The Use of Languages in a Bilingual Person - Essay Example

LANGUAGE USE OF A BILINGUAL Customer Inserts His/her Name Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name 26/04/ 2011 The use of any language is affected by cultural and social behaviors among its users. In some languages, there is omission of some letters either when using such a language in writing or in speaking. The use of a vernacular language affects communication in another language especially in a required formal language by a particular society. However, some individuals are capable of using different languages interchangeably without any major effect on any of the languages (balanced bilingualism) Spolsky (2001, p45). This paper will address the use of languages in a bilingual person. The two languages are Kikuyu, a tribal language and English a formal language in Kenya. The Kikuyu language is a tribal language of the Kikuyu people occupying the Central region and some parts of the Eastern region of Kenya. This language is very influential since the Kikuyu people is the largest tribe among the forty two tribes in Kenya. The Kikuyu people are found in major areas of influence in Kenya, such as in politics. In addition, one can find another person of a different tribal language in Kenya such as Luo, speaking in Kikuyu with ease. However, the Kikuyu language is not used for official purposes, but for other social places such as with the family. English language was borne from the British, the colonizers of Kenya and adopted as formal language during and after the colonial period. In the Kikuyu language there is no use of letters F, P, L, S, V and X. In addition, there are six vowels when writing or in speaking. Letter F is substituted by the use of letter B, for example, the Kikuyu word for father is baba (pronounced as fafa). In words requiring containing letter B, letter M is used together with letter B. For example, the Kikuyu word for goat is mburi, letter B is accompanied by letter M. Omission, addition and substitution of these letters in Kikuyu affect the use of English language as a formal language. For example, the bilingual person when pronouncing the word ‘BEFORE’ may pronounce it as ‘MBEFORE’, thus affecting the English word. Therefore, the Kikuyu language influence writing or speaking of the English language, however, this does not happen in all individuals from the Kikuyu community. Bilingualism relates to the capability of using two languages, and hence people associate this with a high literacy level. In language use, there are four basic language skills used to assess a person’s level of literacy on that language. These four basics language skills include: speaking, listening, writing and reading. A bilingual person possesses these skills in both languages equitably. Further, these skills can be subdivided into an individual’s level of use of the vocabularies, correct grammar and pronunciation of words. This is because an individual may understand spoken language more than written. Domains of the Kikuyu and the English language differ but can be used together or interchangeably in a given situation. For example, in the Central region of Kenya teachers may use Kikuyu and English interchangeably in a classroom setting, though the use of English only is highly encouraged. The Kikuyu language is used for cultural, social, political and economic purposes among the Kikuyu people, though the setting will be considered. It is important to note that language is very essential and its meaning arises in situations where it is been used. Therefore, individuals are very particular in their language use by considering the current situation to decide on which language to use. The domain for the use of the two languages defines when, how and to whom a particular language may be used (Baker, 1988). In many cases, Kikuyu people use the two languages in all dimensions of life. Therefore it becomes complex in considering if an individual is a bilingual or not. However, a bilingual person may have some restrictions in use of one language, for example at school. Cultural and social activities in a tribe are major practices that enhance cohesiveness through interactions experienced in such activities. In the Kikuyu traditional, cultural practices were highly valued since it is through this that individuals would know their expected conduct through the norms, beliefs and values provided by the culture. For effectiveness to be achieved, the use of Kikuyu language to communicate cultural values and norms among the Kikuyu people is also highly regarded. In addition, the use of a tribal language during tribal practices is also a way of showing value for one’s culture. As such during cultural activities the English language is not valued since the tribe would prefer to remain in touch with its culture, and one way to do this is the use of the tribal language. Both Kikuyu and English are used during economic activities since during such times business interaction may involve an individual from another tribe. However, in the Central region of Kenya the Kikuyu language is the dominance because majority of these individuals are Kikuyu. The major economic activity of the Kikuyu people is agriculture though individuals engage in other economic activities such as businesses. As such, when conducting a business, an individual is required to be conversant with both Kikuyu and English languages since one may interact with individuals from other tribes. In addition, there are regulatory requirements for individuals to meet such as obtaining a license hence the need to use the English language. In political activities, the English language is mainly used since in such a setting different individuals from other tribes and major diplomats may be present requiring the use of a formal language. But in places where politics are been conducted on tribal grounds, politicians may result to use the tribal language such as Kikuyu. Politics occupy a major and a larger part of formal settings in a country since they involve the local and central government. In addition, there are major international relations that the government and politicians are involved in hence the need to use a formal language. There are other consideration of domain in language use such as at school, hospitals and churches among other. In schools English language is used in teaching children, but at home the parents communicate with their children in Kikuyu language. Children are expected to be very conversant with their mother tongue language, Kikuyu, as a way of showing appreciation of one’s culture. Hospitals located in rural areas in the Central