Sunday, December 2, 2007

Idiosyncracies of Kenyan English, Part 1

The two national languages here in Kenya are English and Kiswahili. However, from what we have seen, it is unusual for people to speak either of these languages as a first language (this may not be the case in Nairobi or other large cities). Most people speak their tribal dialect as a first language (in this region, the most common dialect is Kukuyu), Kiswahili as their second, and English as their third. I have been asked several times what my mother tongue is, and people are surprised to hear that English is the first language for almost everyone who grows up in the USA. So most people's English is quite good, but they speak it differently from the way we do in the USA. Just as the British and Australians speak their versions of the language that seem comical to Americans (and vice versa, I'm sure), so do the Kenyans. Here are a few of the highlights we have noticed so far. I'm afraid that a written description will never do justice to the cuteness of a young child saying any of these things, but if you want to get as close to the full effect as possible, then please imagine everything below being spoken in an adorable young voice with a Kenyan accent.

• “Me too” = “Even me…” As in: “Even me, I have bingo!" (pronounced “beego!”) Actually, this doesn’t even have to be “me too” – it can simply be used to draw attention to oneself at the start of a sentence – basically, “Even me, I…” instead of just plain “I…”

• “He” or “She” = “This one…”, especially when referring to one’s friends. As in: “This one likes to eat ugali,” or “This one has cut his finger.” This is actually said by adults and kids alike, and I have found myself adopting the expression readily. The manager, Eunice, might tell us: “By the way, this one is very smart,” or “Oh yes, this one, he likes to cause trouble.”

• “May I please have…” = “Give me a…” or “Help me with a…” Different expressions must be considered polite here, because even the sweetest, most polite and gentle kids ask for things in this blunt way. As in, “Give me marbles” or “Help me with tape.”

• Coach speaking, when stretching after a run, “Exercise, commence!”

• Coach speaking, when stretching after a run, “To your maximum.”

• Coach speaking, when stretching after a run, some Kiswahili word that sounds to my untrained ears like "Marijuana!” - I'm sure that when I finally learn the word, it will be something that makes a lot more sense in the context than its English homophone.

• Coach speaking, when nearing the end of a run, “Finishing spirit”

• “Spoil the air”, followed by "hahahahaha, hahahahaha, hahahahaha" = you guessed it. As in, “This one likes to spoil the air. Hahahahaha, hahahahaha, hahahahaha!” or “Even me, help me with a fan. Rhoda has spoiled the air. Hahahahaha, hahahahaha, hahahahaha!” It's good to know that some things are universally funny.

2 comments:

josh said...

I wish I would have thought of "spoil the air" on swimming trips in high school.

dave said...

nice stuff for my term paper on Kenyan English. I hope you don't point to my English being Kenyan. josh has made a grammatical error; should have been had instead of had