Language As A Tool For Cultural Diplomacy: A Case Study of Kiswahili in Kenya

Kiswahili language as a tool for cultural diplomacy has been viewed an important strategic direction in the foreign policy discourse of Kenya. The Foreign Policy of Kenya and the Cultural Diplomacy Strategy provide the policy and the institutional framework’s implementation strategies. The study investigated whether Kenya has invested in Kiswahili, as its recognized national language, and how it has been used as a tool to enhance its foreign relations through cultural diplomacy. The research examined how Kenya’s cultural diplomacy pillar promotes the use of Kiswahili for diplomatic relations. The study further asked the questions regarding how Kenya uses its influence in the international arena to make Kiswahili a recognized and widely used language and; how Kenya’s foreign policy strategy promotes the use of Kiswahili as its national language and a tool for enhancing cultural diplomacy and image projection. The decolonization, soft power, alternative model of second-culture acquisition and the dimensional accrual and dissociation theories were utilized as the theoretical framework for the study. The methodology employed was qualitative research, undertaking in-depth interviews and desktop research. The interviews were analysed and thematic patterns drawn from the data in relation to promotion of Kiswahili in Kenya to enhance Cultural Diplomacy. The study looked at emergent themes, the obstacles faced by the country in the promotion of Kiswahili as a tool for Cultural diplomacy as well as the necessary national and foreign policies that need to be implemented to overcome the challenges. The study showed that the Kiswahili language has gained global recognition and Kenya has several opportunities to use its place on the global map to promote Kiswahili as its national language and the most widely spoken African indigenous language. Investment in Kiswahili language education and systematic implementation of strategies, with the inclusion of key stakeholders, is recommended in order for Kenya to effectively use Kiswahili as a tool for Cultural Diplomacy.