Translanguaging : Evidence from Nairobi and Its Social Contribution

Nairobi, the capital city of the Republic of Kenya, is a multilingual city where people speak diverse languages such as Swahili, English, and ethnic languages. In Nairobi, speakers do not necessarily distinguish linguistic resources based on the “names” of languages such as “Swahili” or “English” when making meanings. Instead, they can develop their own way of speaking by using the full range of their repertoire inclusively. To explain this sort of language practice, the concept of translanguaging has been gaining academic attention. Translanguaging refers to multilinguals’ practice of constructing and drawing an inherently multilingual linguistic repertoire for meaning-making, without strictly adhering to the socially and politically determined boundaries. Although translanguaging originated in Bilingual education, it has been increasingly used as a framework to comprehend multilinguals’ everyday language practices. This article aims to articulate everyday language practices in Nairobi, employing translanguaging as an analytical grid. In addition, it addresses the social contribution of revealing everyday multilingual practices.