Youth ‘languages’ are an important topic of research in the domain of linguisticchange through language contact because the change is rapid and observableand also because the social dimension of... Show moreYouth ‘languages’ are an important topic of research in the domain of linguisticchange through language contact because the change is rapid and observableand also because the social dimension of change is inevitably present. Engsh, asa youth language in Kenya expresses not only modernity and Kenyan identitybut also, the status of being educated, and it differs in this respect from Sheng,the dominant Kenyan youth language. The element of Engsh that expresses thisaspect most directly is the use of a grammatical system from English whereasSheng uses Swahili. In lexicon, Engsh draws upon Sheng and urban Englishslang. This is a first extensive description of Engsh. The social function of Engshis interesting in that class is expressed in it, which is not often reported inAfrican urban youth codes. Also the fact that Engsh is a non-exclusive register,which expands through its use in (social) media and most of all in computermediated communication. Show less
This book examines the use of language in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) genres in Kenya. It focuses on Short Messaging Service (SMS), Email, Instant Messages (IM) and Social Network Sites ... Show moreThis book examines the use of language in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) genres in Kenya. It focuses on Short Messaging Service (SMS), Email, Instant Messages (IM) and Social Network Sites (SNS) genres. It presents an overview of the use and characteristics of Kenyan languages in CMC texts based on data from university students in Kenya and young urban professionals. The findings reveal that factors like the need to use least effort, rapidity, technical limitations and informality play a key role in influencing the structure of messages. The book further establishes that characteristics of the CMC texts in Kenya involve variables such as pronunciation, spelling, abbreviation, acronyms, exclusive use of consonants, contractions, capitalization, punctuations marks, graphics, spelling errors, and codeswitching. Show less
