RP-Department of English & Linguistics

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Critical Discourse Analysis in Ekegusii Circumcision Songs
(IJHSS, 2024-07) Ombongi, Davins Nyanuga; Ong’onda, Anashia Nancy; Itumo, Joshua
Language acts as a primary vehicle for transmitting cultural norms, values and expectations even the thought paradigms from one generation to another.The study investigated the link between language and gender in Ekegusii circumcision songs, guided by fairclough’s tenet( 1993) which states that discourse constitutes society and culture. The study found out that the Ekegusii circumcision songs are loaded with cultural stereotypes which propagates male dominance. This study applied descriptive research methodology and purposive sampling method to select statements which demarcates gender roles with the intention of elevating masculinity in the community. The analysed song reveal that the Ekegusii male circumcision songs are sexist and obscene creating masculinity dominance in defining the gender roles. This study thus has empirical contribution on research on language, and gender as major concepts in society and academics. The study is beneficial to the stakeholders who are charged with accelerating national efforts to achieve gender equity and towards attaining the Sustainable Development goal of gender equality
Accuracy of Google Translate in Translation of English-Kiswahili and Kiswahili-English Newspaper Headlines
(IJRISS, 2024-02) Kisilu, Esther; Wangia, Joyce
This paper endeavors to determine the accuracy of Google Translate in newspaper headlines from Kiswahili to English and vice versa, while using the human translator as the yardstick. Newspaper headlines in both Kiswahili and English were identified and randomly selected. Three human translators were used to so that the Google Translate translations could be measured against the human translators. The Relevance Theory was applied during the research. This study made use of both Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methodology and a Descriptive Research Design. Simple Random Sampling was used to select the data to be used while Purposive Sampling was used when choosing the human translators. Fifty data sets were tested, twenty-five of which were in Kiswahili while the rest were in English. Content analysis was thereafter applied to interpret the translation output. The study found that the human translator is more accurate than Google Translate. In addition, some human translations were found to slightly differ from Google translations in the wording but still had the same meaning. The study focused on the communicativeness of the translated data and found that some items translated exhibited meaning losses. It was found that Google Translate was able to accurately render the meaning of 28/50 (56%) of the instructions examined, implying that it is 56% accurate in translating Kiswahili to English and vice versa. Mistranslations were found to be more prevalent in the Kiswahili source data. This therefore means that sometimes miscommunication occurs as some items are not accurately rendered. This study thus offers useful insight on areas of intervention in Machine Translation, particularly Google Translate.
Morphosyntactic Retention and Innovation in Sheng, a Youth Language or Stylect of Kenya
(UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX, 2024-06) Gibson, Hannah; Chege, John Githiora; Erastus, Fridah Kanana; Marten, Lutz
This paper examines the morphosyntax of the East African Swahili-based urban youth language or stylect Sheng. Research on urban youth languages has often focused on these varieties as sites of rapid change and linguistic creativity. However, we show that many of the structural features which appear to make Sheng stand out when compared to (Standard) Swahili are widespread across East African Bantu languages. We examine nominal and verbal domains, as well as clausal syntax, and highlight areas in which Sheng exhibits features in common with its contact languages, as well as features which appear to reflect instances of independent innovation. The study shows that Sheng is not a “simplified” version of Swahili which deviates from the grammar of Swahili in a range of ad hoc ways. Rather, the language exhibits features of retention and contact-induced borrowing, as well as systematic changes which are reflective of variation across the Bantu languages
Picaresque narrative techniques and popular literature in African prose fiction
(jozac, 2022) Etyang, Philip; Makokha, Justus Siboe; Obura, Oluoch
The Picaresque tradition is a mode of writing that began in Spain in the 16th century and flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries throughout the rest of Europe. It is a literary tradition that has continued to influence modern fiction writing to date. The current paper examined the picaresque and popular African literature narrative techniques through conducting an in-depth analysis of the following texts; Kill Me Quick, Mission to Kala, The Angels Die, and A Sport of Nature. To effectively address the task, the study examined narratives and narrative techniques in the prose fiction under study. The paper then deployed the Structural Literary Theory in an effort to decode the intertextuality between the texts. The study established that the texts under study are interconnected through the main characters, especially the picaro/picara. An examination of Gustav Freytag’s narrative structure was conducted and similarities and differences in the narrative structures of the texts under study was observed. The Postcolonial Literary Theory was also consulted where specific strands of the theory as propounded by Vorn Gorp, and Frantz Fanon were blended to furnish the study with the necessary theoretical backbone to exhaustively study picaresque narratives in popular literature. In conclusion, the study established that the Picaresque and Popular Literature writing modes are interconnected through the use plot and main characters. The study also established that the non-linear and episodic plot structures are the most commonly used techniques in picaresque and popular writing modes.
