Michigan State University’s commitment to language preservation recently extended across continents as Jonathan Choti, Associate Professor in MSU’s Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures, helped convene a linguistics workshop in Kenya aimed at strengthening the documentation, preservation, and scholarly publication of that country’s indigenous languages.

The one-day workshop, titled Documentation and Scholarly Publishing of Kenyan Indigenous Languages, brought together scholars, students, and language researchers from across Kenya. Held May 29, 2026, at United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) in Nairobi, the workshop was co-convened by Quin Awuor, Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at USIU-Africa.

Supported by USIU-Africa and Michigan State University through MSU’s African Studies Center’s Strategic Partnership Grant and the College of Arts & Letters’ Fund for International Travel, the workshop brought together USIU-Africa faculty, graduate students, community researchers, and language advocates to address urgent challenges facing Kenya’s linguistic heritage. The 86 people who participated were drawn from 20 Kenyan universities.

Kenya is home to more than 50 indigenous languages representing the Bantu, Nilotic, and Cushitic language families. These languages preserve rich cultural traditions, histories, ecological knowledge, and social systems. However, many face increasing pressure from urbanization, migration, language shift, and educational policies that prioritize English and Swahili. As a result, many indigenous languages remain under-documented and vulnerable to gradual decline.

“Language documentation is about more than recording words and grammar. It is about preserving cultural knowledge, strengthening community identities, and ensuring that future generations have access to the linguistic heritage that shapes their histories and worldviews.”

Dr. Jonathan Choti

The workshop sought to address these challenges through intensive training in linguistic field methods, language documentation strategies, data analysis, and scholarly publishing. Participants gained practical and theoretical skills designed to support the preservation and revitalization of Kenyan languages while building local capacity for future research and community engagement.’

“Language documentation is about more than recording words and grammar,” Choti said. “It is about preserving cultural knowledge, strengthening community identities, and ensuring that future generations have access to the linguistic heritage that shapes their histories and worldviews.”

The training focused on three major areas: linguistic field methods, linguistic data analysis, and scholarly publishing. Participants learned best practices for ethical and community-centered language documentation, including building partnerships with language speakers, collecting and managing linguistic data, and using digital tools such as ELAN, Praat, and FLEx for transcription, annotation, and analysis.

A dedicated scholarly publishing component guided participants through the process of transforming linguistic data into publishable research, including writing titles, abstracts, literature reviews, and other sections of a journal article.

The workshop featured an opening address by Mwenda Ntaragwi, Professor and Vice Chancellor of USIU-Africa, and a keynote presentation byFrederick Iraki, Professor of French at USIU-Africa, titled Voices in the Archive: Language Documentation, Technology, and the Scholarly Publishing Imperative for Kenya’s Indigenous Languages.

Choti led a specialized session on scholarly publishing, while Nancy Ngowa, Senior Lecturer and Chair of the Department of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature at Pwani University, presented on linguistics field methods. The two sessions provided participants with hands-on guidance for conducting linguistic research and disseminating findings through academic publications.

Iribe Mwangi, Professor and Chair of the Department of Kiswahili at the University of Nairobi, led a session on Publishing in Swahili: Opportunities, Platforms and Pathways. Panel discussions brought together experienced and early-career scholars from universities across Kenya to share insights on language preservation, documentation, and research.

Workshop organizers emphasized the project’s primary goal of capacity building — equipping emerging scholars and community researchers with the skills needed to document, analyze, preserve, and publish research on Kenyan languages.

“By investing in training and mentorship, we are helping create sustainable channels for preserving Kenya’s linguistic and cultural heritage.”

Dr. Jonathan Choti

For Choti, whose research focuses on African linguistics and the Bantu language family, the workshop represented an opportunity to connect scholarship with community impact. As an Associate Professor of African Languages and Cultures at Michigan State University, he has dedicated much of his career to advancing research on African languages while mentoring the next generation of scholars.

“This workshop demonstrates how international partnerships can contribute to both academic excellence and community empowerment,” Choti said. “By investing in training and mentorship, we are helping create sustainable channels for preserving Kenya’s linguistic and cultural heritage.”

The workshop also highlighted the growing collaboration between Choti and Awuor, who have worked together since 2022 on a range of initiatives supporting language research and international education. Their partnership includes a 2025 workshop on research in Kenyan indigenous languages at USIU-Africa, several joint grant proposals, and a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) project completed in Spring 2026, titled Words of Attraction: Language, Communication Styles, and Social Connection in Contemporary Dating. The project connected USIU-Africa and MSU students to explore language, culture, and communication through virtual exchange.

Looking ahead, Choti and Awuor plan to establish a Kenyan Languages Research Network, continue mentoring workshop participants, promote open-access publication models, and expand partnerships among universities, communities, archives, and cultural institutions in Kenya. These efforts aim to ensure that the documentation and preservation of Kenya’s indigenous languages remain a sustainable and collaborative endeavor.

Choti also was awarded a 2026 Faculty Global Engagement Fund for $5,000. Presented by the Alliance for African Partnership (AAP), the funding will support his work on Kenya’s indigenous languages. He plans to hold another workshop at USIU-A, Nairobi, in December 2026. This training will focus on Centering Indigenous Languages in Linguistics Programs at Kenya’s Universities.

Through initiatives such as the Documentation and Scholarly Publishing of Kenyan Indigenous Languages workshop, Michigan State University and USIU-Africa are strengthening international partnerships while helping ensure that Kenya’s indigenous languages — and the knowledge and cultures they embody — are preserved for future generations.

By Jonathan Choti and Kim Popiolek