Last week, the world marked World Kiswahili Language Day on July 7, providing an opportunity to reflect on how Kenya’s education system has shaped attitudes towards Kiswahili and the challenges the language continues to face.
Despite being one of Kenya’s official languages and a language that unites millions across East and Central Africa, Kiswahili has for decades been treated as less prestigious than English.
In many schools, students have been encouraged to communicate in English, while speaking Kiswahili has at times been viewed as a punishable offence. This contradiction has had lasting effects on how generations perceive and use the language.
According to Mr Kiguta, a lecturer at Kabarak University, the roots of this problem can be traced back to colonial language policies that elevated English while reducing the status of Kiswahili.
“The colonial system placed a lot of emphasis on English and neglected Kiswahili. The education system that followed continued to give English a higher position, making it the language associated with education, employment and international opportunities,” says Kiguta.
He explains that many people who went through that system grew up believing that English represented success and intelligence, while Kiswahili was considered inferior.
“The person who was educated under that system may find it difficult to speak Kiswahili confidently in public because English is the language they were trained to use and the one that was given value,” he says.
For many Kenyans, these experiences remain deeply ingrained. In many schools, students who were caught speaking Kiswahili were forced to wear a “disk” or similar tag that identified them as offenders. The tag would be passed from one student to another throughout the day before those wearing it were punished.
Although the practice was intended to improve English proficiency, it instead associated Kiswahili with shame, guilt and embarrassment. Those memories have endured long after students left school, shaping negative attitudes towards a language that should have been a source of identity and pride.
However, Dr Raphael Gacheiya, a lecturer at Egerton University, says the disk should be understood as part of a wider problem of how Kiswahili was positioned in society.
He argues that while the punishment reinforced negative attitudes, it was not the original cause of the problem.
“The disk itself was not the issue per se. It only enhanced the perception that Kiswahili was a lesser language. The actual issue was the attitude and the status that Kiswahili had been given,” says Dr Gacheiya.
He explains that the deeper challenge lies in the unequal value attached to English and Kiswahili, despite both being recognised as official languages.
“The Constitution says English and Kiswahili are official languages, but is there anyone, even those studying Kiswahili at university, who would wish their certificate to be written in Kiswahili? How many employers would want that kind of certificate?” he asks.
Dr Gacheiya says the disk strengthened an already existing belief that English represented progress while Kiswahili was a lower-status language.
“The disk only enhanced the negative attitude because Kiswahili had not been given the status that it requires,” he says.
Kiguta says the punishment of students for speaking Kiswahili contributed to a generation that became uncomfortable using the language in formal settings.
“When someone is punished for speaking a language, they begin to associate that language with wrongdoing. Eventually, that person may struggle to express themselves in that language even when they need it,” he says.
Dr Gacheiya, however, says the experience must also be compared with attitudes towards indigenous languages, which many people continued speaking despite similar punishments in schools.
“If you had spoken your mother language in school, you would still have been given the disk. But has it prevented people from speaking their mother language? No, because they still have a positive attitude towards their mother language ,” he says.
He adds that the difference was that Kiswahili was viewed as inferior compared to English.
“Because Kiswahili was viewed as a language ya hapa chini as compared to English, that is where the problem came in. The perception became that English was better,” he says.
Many students left school with the perception that English was the language of intelligence and success while Kiswahili belonged to those who were less educated. Ironically, this is the same attitude that some teachers say continues to undermine the language today.
Denis Bagwasi, a Kiswahili teacher, says negative perceptions towards Kiswahili remain deeply rooted, even among educators.
“Kiswahili is often viewed as the language of people who are less educated. Many people associate English with prestige, while Kiswahili is looked down upon,” says Bagwasi.
He says many parents deliberately speak English at home because they believe it gives their children an academic advantage. As a result, children grow up believing that English is superior, while those who speak fluent Kiswahili are sometimes viewed as trying too hard to impress others.
The problem does not begin and end in schools. Increasingly, many parents choose to raise their children primarily in English, believing it offers better educational and career opportunities.