No longer green: Female characters of African descent as sex workers in Chika Unigwe’s OnBlack Sisters’ Street (2009) and Amma Darko’s Beyond the Horizon (1995)
(Royallite Global., 2022) Makokha, Gloria Ajami; Muhia, Mugo; Obura, Oluoch
This article explores the potentialities of diaspora as conveniently structured to demonstrate the emancipatory potential of migration for women in Chika Unigwe’s OnBlack Sisters’ Street (2009)and Amma Darko’s Beyond the Horizon (1995). Sex and sexual intercourse between men and women in the African societies that are fictionalised in these texts are not only an issue about morality, but also about how morality is governed and policed within these societies. While the societies in these texts hope to derive their integrity through women’s sexual purity, conflict arises when such communal integrity fails to recognise the individual circumstances of the female individuals upon whom such notions of purity rest. The question of what role sex and sexual practices play in upholding the honour of communities is a vexed one. While the societies that the texts explore here show less scrutiny on marital sex, regardless of whether it is consensual or forced, these societies occupy a judgmental pedestal on pre-marital and extra-marital sex. Harsher judgement, however, is reserved for individuals who engage in these practices for monetary gain. This textual analysis is informed by the postcolonial theory, as articulated by Homi Bhabha and his postulations on identity and ‘othering’
Protest in the Eco-Poems of Tanure Ojaide
(IIARD, 2021) Oguntuase, Adebayo Adefemi; Obura, Oluoch; Amateshe, Kisa
Tanure Ojaide, like many poets, especially poets of the Niger Delta extraction, has written combative poems in protest against the obvious inequalities and iniquities in the Nigerian society. This paper examines selected poetry of Ojaide to benchmark the angst of poets about the infractions in the Nigerian society. The volumes of poetry selected for this study are Delta Blues and HomeSongs and Daydream of Ants and Other Poems. Our objectives are to underscore the necessity for writers of all hues especially poets, to reawaken leaders of the people to always consider their subjects in the planning and execution of state policies and to rouse the people to the need to reject obnoxious laws made for their governance. This makes it possible for both parties, leaders and the led, to strike compromises on contentious issues. The theory that explains our position is Ecocriticism, a literary theory that views the environment in relation to literature. In other words, Ecocriticism looks at the interdependence of humankind and their environment and how literature intervenes to resolve contradictions in such mutual existence. Proponents of this critical theory include Cheryll Glotfelty, Simon Estok, Lawrence Buell, Harold Fromm and William Rueckert, amongst others. Added to this is the sociological critical theory that situates literature and its themes around occurrences in society. The major pillars behind this theory are Kenneth Burke, Immanuel Kant and Karl Marx amongst others. The paper concludes that poetry remains most relevant to the needs of society when it is able to bring government and the governed together for the common good of the people.
We Live, only if the Environment Lives; An Enquiry into Niyi Osundare’s Eco-poems
(IIARD, 2022) Adefemi, Oguntuase Adebayo; Oluoch, Obura; Kisa, Amateshe
This paper sets out to investigate the symbiosis between humankind and the environment that they inhabit. The relationship between the denizens of the earthly environment and the lifelong interdependence of both flora and fauna are examined in this work. Two of the volumes of poetry by Niyi Osundare are used in the treatment of the themes of this study. These are: Waiting Laughters (1990) and The Eye of the Earth (1996). The literary theoretical approach known as ecocriticism is deployed in the study of the poems selected from both collections. The study is further underpinned by the Reader Response critical theory. The paper concludes that a mutually rewarding co-existence is the only prescription for an augury of pleasure and sustainability between the environment, on the one hand and humankind, on the other
“Bodies on the Move”: Examining the Quest for Migration in the Postcolonial Africa Novel
(eajass, 2022) Chepkwony, Mark Kipkoech; Mutie, Stephen Muthoka; Goro, Nicholas Kamau
The scholarship of cosmopolitanism and migrations, in many forms, narrative, artistic, and cultural continues to influence and inform our experiences as global citizens navigating an increasingly complicated global environment. This paper aims to re(map) these notions, whichcalls for reconsideration, re-evaluation, and emphasizing the importance of cosmopolitanism as reflected in literature. There has been an exponential increase in studies on cosmopolitanism in literature during the last two decades. This tendency is directly tied with transnational interconnection and experiences with a difference in a way that has never been seen before as a result of cross-border commerce, migration, mobility, media, and consumption. This paper interrogates Open City by Teju Cole; We NeedNew Names by No Violet Bulawayo, Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasie and Beyond Babylon by Igiaba Scego to underscore how they use cosmopolitanism as the main idea.
