Benard Kodak

Maasai Mara University | MMU · Languages, Literature and Culture

Abstract: The paper reveals the circumstances that may cause change in the Luo cultural funeral practices. One such circumstance is the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 is a global issue however it has a great impact on the Luo cultural funeral ceremonies that were basically considered very extravagant and economically impoverishing the...

Studies in signification as a communication strategy have underscored the need to analyze texts on the multi-modal plane, where the representation of reality is a function of a combination of an array of modes of signification. This type of communication poses a challenge to television viewers who are targeted by such modes. Understanding the persu...

In language and communication, multimodality refers to using various modes of signification to convey meaning. These modes transcend language to engage with audiences at multiple sensory levels. Over time, communication has evolved to reflect a paradigm shift towards a multimodal perspective. This leads to a complex interplay between different mode...

Pastoralist education in Kenya is riddled with a myriad of problems, key among them being the harsh climatic conditions that deter students from attending school regularly. Learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) in Kenya are immersed into learning English alongside the first language and Kiswahili at primary school level. However, despite t...

This paper appraises the role of contemporary Kiswahili music, a form of oral art, in promoting environmental awareness and advocacy. Using case studies from Kenya and Tanzania, we analyse whether East African music infused with suitable environmental practices can help mainstream environmental education, arouse public interest towards nature, advo...

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a phenomenon intersecting different parts of the world. The East African Community which prides itself for enabling socio-economic, political and cultural integration between its member states has had to deal with uncertainties caused by misinformation about the pandemic, which in turn threaten to derail its ob...

This paper explores the sports related metaphors in Odongo Swagg’s popular song Linda Nya Mbita. Metaphors are all-pervasive and this is evidenced by the numerous cases of polysemy and idiomaticity in the lexicon; they have systematic mappings between two conceptual domains that is the source (also called concrete) onto the target domain (also refe...

Emerging technological advances have afforded the digital population the comfort of accessing services through mass communication. This paper examines language use in Facebook’s Plus Size Hub. This is an online site in which group members carefully package their language to present to the general public the positive and confident side of emerging s...

This study examines the intertextuality in the plays of Kinjeketile (1969) by Ibrahim Hussein and Majira ya Utasa(2015) by Timothy Arege. Although the two plays have a great difference in the historical periods of their writings, they depict similarity in the creation of themes and to a greater extent the echo of Hussein’s work is seen in Arege’s p...

As an adhesive that binds a society, music is pervasive in communicating issues affecting the society in one way or another. It permeates the political, social, economic and religious realms of communities. This study focuses on the political realm in Kenya where music has been used to address issues affecting the society. In some instances, it is...

Myths and legends have been extensively studied in orature even though they have been given a facile analysis. This qualitative desk top research presents an in-depth examination of Lwanda Magere folklore by bringing to perspective its images, signs and symbols and exposing their literary functions while theorizing the human body as a text. The...

The advent of COVID-19 towards the end of the year 2019 led to radical paradigm shifts in public health management strategies across the world. This at a time when the HIV and AIDS pandemic has been in existence for close to half a century and continues to ravage poor populations of the Third World and developing nations. The World Health organizat...

Abstract: Semiotics traces its roots to Ferdinand de Saussure’s classical book Course de Linguistique Generale in which it is defined as the study of signs, signifiers and the signified in order to relate with meaning. It is the study of “life of signs within society”. Later researchers applied semiotics as an interdisciplinary field. This article...

This study sought to account for meaning construction in the blend of the conceptual metaphors found in the two songs sung by Bongo artists Harmonize and Rayvanny; identify the similarities in the political leadership qualities of President Thomas I. Sankara and John P. Magufuli and to discuss the lessons African leaders can learn from the strateg...

This paper examined containment metaphors in the target domains of happiness, sadness and anger in Dholuo. It further sought to examine the conceptual metaphors that can be derived from the general source domain of containment and to explain the vital relations that are manifested in the containment conceptual metaphors. One hundred metaphorical ex...

