Chronicling chronotopes: landscaping language for Kenyan multilingual classrooms

Abstract

In Kenya, educational language policies often prioritise English, yet Indigenous languages remain central to the lives and identities of local communities. This paper explores the complex interplay between visible and invisible languages in Tsana Village through a linguistic ethnography that explores material and temporal dimensions, drawing on Bakhtin’s concept of the chronotope. We reveal a contrast between English-dominated schoolscapes and the vibrant presence of Kipfokomu and Kiswahili in the broader community, where these languages thrive in public signage, cultural artefacts, and oral traditions. This contrast highlights how colonial legacies continue to marginalise Indigenous languages in schools, yet communities sustain their linguistic heritage through acts of linguistic citizenship in the linguistic landscape. This study ultimately calls for an ontological refiguring of language placing oral ontologies on equal footing to writing. This refiguring can lead to increased connections between schooling and community life and more student engagement.