IMPACT OF SHENG DIALECT ON THE ENGLISH AND SWAHILI TEACHING IN KENYA; A CRITICAL LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Purpose: Sheng is a blend of two words derived from Kiswahili and English. It is a code created by young people as a badge of identity, also designed to exclude adults. Sheng morphosyntactic structures can highly affect the student’s competence in Kiswahili and English, which is an examinable subject by the Kenya National Examination Council. The purpose of the study therefore, is to evaluate the impact of Sheng dialect on the English and Swahili teaching in Kenya.
 Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps.
 Conclusion: Sheng code interferes with standard Kiswahili and English and hence it has negative effects on teaching of formal education. The study identified that learners have continued to make grammatically Sheng- related errors that hinder their proficiency in English and Swahili. The study found out that, inadequate exposure to Standard English and Swahili and the linguistic backgrounds of the learners make them to evolve communication strategies in which Sheng- formation processes play a major role.
 Recommendations: The study recommends educators to discourage the learners from participating in the discourse that is likely to influence their language competence. School administrators can come up with school-based language policies where certain days of the week are dedicated to communicating in Kiswahili and the students made to conform to it.