Why all college and university students should learn Kiswahili

On the eve of World Kiswahili Day, linguist, literary critic, and cultural scholar Kimani Njogu spoke to The Eastleigh Voice reporter Barack Oduor on why the creation of the National Kiswahili Council cannot wait. He also delved into the prospect of Kiswahili bringing economic and political integration to East Africa.

Kenya hosted the World Kiswahili Speaking Day for the first time. What is its significance to the country?

A: First, the fact that July 7 is identified as World Kiswahili Day is very important because it puts Kiswahili at the centre of the global conversation. Being given this opportunity by the East African Community to host the event means that Kenya is being challenged to show its commitment to Kiswahili.

We had an opportunity to showcase efforts that Kenya is making towards anchoring Kiswahili in national and regional development. There is work being done by institutions and individuals to achieve this. There are certain gaps at the policy level that still need to be addressed.

What could be the obstacles in actualising the formation of the National Kiswahili Council?

A: The fact of the matter is that the Bill for the establishment of the National Kiswahili Council was submitted to the Cabinet and it was returned for more work to be done on it, and then once it was adjusted it needed to be translated.

The Ministry of Culture delayed the translation process and, therefore, it was only after one of the Kiswahili scholars in this country volunteered to do that work for free that it was done.

The Attorney-General already has the Kiswahili and English versions of the Bill and there is no reason now why it should not be submitted to Parliament for debate.

The Mombasa County Assembly has approved the use of Kiswahili during its Wednesday sessions. When will other counties follow suit?

A: After Mombasa, we should have Lamu. Kwale and Kilifi are expected to do the same. Another county that should quickly adopt Kiswahili is Nakuru which has a very strong Swahili tradition.

I think certain counties have people who are very proficient in Kiswahili, but to begin with, coastal counties can provide leadership.

We also believe that we have to accept that different counties have different proficiency levels in the language and we should not make unreasonable demands. We need to allow people to make mistakes while speaking Kiswahili and help them gain confidence.

We have also been developing vocabulary or legal terminologies for use by MPs and ward representatives. I have a website called Kamusi Sheria whose goal is to help MPs learn legal terms in Kiswahili.

You have previously suggested that foreigners seeking residency and jobs in Kenya should undergo a basic Kiswahili test. What are your reasons for this?

A: Many of the people who seek to work in Kenya will be working in rural areas where residents mostly speak Kiswahili or their local language. Therefore, if we are seeking proper service from people outside Kenya, then they need to pass elementary Kiswahili for them to communicate with locals.

This is the standard practice globally. If you are going to work in Germany or Italy for instance, there is a requirement that you have to pass a proficiency test in their languages. What we are asking for is not unreasonable.

You also want President William Ruto and all government officials to use Kiswahili in official speeches. What is your reason for this?

A: It is ridiculous that the Executive uses English to address common people. The first audience of the government should be the Kenyan people who speak their national language, and, therefore, unless the president and other leaders are only interested in the elite and those of us who have had the privilege of higher education, then they should always address Kenyans using Kiswahili on national days and on national matters.

There is no reason why the head of state cannot address important issues using Kiswahili. There is too much dominance of the English language in national events and I think that needs to be reduced. We are not saying that using English is bad, we are only saying that the audience will understand things better when addressed in Kiswahili.

Kiswahili lobbyists have been advocating for the language to be made compulsory at all stages of learning in Kenya. What is the rationale behind this agitation?

A: I think the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development should recognise the role of Kiswahili in national development. It needs to be taught right from nursery schools to the university. The current system allowing it to be optional at a certain level is wrong.

In universities, it should be compulsory irrespective of the course a student is taking. There should be a rule that requires all students to have a unit in Kiswahili because they will be serving the Kenyan people.

Even in technical colleges, they also need to pay attention to Kiswahili since they are training skilled workers who work in the communities.

Recently, the Somali National News Agency posted a minister’s statement in Kiswahili. What is the significance of Kiswahili within and outside the East African Community?

A: I love it. I think it is brilliant. Somalia had applied to join the East African Community and one of the requirements of joining was to accept that Kiswahili is the language of use in the region and, therefore, all member states are expected to show that they will support Kiswahili.

This will open Somalia to more progress. It will be nice too to have countries like Ethiopia adopt Kiswahili because Sudan, South Sudan, and even the Democratic Republic of Congo have embraced it. Eventually, we will have a region that speaks Kiswahili, opening a huge market opportunity for business and political integration.

What is the role of universities in promoting Kiswahili?

A: Universities are starved of money to run their programmes, so we understand their challenges. But they must support the development of Kiswahili. They need to invest in research through research grants to enable them to undertake research, for instance on how Kiswahili connects to other African languages.

There can be research on how to develop new lexical items, science and technology, and research around translations. There is also the development of software in Kiswahili as well as linking Kiswahili linguists to software developers for artificial intelligence to be operationalised accordingly.