THE ROLE OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES IN UNDERSTANDING KISWAHILI PROVERBS

Abstract

This paper endeavours to show how Kiswahili students can be able to
conceptualize and understand the uses and meanings of proverbs by drawing on
the similarities of the meanings and uses of the proverbs found in their
indigenous languages. An indigenous language carries a person‟s identity and
world view. The world view is formed by the norms, culture and beliefs
associated with the language. In Kenya the official languages are English and
Kiswahili, with Kiswahili carrying a second function of a national language.
Together with English, Kiswahili is a compulsory examinable subject in primary
and secondary schools in spite of its being an indigenous language only to a small
percentage of the population. Most of the students learn it as a second or third
language. Part of the Kiswahili syllabus entails learning aspects associated with
Kiswahili culture. One of these entails the uses and meanings of proverbs.
Students learning Kiswahili as a second language often have difficulties
understanding the uses and meanings of the various proverbs because they are
associated with a culture and an environment different from theirs. Using
examples showing the similarities found in the uses of proverbs and their
meanings, the paper demonstrates how speakers of Tugen (one of the languages
within the Kalenjin macro language) learning Kiswahili can benefit from some
awareness of such similarities between Kiswahili and Tugen proverbs. By so
doing it attempts to show why teachers should encourage students to draw on
their indigenous languages to facilitate their conceptualization and
understanding of words of wisdom that are presented in Kiswahili proverbs.