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Languages of Kenya

{{Short description|none}}

Kenya is a multilingual country.

The two official languages of Kenya, Swahili and English, are widely spoken as lingua francas; however, including second-language speakers, Swahili is more widely spoken than English.{{cite web| url = http://www.ethnologue.com/country/ke/languages/| title = Kenya - Languages {{!}} Ethnologue| work = Ethnologue}} Swahili is a Bantu language native to East Africa and English is inherited from British colonial rule.

Overview

File:Muigwithania.jpg publication Muigwithania (1929).]]

According to Ethnologue, there are a total of 68 languages spoken in Kenya. This variety is a reflection of the country's diverse population that includes most major ethnoracial and linguistic groups found in Africa (see Languages of Africa).

Languages spoken locally belong to three broad language families: Niger-Congo (Bantu branch), Nilo-Saharan (Nilotic branch) and Afroasiatic (Cushitic). They are spoken by the country's Bantu, Nilotic and Cushitic populations respectively. The Arab ethnic minority speak languages belonging to the Semitic branch of the latter Afroasiatic family, with the Hindustani and British residents speaking languages from the separate Indo-European family.[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=KE Ethnologue - Languages of Kenya]

Kenya's various ethnic groups typically speak their mother tongues within their own communities. The two official languages, English and Swahili, are used in varying degrees of fluency for communication with other populations. However, Swahili enjoys the status of the national language.

British English is primarily used in Kenya. Additionally, a distinct local dialect, Kenyan English, is used by some communities and individuals in the country, and contains features unique to it that were derived from local Bantu languages such as Kiswahili, Kikuyu and Nilotic languages such as Dholuo.{{cite web|last1=Nyaggah|first1=Lynette Behm|title=Cross-linguistic influence in Kenyan English: The impact of Swahili and Kikuyu on syntax|publisher=University of California|url=http://phdtree.org/pdf/24677752-cross-linguistic-influence-in-kenyan-english-the-impact-of-swahili-and-kikuyu-on-syntax/|access-date=8 August 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226102504/http://phdtree.org/pdf/24677752-cross-linguistic-influence-in-kenyan-english-the-impact-of-swahili-and-kikuyu-on-syntax/|archive-date=26 December 2016}} It has been developing since colonisation and also contains certain elements of American English. English is widely spoken in commerce, schooling and government.{{cite book|last=Proquest Info & Learning (COR)|title=Culturegrams: World Edition|year=2009|isbn=978-0977809165|pages=98}} Peri-urban and rural dwellers are less multilingual, with many in rural areas speaking only their native languages.{{cite book|last=E. K. Brown, R. E. Asher|first=J. M. Y. Simpson|title=Encyclopedia of language & linguistics, Volume 1, Edition 2|year=2006|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=0080442994|pages=181}}

Language families

=Major languages=

File:Swahili-pn.jpg in Swahili, a Bantu language that alongside English serves as a lingua franca for many in Kenya.]]

The 2019 census reports the largest communities of native speakers in Kenya as follows:

=Minor languages=

Languages spoken by the country's ethnic minorities include:

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [http://www.muturzikin.com/cartesafrique/17.htm Linguistic map of Kenya at Muturzikin.com]
  • [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=KE Ethnologue page for Kenya]
  • [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5371609 National Public Radio story about Kisii language] from All Things Considered program, April 29, 2006
  • [http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/PanAfrLoc/Kenya PanAfriL10n page on Kenya]

{{Languages of Kenya}}

{{Kenya topics}}

{{Africa in topic|Languages of}}

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Kenya