Sheng is a Kenyan language that is loved mostly by the youth.
But some parents who refer to refer themselves as the dotcom generation, have embraced it and learnt a few words so as to feel part of their children’s life.
The origin of the language remains a mystery but some say that it was devised by youth to keep their parents in the dark during their communication, while others argue that it was developed by the youth so as to fill their need of having something that they felt belonged to them.
Other young people in Nakuru simply have no clue as to why and how Sheng was started but they just go with the flow.
US President Barack Obama when he visited Kenya in July last year also fell for the language.
Even Kenyan politicians have not been left out when it comes to the coded language. An example is Raphael Tuju, who voiced his campaign advert in Sheng which started with the words ‘niaje wasee’ (how are you guys).
At one point, the former Cabinet Secretary for Education, Prof Jacob Kaimenyi blamed Sheng for the poor performance in the Kiswahili language in Nakuru County among other counties in Kenya.
Nakuru’s Sheng
Some of the methods used to coin out Nakuru’s sheng include:
1) Different words with different meanings
Various youth in various counties in Kenya use Sheng as a form of communication. Though some words may have the same meaning, others may defer depending on how they were coined. Some of the sheng words used in Nakuru include Das which refers to Sh10 whereas in various parts of Nairobi, it is referred to as kinde.
2) Reversing words
In some parts of Nakuru, the sheng used is a result of words being reversed. Some master this art in such a way that they can fluently converse with their other counterparts without blinking an eye while you are there without understating a single word from their conversation. You may actually think that the language spoken is Greek or French and various attempts of reversing the words that are already reversed to their proper from may proof futile. The catch is that the words reversed are at times in Sheng which may also prove to be difficult to understand especially if one does not understand those words in Sheng. A sentence may include; maja chawa ulafa (Jamaa wacha ujafa) meaning dude, stop your stupidity
3) Coining words from mother tongue
In some parts of Nakuru, some words in Sheng are borrowed from mother tongue. Most of the borrowed words are from the Kikuyu language. Such words that are now identified with the Sheng language are widely used in some parts of Nakuru in such a way that you may think that they their originality is from the sheng language. Such words include ‘wana’ which in a sentence is stated as ‘wachanga wana’ (jokes aside).
On the other hand, some of the words have evolved as time passes by. In Nakuru, this may be due to the fact that parents are quickly catching up with the terms used in the Sheng language. Some of this words include;
‘Nikunoma’ which evolved to Nikundialala which is now Nikulonzero meaning times hard.
‘Ameora’ which evolved to ‘ameishia’ which is now ‘amejitoa’ which means a person has gone
‘Ameng’ara’ which turned to ‘amestand’ which evolved to ‘ametoklezea’ among other words.
Love it or hate it, Sheng is here to stay wit us in Nakuru.