Swahili language
| Swahili | |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | |
| Native to | Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Mayotte (mostly Comorian), Mozambique (mostly Mwani), Oman, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda[1] |
| Native speakers | 26 million (2007)[2] 120 million L2 speakers[3] |
| Language family | |
| Writing system | Latin, Arabic |
| Official status | |
| Official language in | African Union Tanzania Kenya Uganda Comoros (as Comorian) |
| Regulated by | Baraza la Kiswahili la Taifa (Tanzania) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | sw |
| ISO 639-2 | swa |
| ISO 639-3 | swa – inclusive code Individual codes: swc – Congo Swahili swh – Coastal Swahili |
| Guthrie code | G.42–43; G.40.A–H (pidgins & creoles)[4] |
| Linguasphere | 99-AUS-m |
Coastal areas where Swahili or Comorian is the indigenous language,
official or national language, and trade language. As a trade language, Swahili extends some distance further to the northwest.[source?] |
|
The Swahili language is a language widely spoken in East Africa. In the Swahili language its name is Kiswahili. It is a Bantu language.
The Swahili language is spoken in a wide area from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique and all of Kenya. There are about five million first-language speakers and fifty million second-language speakers. Swahili has become a language with which people can communicate within East Africa and the surrounding areas.
The Swahili language began to be spoken by the Swahili people who live on the coast of East Africa and on the islands near the coast, including Zanzibar, which is now a part of Tanzania. Swahili is an official language in Tanzania and Kenya. It has been influenced by many other languages like the Arabic language.
Swahili Vocabulary[change]
The words below are examples of the Swahili language.
- yes - ndiyo
- no - hapana
- okay - sawa
- City - mji
- Country - nchi
References[change]
- ↑ Ethnologue list of countries where Swahili is spoken
Thomas J. Hinnebusch, 1992, "Swahili", International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, Oxford, pp. 99–106
David Dalby, 1999/2000, The Linguasphere Register of the World's Languages and Speech Communities, Linguasphere Press, Volume Two, pg. 733–735
Benji Wald, 1994, "Sub-Saharan Africa", Atlas of the World's Languages, Routledge, pp. 289–346, maps 80, 81, 85 - ↑ Nationalencyklopedin "Världens 100 största språk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007
- ↑ Swahili language at Ethnologue (16th ed., 2009)
- ↑ Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
Other websites[change]
- Kamusi Project Internet Living Swahili Dictionary
