Language at the brink of conflict: micro-language planning in one western Kenyan school

Abstract

This article reports on the findings of a school ethnographic study of language-in-education policy implementation carried out during a time of intra-tribal conflict in the Sabaot language group. The conflict led to the displacement of significant numbers of Sabaot people from their homes in a linguistically homogenous Sabaot area. Several thousand of those displaced settled temporarily in the area of study, also Sabaot dominated, where language shift to Kiswahili was perceived to be taking place. The study provides insights into Sabaot speakers’ perceptions of the conflict’s impact on the vitality of their language and group identity. It also shows the interplay between the contextual factors in the local community, and the macro-language policy that favours the dominance of Kiswahili and English. The Sabaot case serves as an example of micro-language planning in situations with internally displaced populations.