Chapter 2
In: Nationalism and the Postcolonial
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Abstract
The chapter provides insights into the interplay of national, ethnic, and linguistic trajectories of discourses in Kenyan politics. Taking the polylingual and social diversity of Kenya’s capital as a starting point, the chapter scrutinises essentialist approaches of linguistic and national purity.
Based on the findings of the author’s fieldwork conducted in the run-up to Kenya’s 2013 general elections, the chapter puts assumptions about the homogeneity of nations, languages, and their interrelation to a test. Bing’s examination of political speeches, interviews, and group discussions shows that Kenyans operate through polylingual, inclusive practices on a daily basis. By this, they do not only facilitate communication in a heterogeneous setting but at the same time contest the notion of an exclusive ethnic identity while articulating their belonging to a united yet heterogeneous nation. The turbulent linguistic practices that Bing labels ‘Vi-Swahili’ evolve as a symbol and medium of a distinctive Kenyan way of life referred to as ‘Kenya*n.’ The star serves as a placeholder for a broad spectrum of the nation’s meaning, irritating the idea of the nation and a standardised stable national language attached to it. Bing shows that the construction of ‘the’ nation – as the potential electorate – is diverse, just as its practices are dynamic and unstable.