OPERATIONALIZING KISWAHILI AS A SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

Abstract

In the last decade, Kenyans became extremely aware of the issue of language and language usage in the country. This awareness led to the recognition of Kiswahili as one of the official languages of Kenya. The Kenyan 2010 Constitution recognizes that the national language of the Republic of Kenya is Kiswahili while the official languages are Kiswahili and English (Chapter 2, Section 7 (2). Previously, English was used as the official language and language of instruction in education sector while Kiswahili was the national language. This paper is anchored around the success of the Canadian and South African models of promoting two or more official languages. The paper seeks to borrow from the language policies of the two nations and make recommendations on how the new language policy can be operationalized in tandem with the spirit of the new constitution promulgated in 2010. The paper seeks to isolate the strengths of bilingual language policy as exemplifed by both Canadian and South African language policy models that can effectively contribute to the promotion of Kiswahili as an official language in Kenya.