En Afrique orientale allemande, le kiswahili servait à la fois de langue d’instruction dans les écoles gérées par le gouvernement, et de langue de travail dans l’administration coloniale. Cette thèse examine diverses sources primaires et secondaires pour déterminer comment cette pratique administrative fut instituée et dans quel contexte. Il s’intéresse également aux enjeux et postures relatifs à son implémentation, de même qu’à ses conséquences à court, moyen et long terme pour la colonie allemande et pour l’identité et la conscience propre de ce peuple colonisé qui subirait la domination britannique avant d’accéder à l’indépendance en tant que Tanganyika, puis Tanzanie. / In German East Africa, Kiswahili was used as the language of instruction in government-run schools and as the language of administration. This article examines various archival, primary, and secondary sources to determine how this administrative practice came to pass; the background against which such a decision was taken or practice was institutionalized; the issues, attitudes, and problems that surrounded that practice; and what consequences it had in the short, medium, and long term for both the German colony and the consciousness and identity of the colonized people who would go on to experience British rule and then independence as the countries of Tanganyika and Tanzania.

This article discusses one particular issue of Swahili standardization. which is, in Kiswahili Sanifu, the correct concordial agreement to be applied to the lexeme -ingine (‘other’)? Should it be treated like an adjective, as ‘classical’ works in Swahili grammar claim as well as current educational books do? How can efforts in favour of standardization comply with the appearance of different variants of concordial agreement?

Cognitive linguistics studies have been developing since 1980s and represent one of the major frameworks of linguistic research. This article provides an overview of the limited number of studies on Kiswahili which have been conducted using this theoretical model, while outlining the advantages of this approach in various areas of research and multiple topics. It is also demonstrated that cognitive Linguistics approach has benefits for teaching Kiswahili as a foreign language.

This paper results from an investigation of translation activities in Swahili literature during late pre-colonial and early colonial times. In detail, the paper addresses questions on how, for some specific groups, the choice to translate from particular languages and cultures – or even the choice to not translate at all – was related both to practices of accumulation of prestige and power and to practices of identity construction. Textual analysis, together with the inclusion of cultural-historical facts (contextual analysis), allows a comparison between the nature of literary and extra-literary discourses and therefore uncovers specific patterns underneath translation practices from the 18th until early 20th century. The objective of this study is to emphasise the link between the exercise of power and production of culture, «[…] of which production of translation is part.» (Bassnett & Lefevere 1990: 5), and thus to configure translated literature as playing an active role in Swahili literary and cultural system.

This paper results from an investigation of translation activities in Swahili literature during late pre-colonial and early colonial times. In detail, the paper addresses questions on how, for some specific groups, the choice to translate from particular languages and cultures – or even the choice to not translate at all – was related both to practices of accumulation of prestige and power and to practices of identity construction. Textual analysis, together with the inclusion of cultural-historical facts (contextual analysis), allows a comparison between the nature of literary and extra-literary discourses and therefore uncovers specific patterns underneath translation practices from the 18th until early 20th century. The objective of this study is to emphasise the link between the exercise of power and production of culture, «[…] of which production of translation is part.» (Bassnett & Lefevere 1990: 5), and thus to configure translated literature as playing an active role in Swahili literary and cultural system.

Kuanzia mwaka 1964 hadi 1993, idara ya Kiswahili katika Shirika la Uchapishaji wa Lugha za Kigeni ilitafsiri na kuchapisha jumla ya vitabu 258 vya Kichina kwenda Kiswahili huku wasomi wa Kiswahili walitafsiri vitabu 26 vya Kiswahili kwa Kichina. Kwa kulinganisha idadi na maudhui ya vitabu hivyo katika enzi ya mapinduzi na ya mageuzi, makala hii inadhihirisha utegemezi wa tafsiri kwa sera ya serikali na mazingira ya jamii. Kwa hivyo, changamoto za kitaaluma na za kiuchumi zilizopo katika kutafsiri vitabu kwenda au kutoka Kiswahili nchini China zinakabili serikali, wachapishaji, waandishi, watafsiri na wasomaji kwa pamoja. / Between 1964 and 1993, the Kiswahili department of the Foreign Languages Press of China translated and published 258 books from Chinese into Swahili while 26 books were translated from Swahili into Chinese. This article highlights the dependency of translation processes on government policies as well as societal circumstances by comparing the number of books and their content during the periods of revolution and reform. Thus, the academic as well as economic challenges in the context of the translation of books from and into Kiswahili have to be addressed by the government, the publishers, authors, translators as well as readers.

