Kisisi (Our Language): The Story of Colin and Sadiki

Part historic ethnography, part linguistic case study and part a mother’s memoir, Kisisi tells the story of two boys (Colin and Sadiki) who, together invented their own language, and of the friendship they shared in postcolonial Kenya. 

• Documents and examines the invention of a ‘new’ language between two boys in postcolonial Kenya

• Offers a unique insight into child language development and use

• Presents a mixed genre narrative and multidisciplinary discussion that describes the children’s border-crossing friendship and their unique and innovative private language

• Beautifully written by one of the foremost scholars in child development, language acquisition and education, the book provides a seamless blending of the personal and the ethnographic

• The story of Colin and Sadiki raises profound questions and has direct implications for many fields of study including child language acquisition and socialization, education, anthropology, and the anthropology of childhood

Keywords: Language, linguistics, language origins, Swahili pidgin, Sheng, pidgin and creole studies, language experimentation, postcolonial, post-colonial studies, language form, language development, language change, language policy, language invention, Kisisi, verbal creativity, speech community, anthropology, education studies, African sociolinguistics, children&rsquo, s creativity, child language acquisition, children&rsquo, s language, ethnography, African Studies, Kenya, human development, socialization, discursive agency, indigenous epistemologies, colonial relations, Language, linguistics, language origins, Swahili pidgin, Sheng, pidgin and creole studies, language experimentation, postcolonial, post-colonial studies, language form, language development, language change, language policy, language invention, Kisisi, verbal creativity, speech community, anthropology, education studies, African sociolinguistics, children&rsquo, s creativity, child language acquisition, children&rsquo, s language, ethnography, African Studies, Kenya, human development, socialization, discursive agency, indigenous epistemologies, colonial relations, Linguistic Anthropology