Gengetone Music as A Subversion of the Urban Space
(JCCM, 2022) Mukasa, Antony
This paper examines how Gengetone, a new music genre birthed on the streets of Nairobi and “hoods” of the inner estates like Jericho, Ongata Rongai, Langata and Umoja has revolutionized Kenyan music, sparked controversy by becoming the object of a national debate after being criticized for its explicit lyrics. However, despite the criticism, the music has instead become popular in mainstream media like Ghetto classics and alternative media spaces like Facebook groups, YouTube channels as well as nightclubs and matatus. I examine this genre, which has adopted “sheng” as its primary idiom and combines elements of American Hip-hop with different kinds of Kenyan popular music. The paper argues that the popularity of this underground street music can be studied as an expression of resistance against the mechanisms of social marginalization. And that normative understandings of what constitutes proper music is at play in the suppression of the genre. The paper looks at the politics of Kenyan Urban street music, discusses the Gengetone in relation to the notion of an authentic Kenyan genre. The second part examines selected lyrics of Gengetone artists such as Ethic, Sailors, Boondocks Gang, Mbogi Genje, Ssasura, Ochungulo family and Zzero Sufuri. The paper adopts a perspective that engages critically with aesthetic norms in popular music and argues that the lyrics of mentioned artistes can be understood as a distinct literary form.
Playing with Words: Analyzing Political Agenda and Discourse in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania During Electioneering and Referendum
(Oscar Publishing Services, 2023) Masiolo, James
This research delves into the manipulation of words, terms, and idioms in the context of political agenda and discourse during electioneering and referendum campaigns in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The study investigates how politicians strategically use language to advance their political goals and shape public opinion. Through qualitative analysis of speeches, media interviews, and campaign materials, this research sheds light on the tactics employed to influence voters and gain support. The findings reveal the significance of linguistic strategies in framing political narratives, promoting specific ideologies, and constructing public perceptions. By understanding the intricacies of language manipulation in the political domain, this study aims to foster critical discourse awareness and inform the public about the complexities of political communication in East Africa.
Quid Est Enim Tempus? Temporality, Causality, and Narrative Structure in Selected West Indian Self-Portrait Novels
(AJOEI, 2023) Odhiambo, Job; Mugubi, John; Chetambe, Mark
Purpose of the study: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the plot structure of six selected novels published in the mid-1950s onwards. The paper also seeks to understand the differences that exist between autobiographical fiction that were published in the 20th century and that published in the 21st century. Research methodology: The paper is grounded on narrative theory and stylistics. The novels under study are V. S. Naipaul’s Miguel Street and A House for Mr Biswas, George Lamming’s in the Castle of my Skin, Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, Merle Hodge’s Crick Crack, Monkey and Marcia Douglas’s The Marvellous Equation of the Dread: A Novel in Bass Riddim. Findings of the study: The paper found that all of the novels share a similar type of narrative structure, regardless of the date of publication. This structure is characterized by a linear progression of events, with the narrator recounting their childhood and adolescence. The novels also share a focus on the themes of identity, colonialism, and migration. Conclusion: The paper concludes that the similarities in the narrative structure of these novels suggest that they are part of a shared literary tradition. The paper also suggests that there are differences in the novels, such as the points of view of the narrators, reflect the changing social and cultural landscape of the West Indies.Recommendations: The paper recommends that further research be conducted on the narrative structure of autobiographical fiction from the West Indies. The paper also recommends that scholars explore the ways in which these novels can be used to understand the experiences of West Indian people.
Language and Identity within the Decision Theory Framework: The Case of the Rendille People of Kenya
(International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 2015-10) Ngure, Kenneth; Karuru2, D. W.
The question pertaining to considerations made by individuals and members of a community for purposes of identity construction is often asked by scholars but the answers offered exhibit glaring variations. Language is cited by some individuals and groups as being propitious for identity formation while others cite other aspects of a people’s culture such as food, clothes, and such other considerations as genetic descent and geographical location. In this paper, we examine within the framework of the Decision Theory (DT), the factors relied upon by members of the Rendille ethnic community for identity formation. We demonstrate that based on some factors, the Rendillle identity is perceived to be in two levels; the broad and narrow identity. Ancestral descent is a useful factor in the formation of the broad Rendille identity while participation in certain rituals, initiation rites in particular, is critical in the formation of the narrow Rendille identity. Such levels form part of the Rendille culture and as Miyaoka (2001) points out, language may be said to be the last stronghold of culture. Ours, therefore, is a study in sociolinguistics paying particular attention to the Rendille community.
