ABSTRACT
Usage-based approaches to language hold the view that language is a complex system with dynamic and emergent properties that are always evolving as the linguistic context continues to change. Language recontextualisation, a process whereby a language extends its domain of usage to other spaces than it is originally associated with, is one such example of the adaptive and dynamic nature of the linguistic systems. Originally created as a secret language for Kenyan youth growing up in multilingual urban environments, Sheng has become widely recognised as a linguistic phenomenon that goes beyond traditional slang. This chapter interrogates the recontextualisation of Sheng from its original ‘linguistic spaces’ of a stigmatised code of the ‘ghettos’ to a prominent language that symbolises linguistic innovation. This recontextualisation is evidenced in the increasing presence of Sheng in domains such as mainstream advertising, politics, media and education, which were erstwhile the preserve of English and Kiswahili. Sheng represents cultural and linguistic diversity and thus a sign that the urban youth are breaking free from ethnic barriers – Sheng has ‘detribalizing effect’. Therefore, recontextualisation of Sheng, to more formal domains, is one of the trajectories towards bridging gaps and breaking linguistic barriers of conventional language use and puritanism.
