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Swahili
Swahili
Generally considered a 'lingua franca' for trade and commerce, Swahili is classified as a Bantu language; however, it has been influenced by Arabic through trade interactions. Around 40% of Swahili vocabulary is made of Arabic loanwords. The number of native speakers is small (5-15 million) but is widely spoken as a lingua franca as a language that unites a linguistically diverse population. The number of proficient speakers could be as high as 150 million
Swahili is an official language in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and DRC. It is also widely spoken language in Rwanda & Burundi.
Sounds: Swahili does not contain several English sounds: the ‘th’ sounds found in ‘think’ and ‘this’, and the ‘ng’ sound found in ‘sing’.
Dialects: Swahili has several dialects, among them Kiunguja spoken in Zanzibar, Kiswahili standard based on Kiunguja, and KiRwanda and others, which are influenced by neighboring languages.
Word Order: Swahili has a default word order of Subject-Verb-Object, SVO, just like English.
Swahili in Pop Culture: Swahili was used in the Lion King! Simba = lion; Nala = gift; Rafiki = friend; Pumba = stupid
Useful Phrases
Useful Phrases
Welcome: Karibu
Hello/how are you? (general greeting): Habari
Reply to ‘How are you?’: Nzuri
What’s your name? Jina lako ni nani?
Where are you from? Unatoka wapi?
Good morning: Habari ya asubuhi
Goodbye: Kwaheri
Have a nice day: Nakutakia siku njema!
Do you understand? Unaelewa?
Do you speak Swahili? Unazungumza Kiswahili?
Sorry: Samahani
Thank you: Asante
No thanks: Hapana asante
Stop: Usifanye hivyo!
Resources
Resources
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