Kenyan English

English in Kenya is a stable post-colonial variety that is used as an inter-ethnic lingua franca in private domains, is the medium of instruction as well as the language spoken in parliament and court rooms. Yet so far no comprehensive research monograph on Kenyan English has been published that surveys its characteristic linguistic features. The present book closes this gap by giving a full description of the characteristic linguistic features of Kenyan English. The book provides an in-depth overview of Kenyan English phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics and also gives a meticulous account of the diachronic evolution of this post-colonial variety.

Kenyan English: Domains of Use, Forms, and Users' Attitudesfocuses on the unique issues that concern language researchers in Kenya and elsewhere. Edited by Martha M. MichiekaandEvans Gesura Mecha, the collection examines the English language forms and usages to describe the reality of Kenyan English use. The contributors address questions such as: What are the characteristics that distinguish Kenyan English from other national varieties? How is English taught, and what impact does that kind of teaching have on learner proficiency? What is the place of English in mass media, in politics, in the churches, and in multilingual homes? The contributors, all experienced language practitioners based in Kenya or currently conducting language-related research in Kenya, bring fresh perspectives to the topic at hand and give readers a glance into contexts that have not yet been addressed in this way. They highlight the sociolinguistic reality of the English language in present-day Kenya and raise questions that will prompt further research.

On a quest to satisfy the need for acoustic documentation of pronunciation norms of Standard Kenyan English, there were predominant deviations which identify users of Ethnically Marked Varieties of Kenyan English. The study documents findings on tenets of Ethnic Markedness by two groups that revealed maximally distinct pronunciation. Data collection and analysis encompassed systematic recording, annotation and acoustic scrutiny. Moreover, attitudes that other Kenyans hold toward the selected varieties are exposed. The study is a primary source in the genres of World Englishes, speech science, prosody and interlanguage pronunciation.

English in Kenya is a stable post-colonial variety that is used as an inter-ethnic lingua franca in private domains, is the medium of instruction as well as the language spoken in parliament and court rooms. Yet so far no comprehensive research monograph on Kenyan English has been published that surveys its characteristic linguistic features. The present book closes this gap by giving a full description of the characteristic linguistic features of Kenyan English. The book provides an in-depth overview of Kenyan English phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics and also gives a meticulous account of the diachronic evolution of this post-colonial variety.