A CHAT FROM LONDON: The continuous fall of lingual skills in Tanzania

I was going through some serious government documents the other day. The Swahili had so many errors; I wondered how could this be allowed? Among chief wounds was the continuous mix-up of L and R. There was for example “vipengere” instead of “vipengele”, (aspect, item), “ghalama” in place of “gharama”... (costs, expense).

And some parts had “masaa” not “saa”, or “madawa ya kulevya” (drugs, medicine) written “dawa za kulevya.”

These two common words do not have plural. Many (including top broadcasters and leaders) misuse them.

I can hear someone arguing we have tribal accents so; it is OK to mess up.

“It is normal for a person of Kurya origin to say “wacha kurara”, but not “wacha kulala!”

I hear you.

I heard you.

These are accents. Common in all languages..... Whenever I travel to Scotland it takes a few days to start figuring out the accent. Scottish pronunciation of English can be a high mountain for us non native speakers.

In Swahili though, the problem is far serious. We have the standard version being trashed. Then we have the established menace of Swanglish.

For a few years now I have been saying Swanglish is killing lingual skills of Tanzanians. Some of my colleagues and people of my generation think I am being too pious. But we need to see the meaning of this crisis.

Basic strength in language

There is no place in the world where people do not use one language well. We have nations with multiple languages like South Africa, Switzerland or bi lingual as in the Middle East, Canada and Tanzania herself. But if you check closely, there is a basic strength in one particular language. For example I lived in Canada for a year. I was mostly in Quebec, the French speaking area. Canadians are always aware that English is their main language. If a public speaker is making a speech, they try mixing English and the French. But majority of the citizens do speak either of the languages well. Same with the Arabic speaking world. I have been around Algerians. They manage Arabic and French, excellently, but deep down you know their motto is Arabic, or French were they born in France. Same with the Congolese. They are mesh Lingala, Swahili and French; yet power lies in mother tongues.

Come to Tanzania.

Until the end of Mwalimu Nyerere era (1985), the language issue was not as bad as 2017. This is because the man himself was a keen writer, scholar, linguist. He translated two works of William Shakespeare into Kiswahili. Not an easy feat. President Nyerere was very committed to good language. When I started working as a trainee reporter for Uhuru in 1976, we had guidelines on how to write our Kiswahili. We were made aware that the President read everything we were writing.

Careful and diligent

That he marked things with a red pen. This made each of us careful and diligent. It was same with the English newspaper, Daily News. Standards were high. We were the perfect bilingual. Reading books was the norm. I used to read one English or Kiswahili novel, per week. It was routine if you wanted to write well. We had a super role model above us.

Fast forward 40 years later and things are in total disarray.

The internet has revolutionised communication.

Information spreads faster than a blink of the eye. We all carry cameras via our phones. Bloggers have become the biggest executionists of information. Images drive information. I have personally embraced this technology; love it.

When I send reports to newspapers, they are subjected to thorough editing. However in blogs, it is copy and paste. As such there are no rigorous regulations regarding the language, words, grammar, appropriate sources of information etc. This is citizen journalism.

Social media has made everyone a “reporter of reality.” Folks use Instagram to document personal lives. Discussions on Whats App and Facebook are huge; nonetheless, the language is usually unedited and horrible. That is why not many care about grammar and vocabulary, anymore. Since anyone can write and post a beautiful picture and collect hundreds of views, we all become “satisfied” that “we are fantastic. “

Global phenomenon. Me, me, me.

There is, nevertheless, a difference between us in Tanzania and our overseas friends. Most nations have strict policies regarding languages. Kenyans manage their English well from a tender age. Standards are high. Kenya is also excellent at promoting Kiswahili through music, merchandise and tourism.

I was reading a letter written by a high official of a Tanzanian institution; my eyes almost popped out. The chap was writing to an international body representing Tanzania. The English was terrible. It was written while thinking in Kiswahili. It was like a primary school child.

Such bosses need editors. Tanzania urgently, requires language teachers. Standards are embarrassing.