Abstract
ABSTRACTThe article examines code-switching in the Logoli speech community in the cosmopolitan Kangemi informal settlement area on the outskirts of the city of Nairobi. The aim of the study is to investigate the sociolinguistic developments that result from the urban language contact settings of Kangemi and to identify and illustrate motivations that influence the tendency of the Logoli speakers to alternate codes between Lulogoli, Kiswahili and English. Extracts from the corpus gathered by tape recordings and participant observation are analysed within a theoretical framework based on the Markedness Model developed by Carol Myers-Scotton. The study identifies and interprets the key social variables that determine code-switching behaviour in the Logoli speech community. These include age, education, status and the various social domains of interaction. This supports the view that code-switching is not a random phenomenon but a strategy and a negotiation process that aims at maximising benefits from interaction.
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