Language Tag Registration Form - sw-sheng

Wed Jan 5 19:33:40 CET 2011

Elizabeth thanks for your insights.  Monolingual speakers do exist in some
peri-urban areas in Nairobi, Kenya, where education is inaccessible.  This
is somewhat rare given the multilingual nature of populace in SSAfrica and
the push for free primary education, where language of instruction is
English.

After the some digging around, and a finding on ethnologue, I've reached the
conclusion that Sheng should be distinguished as a Swahili based Creole via
ISO 639-3.  Here's why:

   - All the public discourse (recent
example<http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Sheng%20blamed%20as%20candidates%20post%20poor%20results%20/-/1056/1080660/-/fgfjix/-/index.html>)
   on Sheng/Swahili boils down to a fear that the former is influencing 'pure'
   Kiswahili in a negative sense.  True or not, it is impractical to call these
   2 the variants of the same language because it’s too difficult to sustain a
   single language identity in practice.
   - Cutchi-Swahili (ccl<http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ccl>)
   already exists as Swahili-based creole. It bears similarities with Sheng in
   terms of usage and perception in Kenya.

I will proceed to resubmit application for 639-3 code, hopefully we can get
this through.

Denis.

Tarehe 27 Septemba 2010 3:33 alasiri, ejp10 <ejp10 at psu.edu> aliandika:

> Speaking from a linguistic perspective, the description of the submission
> makes Sheng sound like a language (especially with terms like L1/L2),
> especially if they are really establishing radio broadcasts. If the
> submission really means this, then a language code would be more
> appropriate.
>
> A reference from Penn about Sheng does argue that it's a separate language
> - http://www.africa.upenn.edu/NEH/klanguages.htm (actually Swahili syntax
> with many more foreign borrowings).
>
> But the Wikipedia description (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheng_slang)
> makes it sound like a variant of Swahili with lots of additional vocabulary
> not found in Swahili (but little mention of alternate grammar structures).
> The dissertation from Penn on Sheng is very ambivalent about classifying
> Sheng - http://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI3043947/
>
> The question I would have are these -  Are there monolingual Sheng
> speakers? If so, are they unable to understand standard Swahili?
>
> The difficulty I am having is that Sheng reminds me somewhat of Spanglish,
> which is a distinct linguistic form, but it is not clear if there are
> monolingual Spanglish speakers...yet. Most Spanish speakers are able to at
> least understand standard English or standard Spanish (usually both).
>
> But I am by no means an expert, so additional data is more than welcome.
>
> Elizabeth Pyatt
>
>
>
> > The description makes this sound like it perhaps should be considered a
> distinct language as opposed to a dialect of Swahili. If that?s true, it
> should be considered for addition to ISO 639-3 rather than coding a variant.
> Can you please comment on this and clarify its linguistic status wrt
> Swahili.
> >
> >
> > Thanks
> > Peter
> >
> > From: ietf-languages-bounces at alvestrand.no [mailto:
> ietf-languages-bounces at alvestrand.no] On Behalf Of Denis Gikunda
> > Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 1:46 PM
> > To: ietf-languages at alvestrand.no
> > Subject: Language Tag Registration Form - sw-sheng
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > Find below the registration form submission for new language variant,
> sheng. Also find attached a PDF copy of the same.
> >
> > Denis Gikunda.
> > ---
> >
> > LANGUAGE SUBTAG REGISTRATION FORM
> >
> >  1. Name of requester: Denis Gikunda
> >  2. E-mail address of requester: dgikunda at google.com<mailto:
> dgikunda at google.com>
> >  3. Record Requested:
> >
> >     Type: variant
> >     Subtag: sheng
> >     Description: a ?creole? language based on swahili-KE grammar and a
> vocabulary derived from Swahili, English, and several other Kenyan
> languages.
> >     Prefix: sw
> >
> >  4. Intended meaning of the subtag:
> > The subtag represents the social code ?sheng? or colloquial identifier
> for the variant.  sw-sheng language tag should denote that it is a
> derivative of sw-KE.
> >
> >  5. Reference to published description of the language (book or article):
> > -- Nathan Oyori Ogechi. Trilingual Codeswitching in Kenya ? Evidence from
> Ekegusii,
> > Kiswahili, English and Sheng, Hamburg 2002
> > -- Clara Momanyi, Ph.D.  The Effects of ?Sheng? in the Teaching of
> Kiswahili in Kenyan Schools, The Journal of Pan African Studies, vol.2,
> no.8, March 2009
> >
> >  6. Any other relevant information:
> >
> >  *   Sheng contains words and influences from English and several other
> Bantu and Nilotic languages e.g. Luo and Kikuyu. It began around the late
> 70s in Nairobi, but is now spoken in every urban town in Kenya (Kisumu,
> Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, Meru).
> >
> >  *   Estimated L2 speakership:  >1.6 M. Some L1 speakers emerging urban
> and peri-urban settlements / slums. Usage is growing towards rural youth. At
> this size it is 7th most widely spoken language in Kenya, behind Kikuyu,
> Luo, Luhya, Kalenjin, Kamba & Somali.
> >  *   1 radio station that broadcasting entirely in Sheng: Ghetto
> Radio:89.5
> >  *   All leading print, TV & outdoor media use campaigns primarily in
> Sheng.  Notably mobile operators#, Banks, and NGOs have used sheng in their
> outdoor display advertising.
> >  *   MyGamma<http://www.buzzcity.com/f/mygamma>, a popular global social
> network, registered Sheng as the fastest growing language on  its mobile
> portal.
> > --
> > Denis Gikunda | Localization Manager - Africa | Google |
> > Switch Board +254 20 360 1000 | Mobile +254 714 571 405 | Fax +254 20 360
> 1100
> >
> > Subscribe to Google Africa Blog: http://google-africa.blogspot.com
> >
> > 7th Floor, Purshottam Place, Westlands Road
> > P.O. Box 66217-00800 Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya
> > --
> > This email may be confidential or privileged. If you received this
> > communication by mistake, please do not forward it to anyone else, erase
> all
> > copies and attachments, and let me know that it went to the wrong person.
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>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
> Elizabeth J. Pyatt, Ph.D.
> Instructional Designer
> Education Technology Services, TLT/ITS
> Penn State University
> ejp10 at psu.edu, (814) 865-0805 or (814) 865-2030 (Main Office)
>
> 210 Rider Building  (formerly Rider II)
> 227 W. Beaver Avenue
> State College, PA   16801-4819
> http://www.personal.psu.edu/ejp10/psu
> http://tlt.psu.edu
>
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-- 
Denis Gikunda | Localization Manager - Africa | Google |
Switch Board +254 20 360 1000 | Mobile +254 714 571 405 | Fax +254 20 360
1100

Subscribe to Google Africa Blog: http://google-africa.blogspot.com

7th Floor, Purshottam Place, Westlands Road
P.O. Box 66217-00800 Westlands, Nairobi, Kenya
-- 
This email may be confidential or privileged. If you received this
communication by mistake, please do not forward it to anyone else, erase all

copies and attachments, and let me know that it went to the wrong person.
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