Kenya
In the
multilingual Kenyan context, which has an estimated 40
indigenous languages, English and Kiswahili are co-official
languages. English is used in the business sector, in
parliamentary debates and politics, education, the civil
service, the legal system, the armed forces, the police, and
the media, as well as in international communication.
Population: 29 million.
Tanzania
Tanzania has an estimated 100 indigenous languages,
but Kiswahili is the main official language. English is widely
used in areas such as banking, tourism, commerce, the media,
and in post-primary education. It is also the language of
international communication. Population: 32
million.
Reading
Hancock, I.F. & R. Angogo (1994) English in East Africa. In Burchfield, R.W. (ed.) The Cambridge History of the English Language. Vol. 5.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
pp.306-323.
Schmied, J. (1991) English in Africa: An
Introduction. London: Longman.
Schmied, J. (1991)
National and subnational features of Kenyan English. In
Cheshire, J. (ed.) English Around the World:
Sociolinguistic Perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press,
pp.420-434. |