For example, when they use English in a text message, it conveys several things. English is a way of demonstrating a connection to a global culture, especially American culture. As such, English is associated with a happy-go-lucky, free-spirited attitude, and is considered appropriate for ‘light’ topics such as flirting or just chatting with friends. The style of English they use in text messages consists of a lot of abbreviations and acronyms, in imitation of other english-speakers around the world.
The main local language, kigiriama, is not used in such a way, nor is Kiswahili, the local trade language. Kigiriama is considered more appropriate for ‘heavy’ topics where English would send the wrong message, even if the literal meaning of the messages were the same. Kigiriama is also rarely condensed, indicating that it is not used in the same playful way as English. McIntosh gives several examples of text messages sent entirely in Kigiriama or Kiswahili, ranging from business transactions to one girl who needed to tell a man she couldn’t sleep with him because he has AIDS. In any of these cases, the meaning might have been misinterpreted or the person may have been seen as treating a topic without the proper level of seriousness. Everyone who has language experiences some version of this, though it may not be as obvious as in this case, since many of us only speak one language, and the differences have much more to do with pronunciation, grammar, and specific word choices, things which are a bit more subtle than switching from one language to another depending on the situation.
