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Book title: Lugha na Fasihi Katika Karne ya 21
Editors: Mosol Kandagor, Nathan Ogechi & Clarissa Vierke
Publisher: Moi University Press (2017)
Kiswahili is no doubt the East and Central African region's foremost language of wider communication. It is estimated that it has about 120 million speakers across the globe – majority of who come from East Africa and the Great Lakes region.
Against all odds, Kiswahili has continued to rival established as such English and French – and is touted to edge out other notable languages in Hausa, Igbo, Bambara and Wolof in West Africa, Arabic in North Africa, among others, to become the lingua franca of the continent.
Kiswahili language and its literature, hence, has over time attracted the attention of scholars from within the continent. The book under review is an attempt by scholars of the language from local and international universities to share their thoughts on the strides that have been made by Kiswahili in the 21st century.
The 418-page book is divided into five major sections and 41 chapters. The sections are: Lugha, Isimu na Maendeleo ya Kiswahili (Language and linguistics and development of Kiswahili), Fasihi na Masuala Ibuka (literature and emerging issues), Tafsiri, Ukalimani na Mawasiliano (Translation, Interpretation and Communication, Matumizi ya Lugha, Vyombo vya Habari na Diskosi (Language use and the Media and Discourse) and Sera ya Lugha na Ufundishaji wa Kiswahili (1965) The authors of this book, published in honor of Professor Naomi Luchera Shitemi of Moi University, who died on September 28, 2013, include Profs Odeo Isaac Ipara (Kibabii University), Inyani Simala (The East African Kiswahili Commission), Sangai Mohochi (Rongo), Wendo Nabea (Egerton), Noordin Mwanakombo (Me), John Habwe, Rayya Timammy (Nairobi), and Miriam Mwita (Baraton) Others are Prof. Mwenda Mukuthuria (Maasai Mara), Dr. Obuchi Moseti (Me), Omari Ontieri (Maasai Mara), Pendo Malangwa, Amani Lusekelo (Dar es Salaam) , and Chac ha Mwita Leonard (Kenyatta), among others
The preface to this book is written by Prof Mohammed Hassan Abdulaziz of the University of Nairobi – considered the dean of Kiswahili scholarship in East Africa. Prof Abdulaziz founded the departments of Kiswahili and Other African Languages in the 1970s at the University of Dar es Salaam and Nairobi. Professor Abdulaziz says this of Prof. Shitemi (a student of the University of Nairobi in the 1980s): "It is coincidental that many articles in this book, to a great extent, focus on the areas in which Professor Shitemi was a great enthusiast. Therefore, the publication of this book adds to the contribution of those areas, which is a lot of research done in Kiswahili linguistics and its literature. "
The most recurring motif in most of the chapters, however, is the lamentation Kiswahili is an official language of the Kenyan Constitution, the efforts of operationalizing this has been slow. (19659007) The Languages of Kenya Policy and Bill were originally drafted at the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts. Later, they were transferred to the Ministry of Communication and Technology. The Legislative Process has stalled since 2013. Unless Kenya sets up a National Kiswahili Council, Kiswahili development.
Enock Matundura, translator of the Barbara Kimenye's Moses series (Oxford University Press), teaches Swahili literature at Chuka University
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