Swahili

Since immemorial time Kiswahili has been Kenyas national and priding language, through its
comprehensiveness Swahili spread steadily throughout the country as a result of economic and
political integration, the rise of national self-consciousness and the increased importance of
commerce. However with the changing times the same language is been brushed aside and
continue to play second fiddle to English an inheritance language of colonial masters that is the
Britain, with the greatest pitfalls that not all are able to communicate through it. .) The attitudes
of these groups towards Swahili are positive, and Swahili has become a prestige language
(cf.Mazrui &Mazrui 1999: 161). People are proud to speak Swahili properly.
Whiteley (1969: 100) says: Ability to operate Swahili, however, is now a mark of national
pride (cf. also Mazrui & Mazrui1999: 162). This pride corresponds with a tendency to use
native words, not loans.188 Polom (1980b: 92) says: the main source of loans is English, not
only in the field of technical development, but also in all aspects of social and cultural life,
though a conscious effort appears to have been made in recent years to limit the borrowing of
lexical items as much as possible and to encourage Swahilisation.The difference is that, while
English is the career-oriented urban language (Scotton 1979: 113), Swahili is the language of
horizontal communication and of work organisations. Mazrui & Mazrui (1999: 124) says: As
for cultural nationalism in relation to class, Kiswahili is clearly much more of a language of the
common man than English.
Thus it goes without saying that Kiswahili suffered a major setback when former Attorney
General Charles Njonjo on July 25th, 1969 objected to its introduction as an official language.
Then Embu East MP Kamwithi Mondi had tabled the Motion to have Kiswahili declared the
official language in Government offices and in the National Assembly. Njonjo argued that
Kiswahili has its origins in the Arabic language and if all foreign languages were to be done
away, it should be on the first list. since then the language has made strides towards its
development that saw the Chama cha Kiswahili Cha Kitaifa a registered political party for years
push in a geared effort to attainment of Kiswahili as an official language and its was supported
by education institutions that saw Kiswahili taught in primary level to universities in Kenya. Due
to the language richness and unique in its own way saw it used in press, radio, television in
Kenya a case of Nation media group that has a Taifa Leo, a local Kenya Swahili daily.
On July 4, 1974 President Jomo Kenyatta declared Kiswahili a Parliamentary language, the
following day, Parliament was treated to drama as MPs attempted to make contributions in the
language. It was even news when Kenyatta addressed Parliament in Kiswahili, Monday August
30, 2010 the Standard Digital media