Listening to stations broadcasting in Luo vernacular can be unbearable, especially among the youth.
Here is why:
1. Too much culture talk
Most Luo radio stations slip into culture talks immediately after the 9:pm news, if there is no soccer commentary.
But we are living at times when ancient cultural practices mean very little to most of the youth, most of whom have embraced the western mode of operations.
Therefore, rather than listening to how 'Manyasi' (medication) was administered, they would rather tune in to another station where they can listen to some sweet RnB tunes.
2. Deep Luo vocabulary
At times, it can be very hard to understand what is being said by Luo radio presenters especially by the youth, as most tend to use deeper translations of words.
For instance, while many youths will directly translate a bomb to 'Mbom', presenters will use 'Miruti', which leaves the majority of them, who don't understand these terms, confused.
The same applies to words like newspapers, which most Luos have grown up referring to as 'Gaset', but the use of 'Oboke' for the same item by the presenters makes them feel out of place.
It's also worth noting that Oboke's real meaning is a 'leaf', which means that the youth, especially urban ones, are forced to strain to keep up, which should not be the case.
3. Poor programming
Most youths only tune to stations with music and hookup programs, which most Luo stations don't offer, and if they do (the music part), its the same old tunes and nothing new.
Also, it becomes even more boring for the youth, when 60 per cent of on-air programmes are used to receive calls from listeners, who also spend most of their airtime to send greetings.
It is also worth noting that these listeners are usually the very same ones who call daily, making it twice as boring and unendurable.
This makes it impossible to listen to these stations, even if you want to.
#hivisasaoriginal