Mwandishi mashuhuri na msomi mtajika wa fasihi ya Kiswahili Kennedy Waliaula Walibora aliyezaliwa mnamo Januari 6, 1965 aliaga dunia mnamo April 10, 2020. Kimani Njogu, msomi mweledi wa fasihi ya Kiswahili na mwanaharakati wa kijamii, anamwenzi Marehemu Ken Walibora akisisitiza kuwa alitoa mchango madhubuti wenye maki na kina kwa lugha na fasihi ya Kiswahili. Kwa hilo, atakumbukwa na vizazi vijavyo. / Famous Swahili writer and renowned scholar Kennedy Waliaula Walibora who was born on January 6, 1965 passed away on April 10, 2020. Kimani Njogu, accomplished scholar of Swahili literature and social activist, honours the late Ken Walibora by emphasizing his most remarkable achievements and deep impact on Swahili language and literature. He will be remembered by generations to come.

Steven I. Y. E. Mrikaria, Mhadhiri wa Taasisi ya Taaluma za Kiswahili ya Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam aliyezaliwa mnamo Disemba 9, 1963, ameaga dunia mnamo Januari 17, 2018. Aldin K. Mutembei aliye msomi mweledi na mwanaharakati mashuhuri wa lugha na fasihi ya Kiswahili anamwenzi Marehemu Steven Mrikaria akielezea mchango wake katika utafiti na ufundishaji wa lugha na fasihi ya Kiswahili na kumkumbuka kama msomi mwenzake na rafiki yake wa siku nyingi. / Steven I. Y. E. Mrikaria, Lecturer at the Institute of Kiswahili Studies, University of Dar es Salaam who was born on December 9, 1963, passed away on January 17, 2018. Aldin K. Mutembei, accomplished scholar and most eminent activist of Swahili language and literature honours the late Steven Mrikaria by elucidating his contribution to the research and teaching of Swahili language and literature, and remembering him as a fellow scholar and a long-time friend.

This contribution, enriched by Kai Kresse’s dibaji, is a collective Exercise – a mazungumzo – in ‘Concepting’ Uswahili that, rather than pointing to answers, conclusions or definitions, opens up to further debates on Swahili Studies. ‘Critical Swahili Studies’ cannot simply be the study of Swahili language and literature (only); nor the study of Swahili culture and society (only). It is to be qualified by a critical way of engagement, and a concern for the study of ‘human social life’, exploring different levels of meaningfulness for people on the Swahili coast, and within the wider Swahili context, with a view to the parameters of its validity. It includes perspectives on ‘thinking society’ and ‘understanding life’ from within, how it is lived, grounded upon, and seen and expressed through the lens of Swahili language-and-beyond-language. Critical Swahili Studies, then, will be about sensitive and engaged research on issues that are at the heart of society in Swahili contexts and with a focus on human experience, through the lens of a Swahili conceptual framework.

The study is an in-depth examination of code-switching in the Logoli speech community in the cosmopolitan Kangemi informal settlement area on the outskirts of the city of Nairobi. The aim of the study is to investigate the sociolinguistic and structural developments that result from urban language contact settings such as Kangemi. The main objective is to identify and illustrate the social motivations that influence the tendency of the Logoli speakers to alternate codes between Lulogoli, Kiswahili and English in the course of their routine conversations as well as the structural patterns that emerge in the process of code-switching. Various methodological techniques were used in the gathering of data, including questionnaire surveys, oral interviews, tape recordings and ethnographic participant-observation techniques are highlighted. Extracts from the corpus were analysed within a theoretical framework based on two models, namely the Markedness Model and the Matrix Language Frame Model, both developed by Myers-Scotton. The study identified and interpreted, within the Markedness Model framework, the key social variables that determine code-switching behaviour among the Logoli speech community. These include age, education, status and the various social domains of interaction. In the light of these factors, the researcher was able to explain the tendency to switch codes in different settings and confirm the study’s assumption that urban-based social factors largely determine the motivations for and the patterns of code-switching. This lead to the conclusion that code-switching is not a random phenomenon but a strategy and a negotiation process that aims at maximizing benefits from interaction. Structural features of the corpus were also identified and analysed within the Matrix Language Frame Model. The assumptions of the model were tested and found to be supported by numerous examples from the data. A number of recommendations were made for further research on minority languages in Kenya and the need for language policy in Kenya to be formulated to take these language groups into consideration. / Linguistics and Modern Languages