Emerging Language Trends and the Intellectually Challenged Youth in Kenya

Abstract

Educating  the  intellectually  challenged (I.C)  youth  has  been  a  great challenge  in  Kenya  over  the  years.  The   emergence  of  several  forms  of  youth  languages  has  made  it  even more  challenging. Just  like  other  regular  youth,  the  I.C  youth  find  themselves  caged into the  euphoria  of  emerging  languages  like  Sheng’. Unfortunately, most  of  them  are  not   even able  to  make  sense  out of  the  language  they  use  due to  their  mental  incapability.  The  study sought  to find  out  what  causes  the  I.C youth  get  carried  away  with  emerging  youth  languages  and how  these languages  affected  their education, either  positively  or negatively.  The study utilized the social theory of language by Herbert Blumer (1969).  The  theory  posits  that  it  is not  true  that  the  full  expanse  of  society,   in  any  human  society, is  but  an  expression  of  pre-established  forms  of  joint  action. New  situations  are  constantly  arising  within  the  scope  of  group  life  that  are  problematic  and  for  which  existing  rules  are  inadequate. These new  situations  constantly  arising  bring  about  changes  in  all  spheres  of  society,  language  being  one  of  them. The study was carried out in Kiambu County.  It targeted I.C youth in special schools located in urban centres. Five  boys  and  five  girls  of  between 14-20  years  were  sampled  purposively.  Two teachers of the I.C youth are also sampled purposively. This enables the researcher to get respondents who could give required data. Interview  guide  was  used  to  collect  data  from  all  the respondents. Data was analyzed qualitatively through description and explanation in prose.