18). Webb & Kembo-Sure, (2000:47) estimate that approximately 16% of Kenyans know English as a second language. At the same time, English is 'assumed to be of little importance' (Skandera, 2003:19) for those 90% of the Kenyan population who live outside of the larger Kenyan cities, although Kenyans who have attended school will generally have some knowledge of English, since the educational system implies the use of English as a medium of instruction from year four Omega Seamaster Replica onwards. By many, then, 'English is acquired only through the educational system' (Kanyoro, 1991:415; Michieka, 2005), which implies that for most Kenyans access to English, is restricted to the input they receive from their teachers.
Overt prestige is associated with KenE, the endonormative variety of English which has developed in Kenya (cf. Kembo Sure, 1991). Besides this indigenized form, American English has started to play an increasingly important role, due to its presence in the media and in popular culture. Especially in the urban centers of Kenya, the younger generations identify with what might be called a global hip-hop culture which is transmitted via music and also by the promotional videos accompanying the individual songs, and by interviews with hip-hop and rap artists. Lately, Americanized forms - or even forms which originate from African American Vernacular English - have also been found to occur frequently in SMSes (cf. Thurlow, 2003; Frehner, 2008). Besides English, members of the affluent middle class also encounter a variety of other non-local languages, not only through the media but also through deliberate, instructed language learning. In addition to the languages that have already been mentioned, the above quote introduces a code called Sheng, one of the two mixed languages which exist in Kenya today.
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