The Relationship Between Language Practices and the Promotion of Kiswahili in Rwanda as the Language of Commerce in the East African Community

Language is a factor of regional integration among others. Statistics reviewed on the speakers of Kiswahili in Rwanda showed that Kiswahili speakers count only 0.3 % and 3.2 of the population by 2002 and 2022 respectively. It is clear that Kiswahili is not yet developed in Rwanda. Language practices are among other factors for the development of a language. Therefore, researchers had the objective of identifying the influence of language practices of the language policy of Rwanda in promoting Kiswahili for the integration of the East African Community. This paper applied mixed research design where structured questionnaires were administered to Rwandans living in both selected urban areas and bordering communities. The total of 384 respondents was the sample size calculated by using the Kothari’s formula. These participants were distributed into five clusters that include business, administration, religion, education and media. The theory of language policy guided the study. The hierarchical linear regression was applied to test the relationship. It was revealed that language practices have positive relationship towards the promotion of Kiswahili as the language of commerce. The test showed the Pearson value of p˂0.001 which is below .05. However such language practices are not seen on the Rwandan language landscape. Thus, the study suggests that language practices including edited texts, applying the language in media, labelling products in the language, and translating official documents in the language would contribute to the development of Kiswahili in Rwanda for the EAC integration.