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Open Access CC BY V4.0
Journal article
Language hierarchies and human rights: Kiswahili, English and (other) mother tongues in Kenyan schools
Critical African studies
07/04/2026
Appears in Open Access via Read & Publish Agreements
Abstract
Linguistic hierarchies in Kenya have impacted three categories of human rights: access to education, use of one’s own language, and children’s right to not suffer abuse. These hierarchies revolve around English, Kiswahili and (other) mother tongues. Many Kenyan families of different ethnicities have adopted Kiswahili and English as dominant languages at home, a consequence of creating a national language alongside a colonial language in a country where mother tongues abound. If Kiswahili is the language that marks Kenya as a nation, Kenyans have a right to it. However, Kenyan children also are entitled to their ethnic languages in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child requirements. We argue that access to education, use of one’s own language and the right not to suffer abuse are interrelated, and that the recent history in Kenya needs to be reconsidered in order to grapple meaningfully with language hierarchies, and dismantle taken-for-granted practices that originated in a colonial regime.
Details
- Title
- Language hierarchies and human rights: Kiswahili, English and (other) mother tongues in Kenyan schools
- Authors/Creators
- Samuel M. Makinda - Murdoch University, College of Law, Arts and Social SciencesMarianne Turner - Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute
- Publication Details
- Critical African studies
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
- Number of pages
- 14
- Identifiers
- 991005877054207891
- Copyright
- © 2026 The Author(s).
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre for Biosecurity and One Health; Indo-Pacific Research Centre; College of Law, Arts and Social Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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