Language preferences and attitudes towards local languages: a case study of Makongeni Estate in Thika Town

Abstract

This research work was aimed at establishing language preferences and attitudes towards local languages in a multilingual setting with particular reference to Makongeni Estate in Thika Town. The objectives of the study were to examine attitudes that people of Makongeni Estate in Thika Town have towards local languages, to find out the language(s) of preference for the people of Makongeni Estate in Thika Town in different contexts, to find out if the residents of Makongeni Estate in Thika Town were loyal to their mother tongues and to find out if diversity of language was a source of conflict (social or political) within Makongeni Estate. The theory used to analyse the data collected was the motivation theory as developed by Gardner and Lambert (1972). The study found out that there was a strong positive attitude towards local languages and Kiswahili, and that the respondents preferred to use either Kiswahili or their mother tongues in most of their interactions. It also found out that resdents of Makongeni Estate in Thika Town were loyal to their mother tongues and that they did not consider their diversity of language to be a source of conflict, whether social or political. Arising from the findings, the study has suggested that further research be carried out on language attitudes towards local languages in Kenya, ways on how to revitalise languages in danger of dying and how to involve the youthful generation in this, studies on attitudes towards mother tongue languages be encouraged so that where they are negative, ways and means of changing the negative attitudes can be sought in order to prevent the death of our mother tongues and since Thika Town may not be representative of the whole country, further studies be carried out in other towns in Kenya in order to compare and contrast the results of this study.