SHENG IS NOT A LANGUAGE,
BUT POPULAR SLANG

Story by Steve Langat
From Nation Newspaper: 2/12/2006


There have been serious debates over the years as to whether or not Sheng is a language. Various theories have been advanced to account for the origin and development of Sheng. Some linguists, like Prof Kembo Sure, assert that it arose in Eastlands area of Nairobi as children coined words to conceal their secrets from their parents as they shared rooms.

Others associate it with crime. Smugglers and pickpockets coined words to use in their criminal activities. Although earlier identified with the urban youth in Kenya, Sheng usage has spread like bush fire to nearly all parts of the country. Initially, it was associated with the low class unemployed youth but today the social code is spoken by even the high and mighty.

Sheng borrows its words virtually from all indigenous languages, Kiswahili, English and also from Hindi. However, a 2005 study "on lexicalisation in Sheng" reveals that Gikuyu, Kamba, Dholuo and Kiswahili are its major suppliers. A major characteristic of Sheng as a social code is that it has a very unstable vocabulary. Its new words are coined or borrowed now and then. For instance, the word chalii has been replaced by jamaa for boyfriend, while mahewa currently replaces ngoma for music. In the economic realm, kobole has been replaced by ngovo for the five-shilling coin. In the underworld of drugs, ndhom has been replaced by shada for bhang.

One may be tempted to classify Sheng as a language because it has words that address almost all aspects of human life. For instance, in the transport sector there are words like dinga or ndai (vehicle) and wathii (travellers). On relationships, we encounter words like kenge or manzi (girlfriend); school situation, daaroo (class), mathafu (mathematics); food, sembe (ugali); race, there is ngoso (European); security we have karau (police officer).

Sheng is widely spoken by the young in Kenya although in some cases one may encounter even the old and educated communicating using the social code. It is a medium of communication especially in matatu transport, where the conductors and the passengers use it without difficulty. It is interesting to note that even if one doesn’t understand the code, passengers try their best to use it.

Sheng has not developed to be called a distinct language but it is a slang or rather a sociolect. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English defines slang as a very informal language that includes new and sometimes rude words, especially words used by particular groups of people such as criminals, school children or people who take drugs. Judging from the various theories about the origin of Sheng, this definition fits the code well.

Old and new words

A close look at the characteristics of a slang will no doubt reveal that Sheng is not a language but a slang. A slang introduces many new words by combining old words to give new meaning. In Sheng, a word like ashara was used to mean Sh10 but now there is a new coinage, ashuu. Experts in sociolinguistics argue that the use of slang varies from one region to another.

For example, ushagoo (for rural home) is commonly used in rural areas while among the urban youth, shags is used for the same. There are various "dialects" of Sheng spoken in various parts of the country.

Another feature of a slang, which compares well with Sheng, is that one’s generation’s slang is another generation’s "standard" vocabulary. Most youths, especially those born in Eastlands in Nairobi, claim that Sheng is their mother tongue. To them Sheng is their "standard language". Although the older generations use Sheng due to prevailing circumstances, they consider it an informal style of communication.

Slang words and phrases are coined or invented in keeping with new ideas and concepts. Sheng is not left behind as far as development of its terminology is concerned. For example, computer is called comp. It can, therefore, be said that Sheng is not a language but slang or a social code.

Mr Kobia is a doctorate student in the Department of Kiswahili and African Languages, Kenyatta University.

Maternity leave would last for two years...with full pay.
There'd be a cure for stretch marks
Natural childbirth would become obsolete
Morning sickness would rank as the nation's number one health problem
All methods of birth control would be improved 100 percent
effectiveness
Children would be kept in the hospital until they were toilet trained
Men would be EAGER to talk about commitment
They wouldn't think twins were quite so cute
Fathers would demand that their SONS be home from dates by 10: 00pm
Men could use THEIR briefcases as diaper bags
They'd have to stop saying, "I'm afraid I'll drop him."
Paternity suits would be a line of clothes
They'd stay in bed for the entire nine months
Menus at most restaurants would list ice cream and pickles as an entree
Women would rule the world!

1) New York City has 11 letters


2) Afghanistan
has 11 letters.

3) Ramsin Yuseb (The terrorist who threatened to destroy the Twin
Towers in 1993) has 11
letters.

4) George W Bush has 11 letters.
This could be a mere coincidence, but this gets more

interesting:

1) New York is the 11th state.

2) The first plane crashing against the
Twin Towers was flight number 11.

3) Flight 11 was carrying 92 passengers. 9 + 2 = 11

4) Flight 77 which also hit
Twin Towers, was carrying 65 passengers.
6+5 = 11

5) The tragedy was on September 11, or 9/11 as it is now known. 9 + 1+ 1 = 11

6) The date is equal to the US
emergency services telephone number 911.
9 + 1 + 1 = 11.

Sheer coincidence..?! Read on and make up your own mind:

1) The total number of victims inside all the hi-jacked planes was 254.
2 + 5 + 4 = 11.

2) September 11 is day number 254 of the calendar year. Again 2 + 5 + 4= 11.

3) The Madrid bombing took place on

3/11/2004. 3 + 1 +1 + 2 + 4 = 11.

4) The tragedy of Madrid happened 911 days after the

TwinTowers incident.

Now this is where things get totally eerie:
The most recognised symbol for the US<, after the Stars & Stripes, is the Eagle.

The following verse is taken from the Quran, the Islamicholy book:


"For it is written that a son of
Arabia
would awaken a fearsome Eagle.

The wrath of the Eagle would be

felt throughout the lands of Allah
and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more
rejoiced: for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah and there was peace.
That verse is number 9.11 of the Quran.

Still uncovinced about all of this..?! Try this and

see how you feel afterwards, it made my hair stand on end:

Open Microsoft Word and do the following:

1. Type in capitals Q33 NY. This is the flight number of the firstplane to hit one of the Twin Towers

2. Highlight the Q33 NY.

3. Change the font size to 48.

4. Change the actual font to WINGDINGS

What do you think now..?!
And can anybody say this are fabrications? Or concidences?

Is there somebody up there looking down on us?