LINGUIST List 19.3756
Mon Dec 08 2008
Diss: Socioling: Rudd: 'Sheng: The mixed language of Nairobi'
Editor for this issue: Evelyn Richter
<evelynlinguistlist.org>
1. Philip
Rudd,
Sheng: The mixed language of Nairobi
Message 1: Sheng: The mixed language of Nairobi
Date: 07-Dec-2008
From: Philip Rudd <pruddpittstate.edu>
Subject: Sheng: The mixed language of Nairobi
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Institution: Ball State University
Program: Linguistics and TESOL
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2008
Author: Philip W. Rudd
Dissertation Title: Sheng: The mixed language of Nairobi
Linguistic Field(s):
Sociolinguistics
Dissertation Director:
Carolyn J. MacKay
Frank R. Trechsel
Herbert Frederic W. Stahlke
Dissertation Abstract:
The purpose of this dissertation is to determine whether Sheng, a languagespoken in the Eastlands area of Nairobi, Kenya, is a mixed language(incorporating Swahili, English and local vernaculars). The study focuseson the lexicon and morphosyntax, but social factors are examined as well.Three broad research questions are addressed: (1) Does Sheng have a corevocabulary separate from that of Swahili? (2) How do the system morphemesof Sheng compare with those of Swahili? And (3) in what manner does Shengprovide its speakers a new identity?
With respect to question one, the core lexicon, like Russenorsk's,Trio-Ndjuka's and Michif's, manifests a nearly fifty-fifty split in Sheng(52% Swahili; 48% other), making it a mixed language lexically.
As for question two, the analysis reveals that Sheng has a compositemorphosyntax. No object or relative affixes are marked on the verb.Predicate-argument structure from English has provided a null relativizer.The aerial feature imperfective suffix -a(n)g- is preferred 68% of thetime. Noun classes show convergence leveling. The marker ma- serves as thegeneric plural. The diminutive markers, (ka-, tu-), constitute a completenon-Swahili subsystem. Consequently, Sheng is also a mixed languagemorphosyntactically.
In reference to question three, a negative correlation exists betweencompetence in Sheng and income and housing. Though the affluent display anegative attitude toward Sheng, they agree with the lower socio-economicgroups that Sheng has a communicative utility in metropolitan Kenya. Acomparison of the usage in the different residential areas establishes thatcommunity-wide grammatical norms (i.e., stability) exist in Sheng. Over twodecades without institutional support for Swahili provided a niche in whichSheng, a non-standard language variety, flourished and a new urban identityemerged.
Eastlanders walk a linguistic tightrope, balancing between the labelsmshamba ('rube') and Mswahili ('slick talker'). However, Sheng provides asociolinguistic embodiment symbolizing what nuances their existence. Overtime, speakers formed a new identity group, whose language was initially'off target' (1899-1963) but subsequently became deliberate postcolonially.Finally, the name of the language itself (Sheng < LiSheng < lish-eng
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