Author Archives: alpalu10

I came across an article discussing Sheng (the Swahili and English mixed slang used in Kenya and Tanzania) and the idea of “proper” Swahili. http://www.thisisafrica.me/opinion/detail/19415/Sheng-does-what-Sheng-wants The article discusses the consistent evolution of sheng as new words are invented almost every … Continue reading →

While reading Slemon’s article, I could not help but draw the connections between his argument and my case study. Although there is debate as to what “post-colonial” actually means, the article looks at a lot of theories that we have … Continue reading →

This post is going to be a conglomerate of Ted Talks I’ve come across in regards to language, power, and globalization. Although these talks do not explicitly reference Kenya and Tanzania, I feel that the underlying arguments are certainly applicable … Continue reading →

After reading Said’s piece on Orientalism, I couldn’t help but think of the similarities in my case study. Although Kenya and Tanzania wouldn’t be considered Oriental, the same ideas of power and discourse can be applied. For instance, it was … Continue reading →

During the fall of 2011, I took Introduction to African Literature with Dr. Pat Alden. During this course, we read numerous texts from Nigerian, Kenyan and Zimbabwean writers and we learned more than just the plot of the stories, but … Continue reading →

“The endurance of a language, like many aspects of culture, depends on the youth.” I came across the organization called Cultures of Resistance as I was doing research/preparing for Africa Week (through African Student Union & Amnesty International). Cultures of … Continue reading →

Not only is English mandated in schools and expected to be learned in both Tanzania and Kenya (which I discussed earlier), more and more organizations and volunteers infiltrate both countries to teach English. I experienced this first-hand as I spent … Continue reading →