Kariuki, Samuel Ngugi2017-07-282017-07-282005-04http://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/17753A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of master of arts in English and linguistics department of English and Linguistics Kenyatta University Nairobi. April 2005The purpose of this dissertation was to establish the need for the translation of the Draft Constitution of Kenya - 2004 into Gikiiyii, for Gikiiyfi speakers whose proficiency in English and Kiswahili is low. The study was based on the premise that if the document under study was meant for all Kenyans, then the document should be published and preserved in languages that all Kenyans, including those who are not good at Kiswahili and English, understand. The study had four objectives. The first was to establish how the target population would fare in comprehending the document under study first in the English language and then in Gikiiyfi. The second was to investigate the major difficulties that the target group faced in the comprehension of the Draft Constitution of Kenya - 2004 which is currently in English and Kiswahili. The third was to test the extent to which men and women differ in the comprehension of the said document in the two languages. The last was to suggest strategies for translating the document into Gikiiyfi. The data was collected from 40 standard eight graduates half of whom were young and the other half elderly. These 40 informants were subjected to two questionnaires in form of comprehension tests. One test was in English and the other was in Gikuyti. Open interviews were also conducted on the same informants. The data was presented and analysed quantitatively as well as qualitatively. It was established that there was need for translating the Draft Constitution into Gikiiyti as the target population had a better understanding of the sampled portions that were extracted from the document and translated into Gikiiyfi. We finally suggest strategies that can be employed by a translator when rendering the document into Giktiyfl language.enThesis