Courtroom Disco

COURTROOM DISCOURSE IN KENYA
LANGUAGE ALTERNATION N KENYAN COURTS

Introduction
Alternating between two or more languages is an unmarked communication choice for a large
part of the world’s population and Labor (1971) concluded that this widespread practice is
generally unsystematic and rule-free.
Courts of law add layers if restriction upon language choice, constituting one of the most formal
of all socioliguistic environment, with strict rules of speaking governing who says what to whom
and when, often reinforced by official language policies governing which languages, may be
admitted in evidence. Whether for historical and institutional reasons or out of a desire to
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minimize ambinguity, most legal systems operate monolingually.
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Many multilingual societies such as Botswana, prescribed the use of one language for the entire
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legal system. A smaller number, including Sri Lanka and Switzerland, recognize a number of
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court languages, but prohibit the mixing of different languages during the same proceedings.
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Even where there is no official prohibition, social and professional disapproval of mixing
languages in formal situations are often reported. Discourse languages that are neither admitted
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nor tolerated by the court are invariably mediated by an interpreter, and it is the interpreted
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utterance rather than the original which is recorded.
Sociolinguistic context of Kenyan law.

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Estimates of the number of languages spoken in Kenya range from 34 (Yngers – Scotton 1993,
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17)
Three major language families: Bantu Branch of Niger-Congo-Kiswahili Gikuyu, Nilo-saharan,
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which includes Dholuo, Kalenjin and Afro-Asiatic, including languages such as Borana, Dahalo.
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Kenya has a high degree of linguistic diversity

Also has a high level of multilingualism, with most speakers who have any regular contact with
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those outside their speech community being fluent in at least one other language.
English emerged as the language of government and education in 1963.
Kiswahili – a national language
Was made a compulsory subject with the introduction of the 8-4-4 system of education.
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While Kiswahili made in rods into the educational domain, it has had far less impact on the legal
domain.
Both English Kiswahili are reported to as business of the national assembly may be in English or
Kiswahili and requires that candidates for the assembly may be able to speak and read both
languages. However, the constitution itself was first drafted in English.
Laws and bills presented to parliament are in English.
The legal profession remains heavily aglicizer, with legal training in English.
Lawyers routinely take oral depositions from clients in vernacular, record it in English, explain
what has been written and then have sign or thumb-print it.
The constitution states that a person charged with a criminal offence is permitted to have the
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assistance of an interpreter at the state’s expense, but there is no provision for the use of any
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language other than English in proceedings;
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However, Kiswahili does have an important oral role. The signs notices in court are in English
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but there are also some that are in Kiswahili.
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Cases are also first announced in English and then in Kiswahili.
Court documents are exclusively in English a conversation among lawyers and judges is
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predominantly in English and much of it is never translated for the benefit of the witnesses or
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defendants.
Verdicts, given in English, are often translated into Kiswahili by court clerks. Some judges,
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especially in the lower courts, partively explain part of the proceedings to defendants in
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Kiswahili, and the language may be used I oral evidence without translation. In general, oral
examination tends to in English in the higher courts and for socially higher ranking witnesses,
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but in Kiswahili in the lower courts and for less educated witness local-level police officers are
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required to be proficient in Kiswahili, but not English and so defence lawyers often taken
advantage of them by insisting on questioning them in English when they give evidence in court.
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PATTERNS OF LANGUAGE ALTERNATION IN KENYAN COURTS

Lexical code. Mixing where words from one language are embedded in utterances with a
lexicogrammatcal matrix largely drawn from another.
Insertion of single nouns and short nominal phrases
Preference for embedding English with Kiswahili, rather than the other way around many of
these english lexemes are legal terms used frequently by all main parties e.g
J (to C): Una witness yeyote
JC: Unaprefer upelekwe remand ama police station?
You prefer to be taken to remand or police station Ndio, police station ni mzuri is good.
D; Kesi yako itakuwa na mention on 6.8. 2008 case your will have
Magistrate alinipatia bond of 50,000 but (gave me)
Singeweza kulipa
I could not pay
Other common insertions while not legal terms, have administrative connotations
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C. wakati polisi walienda gari yako ilikuwa registration when (the police) (wenelted) vehicle
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your it had.
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W. Hauna authority ya kutoa anything bila Mwangi kupenyana tuhusa.
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Code switching
A speaker juxtaposes clauses and whole sentences in different languages.
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A number of instances of language alternation that clearly goes beyond word or phrase-
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level. This indicates a considerable degree of bilingual proficiency and is found not only
with the judges and advocates but also with court officers, defendants and witnesses.
J: utasskiza isntructions. Halafu utatueleza if it is true or not true.
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C: Your Honour, una uwezeano accused kupotelea njiani because he has another pending
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case on the way.

