Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology’s staff and students from the Department of Language and Literature Education (LLE) have taken part in a Leverhulme Trust-funded research project which seeks to explore grammatical variation in the Swahili language. On Wednesday, 28th September, 2022, the LLE Department hosted the project’s research assistants for a seminar at the University, where they interviewed a selected number of MMUST students. The assistants were Mr. Tom Jelpke of the University of London (School of Oriental and African Studies-SOAS), and Ms. Merceline Ochieng and Ms. Annah Kariuki of Kenyatta University.
In his presentation, Mr. Jelpke, who gave an overview of the project, pointed out that Swahili is well-spoken across Africa but little research has been conducted on the language. “The purpose of this project is to identify grammatical variation in Swahili and to record changes in the language. There are many attested varieties that are spoken by different communities. Some of the things we will look into include the relationship between Swahili and other languages, as well as the people’s attitude towards Swahili,” stated Mr. Jelpke. The PhD student added that the project, which will run for a period of four (4) years, is currently in the pilot stage.
The Project’s research assistants during the seminar. From left; Ms. Annah Kariuki, Mr. Tom Jelpke and Ms. Merceline Ochieng.
Dr. David Barasa, a senior lecturer and coordinator of research and publications at the LLE Department, mentioned that he is a beneficiary of the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies. “As a Department, we hope that the outcome of this project will inform us on these variations,” he said. MMUST’s Mr. Shadrack Opunde, who specializes in Kiswahili pedagogy, linguistics and literature, reiterated that the project will provide insight into the Swahili language.
The project’s Principal Investigator is Dr. Hannah Gibson of the University of Essex. Other members of the project are; Prof. Lutz Marten (SOAS, Co-Investigator), Dr. Fridah Kanana Erastus (Kenyatta University, Co-Investigator), Dr. Teresa Poeta (University of Essex, Post-doctoral research assistant) and Dr. Julius Taji (University of Dar es Salaam, Co-Investigator). The project’s main areas of focus will be Kisumu, Nairobi, Iringa, Lamu, Moshi and Zanzibar.
A section of the students during the seminar.
Other LLE Department staff present during the Seminar included; Dr. Frida Miruka, Dr. Lucy Mandillah and Mr. Jacob Bakanja.
Photos by Gabriel Juma