Abstract The use of music as a method of communicating messages on developing issues and as a source of entertainment accentuates its multifarious role in many societies. Four Kiswahili songs composed by Kenyan musicians and addressing the COVID-19 pandemic issue were downloaded from the YouTube. These were songs by Sawbo feat. Gyg, Indakala The Po...

WhatsApp as a social media platform continues to increase in popularity and constitutes a fundamental part of online discussions where user-generated content, often on topical issues, is shared and discussed by members of specific virtual communities. This study aimed to investigate the use of humour in discourses relating to the Corona Virus D...

Abstract: WhatsApp as a social media platform continues to increase in popularity and constitutes a fundamental part of online discussions where user-generated content, often on topical issues, is shared and discussed by members of specific virtual communities. This study aimed to investigate the use of humour in discourses relating to the Corona V...

Conceptual metaphors pervade everyday conversations but are used unconsciously. A sample of metaphorical expressions used to express the abstract entity death was collected from two local dailies that is, The Daily Nation and The Standard in Kenya. The deaths that formed the point of focus for this study are those of three prominent Kenyan personal...

The practice of instilling morals to individuals has existed in both familial and societal upbringing. These morals are always transmitted from the older people to the younger generation with an intention of initiating both boys and girls to proper manhood and womanhood based on the familial and societal dictates. Transmission of these morals is no...

Abstract: Employee motivation is explained by labour experts as the extent to which an employee feels motivated at individual level. The motivated individual feels the drive to accomplish target achievement. Organisation policies are integral in setting appropriate targets to employees. Expectancy theory helps in understanding different motivationa...

Gaps in teacher’s professional development is a worldwide problem. Professional development covers a wide range of activities, including, conferences training courses, tertiary study, study groups and observed practices. This implies that not all professional developments take place in a course. Shallow coverage of INSET teacher professional develo...

Contemporary music genres are a rich source of information on issue that affect society.

Love is an eternal topic that continues to elicit emotive reactions throughout the ages. It can be conceptualized as an expression of peace and war. Love metaphors allow us to comprehend love in terms of more clearly delineated concepts [1]. Love metaphors are prevalent in Benga music by musicians from the Luo community of Kenya. Dr. Osito Kalle is...

The fight against HIV and AIDS in Kenya has been achieved through the concerted efforts of government, the media, medical practitioners, religious groups and the general public. Efforts to combat and manage the impacts of HIV and AIDS include the development of Information, Education and Communication materials targeted at adolescents in school. Th...

Conceptual metaphors had for a long time remained unnoticed until the advent of the famous study by Lakoff and Johnson (1980), “Metaphors We Live By”. Love is an emotional experience that elicits a lot of source domains and it is reflected using a variety of image schemas. It is on this premise that this paper investigates the conceptual metaphors...

National symbols are very instrumental items for a country’s peace, unity and prosperity. The national symbol for instance the national anthem is always sung at the learning institutions and or during the country’s special occasions.Though national anthems just like any other national symbols have a noble role in the country, some countries tend to...

Abstract The fight against HIV and AIDS in Kenya has roped in the concerted efforts of the government, medical practitioners, the general population, religious organizations and the media. Efforts to combat and manage the impacts of the scourge include the development of Information, Education and Communication materials such as newspaper advertis...

Recent technological advancements have led to great innovations in language use in electronic mass media. Innovation is one way of transforming the resources of an enterprise through the creativity of people into new resources and wealth. Advertisements on television are a rich site for data on language, innovations and scientific development. Lang...

Since the first reported case of HIV and AIDS infection in Kenya in 1984, there have been concerted efforts aimed at combating the disease and managing its impact on the public. Such efforts include clinical interventions and development of Information, Education and Communication materials targeted at the general public. Between the years 2004 and...

ABSTRACT The fight against HIV and AIDS in Kenya has been achieved through the concerted efforts of government, the media, medical practitioners, religious groups and the general public. Efforts to combat and manage the impacts of HIV and AIDS include the development of Information, Education and Communication materials targeted at the adolescents...

Television advertisements come in multi-modes, that is, they use verbal and visual modes of signification. This poses a challenge in that in multimodal discourses, television viewers are faced with the changing phenomena in which language per se is being displaced by sound and image, taking over tasks associated with the role of language. This pape...