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Code shifting – whereby a speaker uses one language with one interlocutor and a different
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language with another.

The tendency of advocates and Judab in to use english among themselves but to shift to
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Kiswahili for witnesses.
J: ( D) Nimeskia ushaidi uliotolewa
I’ve heard evidence that has been given
Mbele ya koti hii if your lawyer
before in court this
J: does not arrive here kabla 10 oclock I will give the hearing date before.
J: (to CK) some people are vit very observant with time. Nitapeana a date
I will give
Non – convergent dialogues with two speakers conversing in separate languages and
understanding each other without the help of an interpreter.
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LANGUAGE AND GENDER IN THE COURTROOM

COURTROOM DISCOURSE AND GENDER
Use of language in the courtroom is coloured by gender bias.
Instead of reinforcing the professional identity of women lawyer and judges, in many instances
the use of language severely challenges and engenders it.
Subordination of women is reproduced and reinforced through language, as indeed occurs with
dominant ideologists and practices through all social institutions.
In public discourse, forms associated with meris talk competitive, controlling and emotionally
neutral discourse are regarded as appropriate, and are socially rewarded (A in sworth 1993; May
1985) Thus women who have achieved top managerial as professional status often feel they are
expected to adopt male interactional styles in their work place to assert authority Bogoch (1997).
In the courtroom it was found that witnesses who displayed a powerful style associated with
male speech were deemed more credible.
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Woman lawyer face a double bind on one hand they are under pressure form their clients and the
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general judicial culture to adopt an aggressive, adversarial interactional style in the courtroom.
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On the other hand, if they 2050, they incur disapproval for behaving in a manner undercoming a
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woman (Jack & Jack 1994), Kennedy (1993.
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If women portray/display particular zeal in the courtroom, then they are accused of being
emotional and caring too much whereas men performing with the same vigor are described as
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passionate advocates.
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Whatever women do and say in the courtroom (as well as in other contexts) is interpreted in
relation to their gender, and in line with the stereotypic expectations associated with the behavior
of sexes (West & Zimmerman 1987)
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Women in the legal profession experiences stereotypic treatment associated with gender bins in
various aspects of their professional lives.
They receive less respect from male lawyer and judges.
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Women lawyers are the objects of demeaning remarks by male colleagues and judies including
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comments about their clothing or physical appearance even in open court (Tamblyn & Wod
1990).
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Women professionals point to the language of their colleagues as an important component of the
discrimination that underines women’s authority in the courtroom.
Women judges are regarded as inferior to men, especially by male lawyer.
Bogoch (1999) conducted a research on gender and the legal profession in Israel to
determine whether analyzing the language of courtroom interaction could shed light on
the extent to which gender impinged on the realization of professional identity by women
lawyers and Judges, particularly in the Israel untext or reliance professional integration.
How language in the courtroom interaction reingerces gender bias/subordination of women
Terms of address forms of address – a sensitive measure of interpersonal deference and
familiarity (1989)
Lawyers often use address forms strategically in order to enhance the credibility of their witness
or challenge the credibility of the opposing side (Jackson 1955)
Addressing judges
Gender bias in forms of address – inappropriate, casual, or demeaning address to female judges
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and lawyers by professionals and lay people in the courts.
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Women professionals called by their first names in the courtroom, endearment and other families
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forms were us in addressive them.
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Within the constraints of formal courtroom discourses there are two basic forms of address used
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to address judges.
The court or Honorable Court his/her honour & Honourable judge.
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This type is specific to the courtroom and used only in addressing judges.
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This form of address expresses formality and deference. It explicitly refers to the professional
position of the judge.
Another type of address used in addressing judges; the term ‘sir/madam’ expresses formality, but
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not deference coz it is used by both superiors and subordinates in addressing each other. Also
not just used in addressing judges but it is also used in other formal contexts.
Sir/madam unlike deferent court-specific types of address, does not allude to the professional
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position of the judge.

