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The news about Ugandans being good English speakers than Kenyans didn’t get me with a surprise. Many were surprised despite Kenya being with the most eloquent and vibrant English speakers who move masses when they speak. With speakers like professor Patrick Lumumba Kenyans are assured that they are better off than our neighbouring Ugandans.
Many Kenyans will fumble in their speeches as they try to find suitable English words that will suit their context. It worsens on social media platforms where ‘sheng’ is everything. Even constructing a grammatically correct sentence is an issue.
In our schools English serves as a punishment. Many will either communicate via their vernacular or use Kiswahili. This reveals how we have put little effort in a language that we use in our education system. The problems loom when it comes to decoding technical communication.
Many mobile phone users will make use of elite and educated fellows in villages to understand how to operate a simple cell phone. Our media should also be blamed for the same problem. It is a rare encounter to programs and publications promoting English language.
The notion that we have few good English speakers should be tamed. What we should be worried about is having a society that is less likely to converse well in the queen’s language. What could be the cause of all these?
The spirit should stem from our schools by instilling in pupils and students the culture of speaking English. Many students will surprise you that upon reaching form four they can’t speak English well. For them English language is a tool to pass exams after that it ceases to exist in their vocabulary. It is so sad to find a college or university student unable to present himself in English. Save it for lawyers, English teachers and journalists who will go an extra mile to be eloquent speakers.
Policies should thus be put in place by relevant authorities before we lose the grip further. While we are happy to be better off in Kiswahili than our Ugandan counterparts we should keep the ball rolling in English. Sometimes we speak expecting reaction from the audience but what we get is unexpected. Some of the basic tools to be a good communicator stems from language. Well-organized ideas will be well communicated and you will get the desired feedback.
