Investigating Language Death

This study is an investigation of the sociolinguistic status of Kiamu and Kimvita dialects of Kiswahili language in Kenya. The assumption is that the dialects are threatened with death due to various factors such as the onslaught of Kiswahili, Sheng, and English. The position held is that it would not be desirable for the dialects die because they are vital linguistic, historical and socio-cultural reservoirs of the Swahili Speech Community. Kiswahili is a lingua franca in Eastern and Central Africa and is spoken by over 80 million people and is the national Language of Kenya and Tanzania. It has over 15 dialects including the standard Kiswahili. It is also one of the official languages of the African Union. Kiswahili experts rely heavily on Kiswahili dialects for its development of terminology. At the same time, given that dialects are “sub-cultures” of the language family they belong, the development of Kiswahili cannot be complete without the development of its dialects. Their vitality is, therefore, crucial. Yet, using a language attitude and use survey; individual and focus group interviews; and participant observations, this study reveals that the dialects are threatened.