region use Kikuyu language more than the English language. In some cases the doctor may be required to use the English language to communicate and record patients’ information. In churches more so in protestant churches, Kikuyu and English are used interchangeably through interpretation. On the other hand, Catholic churches may use either English or Kikuyu depending on the literacy levels of the faithful in that region. Major influences are observed from the Kikuyu language on the English language. However, individuals with an English background may not communicate effectively in their tribal language, that is, Kikuyu. This is very evident among young children who go visiting their rural friends and relatives. Social networks are effectively created when individual use their tribal language. However, this will depend on the objective of the social networks. For example a social network may be formed by professionals, hence in such a setting the English language may dominate. In family gatherings, the Kikuyu language will be highly used as the major language of communication. Where an individual is unable to meet a balanced bilingualism, there will be evidences of variance in speech. Such an individual will usually encounter problem when switching from one language to another, that is, from either Kikuyu to English or otherwise. A bilingual individual must consider the effects of his use of the two languages in social networks. This can be achieved through evaluating the people constituting such a social network. This is because a social network may constitute adults and children, literates and illiterates among other variances. In Kenya, literacy is based on a person’s level of education and his or her ability to use English language to communicate either through writing or speaking. Individuals’ interactivity is usually based on their goal plan. Greene (2003, p260) states that individuals’ goals and plans are usually considered during interaction since individuals do not plan on their daily interactivity. An individual considers achieving goals through social interaction enhanced by language use. Therefore, for an individual to achieve his personal goals he must have knowledge of the goals of other people. While using a language, he must set out his goal plan to the society to achieve society acceptance. Individual goals are mainly based on societal expectations of such an individual. Individuals can result to opportunistic planning since it provides more flexibility. An individual achieves opportunistic planning when his goals are based on what the society can provide to help him achieve such a goal. For example, an individual may plan for higher education as his goal in times when the society is offering bursaries for individuals who are planning to acquire higher education; hence the individual has based his plan on an opportunity. The language use also necessitate individual’s goal realization since his goal achievement is depends on how well he will communicate his goal to the society. A bilingual individual is able to switch from one language to another without interfering with the message he or she wanted to convey. In code switching, an individual may replace one or two words in a sentence or a phrase and still maintain the message. In a bilingual individual of Kikuyu and English, code switching mainly occurs when using fluent Kikuyu in communication. In lesser cases code switching may be used in English by a bilingual person of both English and Kikuyu. Normally, code switching occurs when there is lack of an equivalent of a Kikuyu word in English. For example, ‘hee computer yaku’ (give me your computer). If code switching does not convey the intended message especially in communication involving an illiterate person, then the other person has to explain in Kikuyu language the word computer in many words thus making it very complex. Another reason for code switching is the feeling that the message can be conveyed well in the other language than the one in use. However, in code switching an individual should consider issues on domain of language use. This is because code switching is restricted in certain situations such as in a classroom setting. In this case a teacher is not allowed to replace an English word with a Kikuyu word, even when he observes that the students do not understand the message he wants to convey. Usually in formal settings code switching is restricted since one is required to communicate through the formal language fluently and proficiently. In addition, it has been found that code switching usually occurs because a bilingual person is not proficient in one of the two languages, usually the one acquired at an advanced stage in life. In our case, the bilingual individual may code switch from English to Kikuyu because he is not proficient with the English language. The proponents of this idea argue that bilingual individuals are not aware when they are code switching since they are proficient in both languages and therefore it cannot be said that code switching occurs because of lack of proficiency in one of the two languages. A speaker may code switch to hide certain information from a third party or to impress other listeners. For example, when elder people are communicating in the presence of a child they may code switch when discussing some information. Parties can also code switch so either because one party wants to reduce or increase their social distance. This is because communication enhances social interactivity through the use of an ethnic language or mother tongue language. Another reason for code switching is to signal agreed on subject or an idea by the parties involved. Consequently, code switching is mostly allowed in speaking rather than in writing. It has been observed that code switching mainly occurs to improve on social interactions. For example, students will use the authorized school language when in school and usually with the teacher, but will code switch outside the school among his friends. This is because code switching is usually based on the person one is communicating to and the degree of formality or informality surrounding their situation. Among such bilingual students, code switching will be high in their first language, for example in Kikuyu, compared to code switching in English. Hence, the language that is been used more will be contain high level of code switching compared to the language gained through formal education (Elena, 2008). A bilingual individual comprehension capacity will be high in reading and writing in the second language, for example English compared to speaking and