Non-World-Standard-English idioms and other fixed expressions in Kenyan and four other African varieties of English

Abstract

This study compares the use of two types of idioms and other fixed expressions across five African varieties of English: the first, represented by put into consideration, is about structurally altered versions of World Standard English (WSE) idioms like take into consideration. The second, represented by lie low like an envelope, is about expressions which do not have structural WSE equivalents. The study’s starting point was that both types were considered ‘typically Kenyan English’ idioms. As such, it set out to find out if these were also used, and to what extent, in Tanzanian, Nigerian, Ghanaian and South African English. The study’s second aim was to look for evidence for Mair’s notion of a ‘transnational epicentre’, specifically as it would apply to Kenyan vs Tanzanian English. To achieve both aims, data were collected from the Corpus of Global Web-based English in the form of frequencies of occurrence of the idioms under study. The study found that only 36% of the structurally altered expressions and 70% of those without structural WSE equivalents could indeed be argued to be typically Kenyan. Regarding the ‘transnational epicentre’ notion, evidence was found to support it, but not strong enough evidence.