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Gender of the judges is associated with these different types of address forms.
In many cases, lawyers use court-specific deferring terms in addressing male judges thus
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stressing the judges professional positive in the courtroom. Deferent terms are rarely used in
addressing women judges.
Men judges more frequently addressed by terms that emphasize their professional role in the
courtroom and that can only be used by the surbodinate lawyer to the higher-ranking judges.
Women judges are addressed by the more general terms of formality that is used by both
subordinates and superiors.
2. Addressing lawyers’ (Judges address lawyers)

Judges in some instances use endearments or nicknames, to women lawyer e.g describing a
women lawyer as charming/m fair lady such endearments do not enhance the professional states
of the women describes in this manner.
Such terms are not used in addressing men.
Women lawyer may be addresses using form of address used in all formal domains e.g MS
Oketch, while the male lawyer layer is addressed by his professional title Attorney/advocate –
Attorney John. This juxtaposition of Ms Oketch, Attorney John presents the male attorney as the
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‘real’ lawyer’
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3. Witness address lawyer
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Witnesses address lawyers very rarely
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There is a major difference between their terms of address of female and male lawyers
Female lawyers are never addressed by their professional title. They are occassionaly addressed
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by MS and their name and most frequently by madam.

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While male lawyer are also addressed most frequently by the equivalent terms, they are also
called by their professional and role, foe example, defense attorney or Attorney John.
Witnesses are also reluctant to give the same measure of professionality to the female as to the
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male lawyers.
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4. Lawyers address lawyer’s

Lawyers address each other more frequently by using their names than by either their role
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(prosecute or defense Attorney) or by the customary formal term (sir or madam) of the terms of
address used by lawyers to each other include a nameful both male and female lawyers,
including first name address. There are no gender differences in the forms used by lawyers when
addressing their colleagues.
Seems that in addressing each other, lawyers demonstrate that they are personally acquitted
colleagues or that they recognize their opponents professional role in the courtroom.
Conclusion
Address form used in the courtroom to women and men judges and lawyers reucal a relative lack
of defence to women. For women, judges, the deferent court-specific His Honour’ is replace by
the symmetrically formal ‘madam’ for women lawyers. The undeferent term ‘lady’ is added on to
the list of terms used by the judges.
Both witnesses and judges were used more deferent forms to men judges, particularly those that
emphasized the judges professional role in the courtroom, and the addresser’s own subservient
position, instead of the symmetric formal terms used to address women judges.
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Both witnesses and judges were more likely to express formality rather than deference and or
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professional role when addressing women lawyers compared to men.
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INTRUSIONS rs e
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To interrupt someone, to cut into their talk and they to take over the flow is are way that sspeaker
assert their power over each other (Grimshaw (98), Murun 1987).
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People are normally reluctant to interrupt their superior or to whom defense is due.
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Women are less likely to interrupt men, mainly because of the power difference between the two
(James and Clarke 1993).
However, even when women are clearly in institutionally and/ or socially superior positions,
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inferix men are more likely to interrupt them than to interrupt men superiors (Bogoch 1994, West
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1984).
In the courtroom, lawyers often interrupt other lawyers and witnesses inorder to channel the
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testimony in the directic they seek or to prevent the other side from challenging their version of
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reality (Matoesian 1996).

Judges are also likely to interrupt a witness when the examining lawyer is a women than when
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the witness was a women. In other words, the judge most often interfered with the female
deference lawyer’s examination of her witnesses by interruption her own talk during the
examination of male witnesses and by interrupting the witnesses’ speech during the female’s
lawyer examination of the female witnesses. Thus judges make it harder for women defense
lawyers to do their job, by either interrupting them or their witnesses.
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COURTROOM DISCOURSE IN KENYA

LANGUAGE ALTERNATION N KENYAN COURTS

utterance rather than the original which is recorded.

Sociolinguistic context of Kenyan law.

Kenya has a high degree of linguistic diversity

PATTERNS OF LANGUAGE ALTERNATION IN KENYAN COURTS

case on the way.

language with another.

Kiswahili for witnesses.

LANGUAGE AND GENDER IN THE COURTROOM

position of the judge.

2. Addressing lawyers’ (Judges address lawyers)

by MS and their name and most frequently by madam.

4. Lawyers address lawyer’s

reality (Matoesian 1996).

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