listening. On the other hand, comprehension in listening and speaking will be high in the first language, Kikuyu, compared to reading and writing. The reason behind this is because reading and writing is attained through formal education while speaking and listening is attained during or through social interactions. Consequently, when bilingual students are tested in Kikuyu and English their reading and writing abilities will be better in English compared to Kikuyu. However, some schools in certain localities are encouraged to teach the mother tongue language in early stages of school but as subject and not a teaching language in other subjects. When a bilingual individual is code switching, the effect of the first language accent is highly experienced. Bilingual individuals usually rely on the English language when code switching. Code switching depends on the language that is dominance. In this case, the Kikuyu language is more dominant among the Kikuyu people and therefore code switching will normally occur in the Kikuyu language rather than in the English language. However, as indicated earlier the Kikuyu accent will be maintained when code switching. A close associate of code switching is lexical borrowings; however these two terms are different. As discussed above in code switching the parties has a choice of words to replace in a sentence or phrase from the varieties, while in lexical borrowings, a word is replaced since there is absence of an equivalent vocabulary. Lexical borrowing usually occurs when parties are communicating in the second language and result to use a term from their first language when they do not know the exact word in the second language. The idea of diglossia is usually confused with bilingual or multilingual, though they are interrelated. Diglossia refers to a situation in which two or more dialects are found within one language. The major known situation of diglossia is in the Arabic language. There are many dialects in Arabic such as Maghribi, Shuwa and Kelti among others. Rogers (2005, p17) adds that these dialects are very different that speakers cannot understand each other. However, the speakers of any of this dialect understand the Arabic language and hence they can communicate with each other through Arabic, especially in formal setting. In addition, the Arabic is found in textbooks and students are taught in Arabic. Therefore, in diglossia people of the different dialects use the local dialect in family and friends, but use Arabic in public places. In Kikuyu, there is a case of diglossia where there are four major local dialects. These dialects include: Meru, Embu, Kirinyaga and Mbeere. These local dialects are found in the Central region of Kenya same as the Kikuyu. Kikuyu language is the main language used by these local dialects and is usually linked to each of these dialects through borrowing of words. These dialects are very different from each other evidenced more so by accent in each language. Hence, the effect of the accent is very deep than the differences in words. However, unlike Arabic, where an individual from a local dialect is expected to communicate in it, the local dialects are required to understand and communicate in Kikuyu. In this case, the Kikuyu can be considered the high variety while the rest are low varieties. Therefore, the Kikuyu dialects use their local language in families and among friends and also in public places. However, for formal purposes the dialects use English language and in many other cases individuals of these dialects use English when they cannot communicate with each other even in social settings. In some extent, this situation can result to bilingualism in cases where an individual from one dialect such as Embu cannot understand another dialect such as Kirinyaga. In diglossia, a person of one dialect cannot communicate in another dialect, and therefore the two individual must have a common language of communication. The other language is usually used for official matters and in public areas. In addition, the dialects have a common culture and hence the need for a common language. As discussed above, sociolinguistics contributes to the issue on language by explaining why individuals communicate differently in various social contexts and the effect of social factors on language use. Further, when the social distance between hearer and speaker is wide, formality increases and when the social distance between the two parties is narrow, informality increases. When it comes to social status such as age, wealth and title, a person ranked in a higher social status can choose to be formal or informal when communicating with a person of a lower social status. However, a person in a lower social status is always formal when communicating to a person of a higher social status. As discussed above, a bilingual person may attain a balance by attaining the four basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) in both languages. In this paper, the writer has addressed bilingualism in Kikuyu and English languages found in Kenya. Kikuyu is considered as a first language acquired mainly through listening and speaking, while English is a second language acquired through reading and writing. Choice on the use of any of the two languages is based on social, cultural, political and economic setting of a bilingual. English is a high language hence it is mainly used for formal purposes, while Kikuyu is low language mainly used for social interactivity among friends and family. On the other hand, bilinguals can code switch when faced with various reasons such as to better explain an idea. However, this is most appropriate in social setting but underrated in formal setting such as when seeking employment and in government official matters. Unlike code switching where a bilingual has a choice to make, in lexical borrowing the bilingual has no choice. When considering diglossia, a particular language that is well known among other varieties is mainly in public places and for formal purposes, while the varieties use their language with their families and friends. References Baker C 1988, Key Issues In Bilingualism And Bilingual Education, Multilingual Matters. Elena, G 2008, Code Switching: Grammatical, Pragmatic And Psycholinguistic Aspects, GRIN Verlag, p7. Greene, JO &Brant RB 2003, Handbook Of Communication And Social Interaction Skills, Routledge, p259. Holmes, J 2008, An Introduction To Sociolinguistics, 3rd Ed, Longman. Rogers, H 2005, Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach, Wiley- Blackwell, p17. Spolsky, B 2001, Socialinguistics, 3th Ed, Oxford University Press, p45. Read More