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Kenyans Must Strive to Learn Languages other than Mother Tongue, English and Kiswahili

If you greet a Kenyan “Bonjour” or “Como esta” or “Sabah al Khair” , he or she will most likely return a blank stare or not realize you have greeted them in very common greetings they are familiar with in Kiswahili, English or mother tongue. For a long time, Kenyans have been contented in learning mother tongue, English and Kiswahili. They have assumed that with the three languages and mostly English, they are home and dry with job related and social communication. The government has in fact entrenched this notion because there is no school policy requiring the learning of a second international language for Kenyan students. In addition, Kenyans have mainly commercially and socially interacted with countries that speak English as a result of the initial British colonization.

The fact that the Government of Kenya never saw the need of Kenyans to learn a second international language is a paradox as well as a strategic blunder for several reasons. One, Kenya has a historical, commercial and social linkage with the Middle East. The country has diplomatic relations with countries such as Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Many of Kenya’s coastal inhabitants have ancestral connections with the Middle East due to trade and the colonization by the Sultanate of Oman. The predominant religion at the coast is Islam which is traditionally taught in Arabic. Kenya also neighbors Somalia and Southern Sudan, both of which use Arabic as their national language. Due to Kenya’s neighborhood and the close religious, commercial and diplomatic ties of the country with the Middle East, it would have been prudent for Kenyans to learn Arabic as a third language or have it widely offered in schools and colleges.

The second reason why Kenyans should learn a third language is that Kenya is an important tourism destination in the world owing to her open door policy, natural wealth in terms of geography, vegetation and wildlife as well as a rich cultural heritage. The Great Rift Valley is a geographical phenomenon that many come to see from all over the world. In this respect, Kenyans should put French in their top priority as “must learn language”.

Thirdly, two of East African members Rwanda and Burundi have French as their official language. With the formation of the East African Cooperation, it will be necessary for Kenyans to learn French in order to effectively transact business with citizens of the two French speaking nations.

The fourth reason Kenyans must learn a third language is the expansion of Kenyan businesses to Francophone Africa. When businesses become multinational, they require staff from the home country to oversee operations in the countries of expansion. Those home country citizens must have the language skills of the countries of expansion to be able to effectively transact business in those countries as well as gain a high level of acceptability. Nakumatt Supermarket, East African Cables and Kenya Commercial Bank are Kenyan businesses that are to operate in Rwanda. Kenya Reinsurance Corporation plans to operate in West Africa starting with a head quarters in Francophone Cameroon. Kenya Commercial bank is also already operating in Southern Sudan. On the other hand, corporations from Francophone Africa will definitely react to the expansion of Kenya’s businesses by also expanding to Kenya and East Africa. Ecobank which operates in West Africa has already spread to Kenya by buying majority stake in the East African Building Society Bank. It is only a matter of time before other companies such as the Nation Media Group, Safaricom and Equity Bank expand into regions of Africa where different international languages are spoken.

A fifth reason why Kenyans must be highly multilingual is that the country is host to a multitude of United Nations organizations, diplomatic missions and international non governmental organizations. Kenya also holds many conferences and sports events every year. Multilingual communication is therefore important in job creation.

There is a sixth reason why Kenyans must embrace multilingualism. The increased interest of Japan and China in Africa means that Kenyan Chinese and Japanese speakers will be needed in large numbers. Already Kenyan Chinese and Japanese speakers are in high demand due to their small numbers.

Finally, Kenyans need to learn many languages to effectively compete for job opportunities in the African Union Operations. Many Kenyans miss international jobs because they are only good at English and Kiswahili. That may partially explain the reason that there are not many Kenyans holding high positions in international organizations while there are many from West and North Africa.

So what languages should Kenyans learn? The best strategy for multilingualism is to start with the national languages English and Kiswahili. The next two languages should be French and Arabic followed by Spanish, Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese. For those interested in the tourism industry, German and Italian would be good to learn. Russian would be a good bet for those wishing to work with the United Nations or in Eastern Europe.

English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Kiswahili and Portuguese are official African Union languages while at the same time; the first four languages are official United Nations languages. In addition to the three, the United Nations also has Russian and Chinese as official languages. Therefore by learning at least two more languages in addition to English and Kiswahili, a Kenyan would be well set to communicate effectively not only with fellow Africans but also with a large proportion of the world population.