Communicative Value of Cinematographic Elements in Super Sema Animated Series
(African Journal of Emerging Issues, 2023) Gichuki, Atenya; Mugubi, John; Mbayi, Oliver
Background: The study explored the construction of cinematographic elements in Super Sema, a Kenyan animation film. The study intended to reconnoitre how cinematographic elements conveyed certain communicative values, which was done by investigating how the cinematographic elements were used to convey particular communicative values. Animation films use visual elements to convey various messages to the audience, and Cinematography is one of the most influential factors in communicating ideas to the audience visually. Cinematography is incredibly important in films, and a filmmaker has to understand different cinematographic methods and how to use them to tell a narrative effectively visually. This research aimed to determine whether Super Sema series animators employed cinematographic elements as visual metaphors with visual semantics to convey various communicative values. Methodology: The study used Super Sema (2021) animated series as a case study. The following objective guided the study: To establish the communicative value of the cinematographic elements in Super Sema. This study was qualitative in nature. Random sampling was employed to select the sample of the eight (8) episodes of the Super Sema animated series. The study used Semiotic theory to explain the study's variables, relationships, and findings. The primary data was collected via observations-close reading, and secondary Super data was collected from the existing literary works. Content analysis was used to analyse the data collected. Conclusion: After conducting a content analysis through a close reading of the selected episodes, the study found five communicative values associated with cinematographic elements to signify thematic aspects, emotions, power dynamics, guiding the viewer and revealing visual narrative information (VNI).
Making it clearer: Elaboration strategies in Gĩkũyũ, a Bantu language
(Jozac Publishers, 2022) Wakarindi, Peter Maina; Mwangi, Phyllis; Njoroge, Martin
Typically, spontaneous language comprises sequences of logically joined clauses. Studies have revealed that such structures contribute to fluency in speech or writing as they reduce the use of simple structures. Simple structures have been found to make texts more disjointed. The combined clauses, which Systemic Functional linguistics calls clause complexes, are fundamentally held together by two forms of logicosemantic relations: expansion and projection. These relations are achieved through different strategies, among them conjunctive resources. An individual’s knowledge of conjunctive patterns of a language, and logicosemantic relations by extension, influences one’s selection of conjunctive resources. This article aims at exploring the logico-semantic relation of elaboration, a mode of expansion, in Gĩkũyũ clause complexes. Its data, Gĩkũyũ clause complexes, were purposively sampled majorly from spoken and written sources. The findings reveal different categories of paratactic and hypotactic elaboration in Gĩkũyũ. The different categories were found to employ varied elaboration strategies such as overt conjunctive expressions that mark certain relations, acting as linkers and binders in the clause complexes. The strategies are significant in promoting communicative competence as they have previously been noted to contribute to cohesion in Gĩkũyũ texts.
Language and Ethnic Identity: More Perspectives from Africa
(Macrothink Institute, 2012) Omondi, Hilda Kebeya
Many studies on bilingual communities have tended to focus on contact between an official/national language and one or more indigenous languages. In contrast this study analyzes data from two unofficial indigenous languages in Kenya. From the analyses carried out, it emerges that when Luo and Luyia languages are in contact there are three possible outcomes: speech divergence, speech convergence and code switching. The Luo respondents in this study are found to employ more speech divergence than their Luyia counterparts. As regards speech convergence, Luyias outscore Luos. Code switching, which is characterized by very low mean scores in the two ethnic groups, is the least preferred mode of communication. This paper also establishes that each of the three strategies serves a different social function. The goal of this paper is therefore to correlate three communication strategies with ethnicity in order to show how language loyalties interplay with ethnicity in a rural bilingual speech community in Africa. It is hoped that this research will shed more light on the relationship between ethnicity and ethnic languages in bilingual speech communities.
The ‘Rural-Urban’ Mix In the Use of Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases by Students of Literature in Kenyan Universities
(Multilingual Margins: A journal of multilingualism from the periphery, 2022) Mbithi, Esther K
The language of instruction at university level in the Kenyan education system is English, so all written work for assignments and examinations is generated in English. And yet, each student probably uses two or three languages in their everyday life in situations away from the classroom. Indeed, the language policy allows the use of mother tongue as language of instruction in Primary School classes One to Three. African languages are structured differently from the English language, particularly where prepositions are concerned. Furthermore, each language grows in a specific cultural context; and the range of vocabulary of the African languages in Kenya is different from that of English. This may present a challenge for university students using English as the language of instruction in understanding academic concepts for which there is no equivalent in their mother tongue. In some instances, only a single word is available in the first language, where several different English words are possible or even necessary for clarity depending on the context. This paper explores this cultural peculiarity of linguistic marginalisation, which is both lexical and syntactic, as manifest in the written research papers of university literature students who would otherwise work simultaneously in different languages.
