Slang and code-switching: the case of Sheng in Kenya

Abstract

Social identity between interlocutors s is an indispensable factor in the formation of a community (i e. a social unit whose members are held together by an international network and who share certain interests, beliefs, views and attitudes) In this regard, language is known to be an influential symbol of identity, an important clue to social group membership. As Einer Haugen states, language is at once `a social institution, like the laws, the religion, or the economy of a community, and a social instrument which accompanies and makes possible all other institutions. As an institution it may become a symbol of the community` (1956:8 7).