Morphosyntactic retention and innovation in Sheng: an urban youth language of Kenya

This paper examines the morphosyntax of the East African Swahili-based urban youth language Sheng. Research on urban youth languages has often focused on these varieties as sites of change, characterised by linguistic creativity and rapid change. However, we show that many of the structural features which appear to make Sheng stand out when compared to (Standard) Swahili are widespread across East African Bantu. We examine nominal and verbal domains, as well as clausal syntax and highlight areas in which Sheng exhibits features in common with its contact languages, as well as features which appear to reflect instances of independent innovation. The study shows that Sheng is not a ‘simplified’ version of Swahili which deviates from the grammar of Swahili in a range of ad hoc ways. Rather the language exhibits features of retention and contact-induced borrowing, as well as systematic changes which are reflective of variation across the Bantu languages.