While reading Theory & Practice of Writing: An Applied Linguistic Perspective, by William Grabe & Robert B. Kaplan, I recalled the famous joke that “Kiswahili was born in Tanzania, grew up in Kenya, and was buried in Uganda.”
The question that came into my mind was: should Uganda still be regarded as a cemetery for this language? One of the answers was that in this globalised world where internet and online Kiswahili resources are abundant and easily accessible, this joke may not be relevant anymore.
However, looking at the unfolding events in Uganda, I can say that to a certain extent, the joke could still hold meaning. In the case of the latter, the meaning can be seen in the way most Ugandans have endeavoured, for example, to write some Kiswahili words.
I should emphasise here that learning to write any language, let it be our mother tongues or foreign languages, takes years to master and produce standard words or sentences. Such decades of learning are possible because, unlike speaking, writing development is not a natural phenomenon.
Developing this skill comes at a cost of continuous training and assistance and practice. Unlike in previous years, in the wake of the rebirth of the East African Community in 1999, the number of Kiswahili speakers in Uganda that include singers, traders and politicians has been increasing considerably.
This has been possible, for instance, through Ugandan singers collaborating with others from various parts of East Africa so that the message in their songs can be understood across the region.
These types of collaborations have led to the coinage of some unique words and phrases that are either written in Kiswahili, or the blend of Kiswahili and other languages in the region. Similarly, most traders have had the zeal to learn Kiswahili as a means to expand their participation in bilateral and/or multilateral business ventures in and outside the East African region.
In the case of politicians, significant contributions have mainly been in the amending of the Constitution in 2005 and the subsequent launching of the Uganda National Cultural Policy in 2006 where Kiswahili was elevated to the status of one of the official languages of Uganda, among other things.
To develop the language further in Uganda, in 2008, the first-ever formal Kiswahili teaching syllabus for ordinary level was produced and, in 2014, a syllabus for teaching Kiswahili at advanced level was also published. Even with all these accomplishments, some Ugandans have taken slow strides to emulate these developments. This behaviour could be due to the historical reasons attached to Kiswahili.
Nevertheless, with the change in attitude towards the Kiswahili language, many Ugandans have learned some basic Kiswahili words, especially those that are common in most Bantu languages such as ‘mama’, ‘mkono’, ‘mgongo’, and ‘gari.’
Still, there are a growing number of Ugandans who have taken for granted the correct way of writing Kiswahili. Instead, they are creating their own Kiswahili words. For example, recently in most mainstream and social media platforms, and in some public announcements, there is this standard Kiswahili clause ‘hakuna mchezo’ which literary means, no tolerance to jokes; or seriousness, that has become linguistically famous in both negative and positive senses.
On the one hand, the negative sense can be viewed in how some of us, for instance, jokingly, mockingly or on a serious note, have attempted to rewrite it as, for example, ‘hakuuna michezo’, ‘hakuna michezo’ and ‘hakuna mcheso.’
Other Kiswahili words and clauses including, ‘fika salama’, ‘mwananchi’ and ‘tembea vizuri’, are now rewritten as ‘fiika salaama’, ‘mwanainchi’ and ‘tembeya muzuri’, respectively. On the other hand, the clause ‘hakuna mchezo’ can be viewed positively if some of us have learnt to write it in its standard form and gone a step further to understand the varieties of its associated meanings.
I am one of those people who believe that learning to write any language, especially ‘foreign’ languages, is challenging, for example recalling the orthography of the language and patterns in sentence formation.
But these challenges can be reduced by consulting individuals, language teachers, language companies or associations that you think are knowledgeable about the language you are trying to write.
With the advent of globalisation and technological advancements where the internet can be accessed by using mobile phones, tablets, computer-related devices, it is simple to consult online Kiswahili materials that can assist you in improving your writing skills.
Similarly, using Skype or sending an email to a friend and inquiring about the spelling of some basic Kiswahili words can also be another way to enhance your Kiswahili vocabularies in just seconds.
The author teaches Kiswahili at Makerere University.