Literature: Gender Roles in Initiation Songs of the Igembe People of Kenya

This article examines and critically analyses gender images in initiation songs among the Igembe community, an African ethnic group of Eastern Bantu in Kenya. The article traces the evolution of the concept of gender from Plato’s time to the 21st Century and places it within the Igembe people’s worldview using initiation songs as a point of reference. It is revealed that both man and woman play a crucial and complementaryrole in the socio-economical life in Igembe community. However, despite the crucial role that women play, they are devalued due to societal attitudes and beliefs as evident in the initiation songs analysed

African Linguistics in Central and Eastern Europe, and in the Nordic Countries

Non peer reviewe

Kiswahili in the technical age: Lessons from Kenya's use of Kiswahili in the legal and parliamentary registers

No Abstract. LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary Research Vol.3 () 2006: pp.186-20

Kiswahili in the Technical Age: Lessons from Kenya’s Use of Kiswahili in the Legal and Parliamentary Registers

Kiswahili is increasingly spreading globally, (Massamba 1990:3), and it is rapidly becoming more than just ordinary lingua franca in East Africa. Until recently, this important African language played a limited role in the technical fields such as science, technology, higher education or government. For instance, its use in Kenya’s National Assembly was virtually a non-issue in the colonial era. This was the situation despite the fact that since 1944 when the first African MP joined parliament up to independence in 1963, many native Kenyans had been elected or nominated into the House. Thus, the official status of English in Kenya has to date been taken for granted. This fact has for over a century no locked out Kiswahili in the key sectors of education, government, international commerce, diplomacy, science and technology

African Linguistics in Asia and Australia

Asian and Australian institutions with a research focus on African languages are of fairly recent vintage. Japan has a strong academic infrastructure devoted to African linguistics, based in several universities and research centres. China looks back more than 50 years of interest in teaching Swahili and other major African languages, recently broadening the scope to encompass other issues of linguistic interest. In South Korea, teaching Swahili was also the precursor of more general African linguistics, allowing for regional specializations of researchers. In Australia, academic interest emerges with the increasing presence of experts on African languages and linguistics in the country