Teaching Kiswahili pronunciation in secondary schools in Kenya: the necessity to use the right information and descriptive tools

Abstract

This paper focuses on inaccuracies in the way the teaching of Kiswahili pronunciation is provided for in textbooks recommended for secondary schools in Kenya. The major inaccuracies consist in the following: some of the charts are not labelled properly, a proper distinction is not made between voiced and voiceless consonants in some of the charts, the prenasalised consonants are not given adequate treatment, and some speech organs are not drawn or labelled correctly. The paper offers the correct information and descriptive tools to use so as to improve the teaching of Kiswahili pronunciation in Kenya.