How language denies people access to public information
Digital transformation is taking us to an era where most of the services provided by businesses will be online.
According to the Linguistic Society of America, there are 7,000 languages in the world. English, which is the main internet language, is spoken by 1.5 billion people globally (18 percent of the world's population), according to Statista.
In Kenya, the use of English as the official language, particularly by digital media, has raised concern about digital rights and social exclusion, owing to the potentially life-altering consequences in people's lives.
Digital rights are human rights that are crucial to this internet era that is commonly defined as an “information society”. The rights to usage, creation and publishing of digital media are largely considered as directly connected to freedom of expression and privacy. This points to a crucial question; which language would make it easy for every internet user, not only to use the information on the internet but to understand their rights as well?
To understand why the right to usage of information on the internet is largely hindered by the language barriers, it is important to highlight Kenya’s linguistic diversity context when it comes to information accessibility.
Kenya’s Linguistic Diversity
Kenya is an Eastern African country with a multilingual population. With a population of nearly 55 million people, it has a diverse linguistic and cultural heritage, with between 60 and 70 languages spoken on its soil.
English and Swahili, the lingua francas of Kenya, are only a drop in Kenya's linguistic ocean. The English language was introduced to Kenya by the British, and it has since become the official language for administration, law, politics, business, education, and the media.
Access to information in one's own language is recognised as a fundamental right in Chapter 2 of Kenya's Constitution, under National, official, and other languages.
It states;
(1) The national language of the Republic is Kiswahili.
(2) The official languages of the Republic are Kiswahili and English.
(3) The State shall --
(a) promote and protect the diversity of language of the people of Kenya; and
(b) promote the development and use of indigenous languages, Kenyan Sign language, Braille and other communication formats and technologies accessible to persons with disabilities.
Yet, when you visit the official Kenyan website for its citizen’s services (ecitizen.go.ke), you will find no inclusion of even one indigenous language. Even Kiswahili, also an official language and which most of the population speaks, has not been used as an optional language. One sound option would have been to put a ‘translate button’ where users could change content to their preferred language.
Affected Persons
What steps does a regular member of the public take to gain access to vital information provided by the Kenyan government? What if this person is a monolingual speaker of an indigenous language that is not the official language of their region, is illiterate, has a visual impairment, or is subject to systemic oppression?
A case study is looking at a Kenyan citizen whose tribal language is the only language they understand. While applying for a passport, the first step is filling out the online form in the government portal that only has instructions in English. What will the Kenyan living within one dollar a day do?
The second case – take a Facebook user whose account has been hacked and he is not well conversant with English or even Kiswahili, and of course, Google does not translate information to their native language. This person is attacked by internet users who largely speak English. Not fluent in the language, he is not likely to understand what is going on and his rights will be abused because he cannot express himself well.
In Kenya, there is a broad use of English and Kiswahili. However, a voter in the interior of Turkana or West Pokot most likely only identifies with their tribal language due to high illiteracy levels.
Unlike earlier elections where traditional media dominated, most political candidates in this election used social media as their primary campaign platform.
All this rush for convenience did not address the majority of voters. They did not have a voice, and sharing their wishes with the English community was limited. Many are not on social media, hence they were not fairly represented in opinion-making, despite being the majority.
In light of these examples, there is a need to implement the Access to Information Act in the Constitution of Kenya that was enacted in 2016, which guarantees every Kenyan the right to seek, access and obtain information from public bodies and private bodies acting in a public nature.
But how will this communication barrier be dealt with in the current digital state we are in?
Digital Transformation and Stagnation
Outgoing President, Uhuru Kenyatta, issued an Executive Order in 2018 directing all public institutions to fully disclose, publish, and manage public procurement information through a centralised electronic platform. It is nearly impossible for all of this public information to be accessed by all Kenyans if communication is not presented in languages understood by all. As a result, the language barrier leads to stagnation. The technical (and larger) infrastructure favours those with privileges, resulting in a broader systemic exclusion in terms of access to public information.
At the moment, more than 40 percent of the Kenyan population has access to internet while around 11 million Kenyans (20 percent) are active on social media.
Digital transformation is taking us to an era where most of the services provided by businesses will be online. Buying goods or using apps is easier for internet users who are familiar with the English language. The language barrier is going to be a big obstacle in a digitally-saturated world if this gap is not filled early enough. It will be a hindrance to business growth, not just locally but also globally. Perhaps it is time to discuss whether providing multiple language options on the internet can be a solution.
People who are elderly have certain illnesses or disabilities, speak languages that are not official, and/or face social oppression experience increased exclusion under the current system for accessing public information.
Right now, the most disproportionately affected by the communication barrier are the minority tribes in Kenya whose increased ethnicisation of politics has deepened their exclusion in many aspects such as access to education, which therefore limits them to be literate in English.
Language Rights – The Next Step?
Effective legislation that promotes language rights in the digital space will strengthen systems with access to information.
The difficult questions that must now be addressed are: Is it possible to provide information to people in their native languages? What are the practical issues, and what can be done to ensure that everyone has access to the most critical information?
This is not an easy task but one key solution would be for Kenyans to request information they want to access and state in what language they would like it presented. Processing of such requests is stated under Section 9 of the Access to Information Act, 2016, which imposes a duty on the Authority to assist a person with their request.
There are also non-partisan organisations such as Mzalendo that hold parliamentarians accountable for the implementation of existing legislation such as the Access to Information Act, and citizens can partner or seek assistance from them to push for their rights. The biggest obstacle still remains the lack of implementation of laws in Kenya.
And the last question is, will Kenya ever enact the legislation required to mitigate the threat to its citizens' fundamental digital rights? This will be an act of parliament that gives teeth to the bill of rights of Access to Information articulated in the constitution to protect its citizens. So far, the fundamental digital rights has been problematic.
This imbalance goes beyond Kenya but to Africa and even some parts of the rest of the world. It is recommended that a guiding vision and a plan of action for implementing linguistic rights are necessary if linguistic justice is to prevail in Kenya and all other areas in need of it.
The major hindrance in enacting such legislation is the weak ability in law-making and evidence utilisation where at every stage, the rule of law has been destroyed, subverted, paralysed, undermined, and alienated.
Cecilia Maundu is a broadcast journalist and digital security expert.
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