Indigenising Facebook language: Use of local languages in Facebook communication among a selected group of Kenyan internet users

Abstract

This paper interrogates how Facebook use in Kenya is being localised to serve everyone: Local people and the elite. With approximately three billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2023, Facebook is the most used online social network globally. In the second quarter of 2017, the platform surpassed two billion active users, a feat accomplished in just over 13 years. Facebook (FB) has permeated the lives of millions of people and the way they relate to one another and share information. This article examines how selected Kenyans are indigenising Facebook by using other local languages. The article recognises the utility of FB as a novel tool to examine and interpret linguistic features for a selected group of Kenyan FB users. The article uses Herring’s Computer-Mediated Discourse Analysis (CMDA) theoretical framework. The research design used was both qualitative and quantitative. A purposive sampling procedure was used to arrive at eight FB friends in the 22-35 age bracket. This is the age that was found to use FB most in Kenya. The findings showed that Kenyans localised Facebook use in Kiswahili, vernacular, and Sheng.