A Minimalist Analysis of the Syntactic Structure of the Prepositional Phrase in Kiigembe
(Global Publication House, 2022) Jackline, Gitonga; Nandelenga, Henry S
The Minimalist Program by Chomsky (1995) was a reaction to the excessive complexity of structures and principles in previous generative approaches. It is, therefore, geared towards achieving syntactic operations in the simplest manner possible. It also maintains the idea of X-bar theory that all phrases in all languages have the same structure. In this study, data from Kiĩgembe, a dialect of Kimeru (a Bantu language), is used to assess the truthfulness of this assumption. The findings of this study reveal that the Prepositional Phrase (PP) in Kiĩgembe can truly be accounted for using the Minimalist Program.
Ethical Awareness of University Students in Online English Language and Linguistics Classes during COVID-19 Era in Kenya
(East African Nature and Science Organization, 2022) Ayieko, Gerry
The advent of Corona Virus Disease (Covid-19) has disrupted the teaching, learning, and research process in Kenya in an unprecedented manner. Many of these learning institutions resorted to online teaching-learning processes due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A number of the education institutions installed or reactivated their already existing learning management system (LMS) to continue with remote learning. Data was collected using questionnaire and a regression test was run that shows low level of ethical awareness by e-learning students. The study used pluralism as a theoretical framework and this showed that there is need to raise the students’ ethical awareness and change the model from looking for students who ‘cheat’ to empower them as moral agents to make the correct ethical choices
Making It Clearer: Elaboration Strategies in Gĩkũyũ, a Bantu Language
(Journal of languages, linguistics and literary studies, 2022) Wakarindi, Peter Maina; Mwangi, Phyllis; Njoroge, Martin
Typically, spontaneous language comprises sequences of logically joined clauses. Studies have revealed that such structures contribute to fluency in speech or writing as they reduce the use of simple structures. Simple structures have been found to make texts more disjointed. The combined clauses, which Systemic Functional linguistics calls clause complexes, are fundamentally held together by two forms of logicosemantic relations: expansion and projection. These relations are achieved through different strategies, among them conjunctive resources. An individual’s knowledge of conjunctive patterns of a language, and logicosemantic relations by extension, influences one’s selection of conjunctive resources. This article aims at exploring the logico-semantic relation of elaboration, a mode of expansion, in Gĩkũyũ clause complexes. Its data, Gĩkũyũ clause complexes, were purposively sampled majorly from spoken and written sources. The findings reveal different categories of paratactic and hypotactic elaboration in Gĩkũyũ. The different categories were found to employ varied elaboration strategies such as overt conjunctive expressions that mark certain relations, acting as linkers and binders in the clause complexes. The strategies are significant in promoting communicative competence as they have previously been noted to contribute to cohesion in Gĩkũyũ texts
Femme Fatale Poetics in Elechi Amadi’s The Concubine and Ngugi WA Thiong’o’s Petals of Blood
(East African Nature and Science Organization, 2022) Sakwa, Mediatrix M; Obura, Oluoch
In this article, we focus on unravelling the femme fatale poetics in Elechi Amadi’s and Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s, The Concubine and Petals of Blood, respectively. It is premised on the knowledge that the femme fatale is a shifting personage in interpreting feminist politics beyond national borderlines and the social procedures that frame relational contradistinctions of gender and its convergence with sexuality. It is believed that the term femme fatale refers to an archetypal female personality whose wicked features compel her to either unknowingly be destructed or consciously seek retribution. In light of this, Jung additionally submits that a femme fatale is often depicted as a lady who is stunningly gorgeous, has a sexually enchanting voice, is a thought-provoking figure, and has multiple character traits. She is both attractive and intelligent, and she frequently articulates in a soft voice and dresses in unconventional and attractive ways to attract men’s admiration. In line with Jung’s submission, the central concern of this paper is to unravel how the femme fatale has become a source of anxiety in the male domain. This article reveals that the femme fatale quest for individual sexual equality is emphasized as the fundamental source of conflict between patriarchal and feminist conceptions. Therefore, this article concludes that in order to solve the puzzling conundrum paused by the femme fatale, a need for a gender-equal regime should be advocated among all the gender cadres. The principal assertions made in this study serve to highlight an adequate solution to the problem of essentialism by the post-modern and post-feminist view context concerning the modern femme fatale as a threat to male dominance. This work was carried out by the use of close textual analysis to gather sufficient data for the phenomena under investigation and description of the significant claims

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