ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors explore how related varieties have been understood in the literature. There are a number of ways in which researchers can acquire linguistic data for analysis. The data and sources are cited in discussions of attitudes and motivations believed to underpin the use of colloquial, youth and criminal language, as well as in exploration of the main associated linguistic manipulations. Viewed mainly as an urban language with many group varieties, Sheng, also known in some instances as 'Mtaa', largely consists of vocabulary drawn from English and Swahili – Kenya's two official languages – and from other traditional languages such as Kikuyu and Luo. Most of the varieties cited are well documented but some are not. As readers will appreciate, amassing and analysing such a far-reaching data set in the form of primary sources in the various languages, and supporting valuable discussion are a far from inconsiderable task.