While there is nothing wrong with ensuring children become fluent in English, doing so at the expense of Kiswahili creates a generation that struggles to communicate comfortably in one of the country’s official languages. Children should not have to choose between mastering English and embracing Kiswahili. They should be encouraged to excel in both.
Schools also reinforce this imbalance. English remains the primary language of instruction for most subjects, while Kiswahili is largely confined to Kiswahili lessons. In some instances, even Kiswahili teachers explain difficult concepts in English.
Bagwasi says this practice deprives learners of opportunities to develop confidence in the language.
“It is common to find Kiswahili teachers explaining Kiswahili concepts in English. When that happens, the language loses the chance to grow because learners are not immersed in it,” he says.
Beyond the classroom, opportunities to use Kiswahili continue to shrink. Bagwasi recalls that many schools previously dedicated one day each week when all communication and activities were conducted in Kiswahili, giving learners a chance to practise the language naturally.
“There was a time when schools set aside a special day every week for everyone to communicate in Kiswahili. Today, those initiatives have almost disappeared,” says Bagwasi.
The decline is also evident in co-curricular activities and digital spaces. According to Bagwasi, Kiswahili performances during music festivals have become fewer, while social media is increasingly dominated by English and Sheng.
Kiguta says Sheng has also influenced how young people relate to Kiswahili. Many young people find Sheng easier because it allows them to combine Kiswahili and English in everyday communication.
“Sheng becomes attractive because it gives young people a way to communicate quickly. It combines the languages they interact with most, especially English and Kiswahili, but it can also make it difficult for some to develop confidence in Standard Kiswahili,” says Kiguta.
He adds that while Sheng is part of language evolution, more effort is needed to ensure young people also appreciate and master Standard Kiswahili.
Kiguta also rejects the idea that research on Kiswahili is lacking, saying studies on the language are taking place in many parts of the world, although funding remains far below that available for English.
“There is research on Kiswahili, but it cannot be compared with the level of research done on English. Many universities around the world are now studying Kiswahili because it has become an international language,” he says.
He notes that universities in countries such as China, Germany, Japan and South Africa are conducting research and teaching Kiswahili. International media organisations such as the BBC have also expanded Kiswahili programming.
However, Dr Gacheiya says the future of Kiswahili will also depend on how well it adapts to emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence.
“Artificial intelligence is here to stay. It is like the mobile phone. What we insist on is ethical use and the models that are coming must also be ethical,” he says.
He warns that much of the data used to develop artificial intelligence systems has historically been in English, creating challenges for Kiswahili representation.
“Much of the data was in English. The question is: who translated it into Kiswahili? Did they do the translation properly? Did they put it in the right context?” he asks.
Dr Gacheiya says Kiswahili experts must develop sufficient vocabulary and flexible language resources to support artificial intelligence.
“Artificial intelligence in Kiswahili must be dynamic and flexible so that it can adopt, accept and incorporate emerging issues and terminologies as we advance technologically,” he says.
Beyond classrooms, Kiswahili requires greater funding to expand scholarship and develop modern language resources. Researchers, education stakeholders and technology companies should work together to ensure the language is well represented in digital tools, translation systems, speech technologies and artificial intelligence models.
Investing in Kiswahili today will help preserve its relevance for future generations while opening new opportunities for education, innovation and economic growth.
Bagwasi offers a sobering warning. “Kiswahili is steadily declining, especially in schools where its use continues to diminish.”
Future generations deserve an education system that celebrates languages instead of ranking them according to perceived prestige. Kiswahili is more than a school subject as it is a language of identity, culture, unity and opportunity.
Kiswahili is also a source of livelihood. It enables people to earn a living every day and reminds us that our languages carry immense social, cultural and economic value. That is why we should celebrate Kiswahili not only on World Kiswahili Language Day but throughout the year.
A language that unites millions should never be treated as something to be feared or punished. Instead, it should be spoken with pride, nurtured through education and embraced as a shared heritage for generations to come.
