The Linguist

Chartered Institute of Linguists SPRING 2025 The Linguist 11 FEATURES A life with languages In English and Kiswahili, Linah Makembu charts her journey from flight attendant to language business owner, and how the church inspired her to serve her local community ufikiaji sawa wa rasilimali. Kiswahili kinakabiliwa na changamoto kadha wa kadha, ikiwa ni pamoja na kukosekana kwa sera za lugha za kukisaidia kikamilifu, uwakilishi duni kwenye mtandao, utafiti mdogo ulioandikwa kwa Kiswahili na mitazamo hasi dhidi ya lugha za Kiafrika. Hivi majuzi nilijiunga na Diploma ya Ukalimani wa Utumishi wa Umma (DPSI) kwa lengo la kujiunga na Daftari la Kitaifa la Wakalimani wa Utumishi wa Umma (NRPSI). Ninaendesha Kampuni ya Jambo Linguists Ltd Kaskazini mwa Uingereza na ninapanga kukuza kampuni kwa kuleta wataalamu wa lugha waliohitimu na kuhakikiwa, huku nikishirikiana na washirika wa biashara wenye nia moja kutoa huduma mbalimbali katika Kiswahili duniani kote. Nilikulia katikati mwa Kenya na tangu umri mdogo nilifanya vyema katika lugha. Pia ningechukua lahaja za kienyeji niliposafiri katika eneo hilo. Katika kazi yangu ya kwanza kama mhudumu wa ndege ilibidi nitoe matangazo katika lugha kadhaa, na pia kuwasiliana na watu tofauti, lugha na tamaduni. Hii ilifungua shauku ya kuelewa watu, haswa katika miji ambayo tulilazimika kulala kwa siku kadhaa. Walakini, safari yangu rasmi ya lugha haikuanza hadi 2019, nilipohamia Uingereza kama mfanyakazi wa kujitolea katika kanisa la mtaa. Nilitafsiri mahubiri kwa kutaniko la Waswahili, hasa kutoka Afrika Mashariki - huduma ninayoitoa hadi leo. Baada ya kuona jumuiya ya kanisa langu inatatizika kupata huduma za ukalimani katika hospitali na huduma nyingine za umma, nilijiandikisha katika kozi ya Ukalimani wa Jamii ya Ngazi ya 3. Hii ilinipa fursa ya kufanya kazi kwa wanajamii kwa kujiamini na wataalamu. Ninatafsiri kutoka Kiingereza hadi Kiswahili na Kikuyu na kinyume chake. Lugha inayozungumzwa zaidi barani Afrika. Kiswahili kinazungumzwa na takriban watu milioni 150 katika nchi 15 na visiwa. Lugha rasmi ya Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda na Rwanda, ina lahaja tofauti, zikiwemo Bajuni, Kiswahili cha Kongo na Kibravani. Ingawa kimuundo ni lugha ya Kibantu, baadhi ya vipengele vya sarufi yake vimeathiriwa na Kiarabu. Nina shauku kubwa katika kazi ya utetezi na ukuzaji wa lugha adimu za Kiafrika ili kuhakikisha I grew up in central Kenya and, from an early age, I performed well in languages. I would also pick up local dialects when I travelled in the region. In my first career as a flight attendant, I had to make announcements in several languages, as well as interacting with different people, languages and cultures. This opened up a curiosity in understanding people, especially in cities where we had to lay over for a couple of days. However, my official linguistic journey did not start until 2019, when I relocated to the UK as a volunteer in a local church. I interpreted sermons for the Swahili congregation, mainly from East Africa – a service I still render today. After seeing my church community struggle to get interpretation services in hospitals and other public amenities, I enrolled in a Level 3 Community Interpreting course. This gave me an opportunity to work for community members with confidence and professionalism. I interpret and translate from English to Kiswahili (also known as Swahili) and Kikuyu, and vice versa. The most widely spoken language in Africa, Kiswahili is spoken by around 150 million people across 15 countries and islands. The official language of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, it has different dialects, including Bajuni, Congo Swahili and Bravanese. Although it is structurally a Bantu language, some aspects of its grammar have been influenced by Arabic. I have a keen interest in advocacy work and the development of Africa's rarer languages to ensure equitable access to resources. Kiswahili faces a number of challenges, including an absence of language policies to actively support it, inadequate representation on the internet, limited research written in Kiswahili and negative attitudes towards African languages. I recently enrolled for the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI) with the aim of joining the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI). I run Jambo Linguists Ltd in the North of England and plan to grow the company by bringing in qualified and vetted linguists, while collaborating with likeminded business partners to provided assorted services in Kiswahili around the world.

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