Swahili language

Overview

The origin of Swahili is in Zanzibar, an island off the eastern coast of Africa. The dialect spoken in Zanzibar is known as Kiunguja. Swahili is an official language in Tanzania and Kenya. It is also spoken in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo (DRC), Somalia,

Related Topics:
Zanzibar - Kiunguja - Tanzania - Kenya - Uganda - Rwanda - Burundi - Congo (DRC) - Somalia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Comoros Islands (including Mayotte), Mozambique and Malawi.

Related Topics:
Comoros Islands - Mayotte - Mozambique - Malawi

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Swahili belongs to the Sabaki subgroup of the Northeastern coast Bantu languages. It is closely related to the Miji Kenda group of languages, Pokomo, Ngazija, etc. Over a thousand years of intense and varied interaction with the Middle East, Arabia, Persia, India, and China has given Swahili a rich infusion of loanwords from a wide assortment of languages. The Comorian languages, spoken in the Comoros and Mayotte, are closely related to Swahili.

Related Topics:
Sabaki - Bantu languages - Miji Kenda - Pokomo - Ngazija - Middle East - Arabia - Persia - India - China - Comorian language - Comoros - Mayotte

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Despite the substantial number of loanwords present in Swahili, the language is in fact Bantu. In the past, some have held that Swahili is variously a derivative of Arabic, that a distinct Swahili people do not exist, or that Swahili is simply an amalgam of Arabic and African language and culture, though these theories have now been largely discarded. The distinct existence of the Swahili as a people can be traced back over a thousand years, as can their language. In structure and vocabulary Swahili is distinctly Bantu and shares far more culturally and lingustically with other Bantu languages and peoples than it does with Arabic, Persian, Indian etc. In fact, it is estimated that the proportion of non-African language loanwords in Swahili is comparable to the proportion of French, Latin, and Greek loanwords in the English language.

Related Topics:
Bantu - Arabic - Vocabulary - Persian - Indian - French - Latin - Greek - English

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As in English, the proportion of loan words changes as the speaker is communicating at a "lower" or "higher class" situation. In English, a discussion of say, body functions, sounds much nicer if you use Latin-derived words with occasional French terms rather than Germanic-derived words (so-called four-letter words); an educated Swahili speaker will likewise use many more Arabic-derived words with English terms in polite circumstances, though the same phrase could usually be said in Swahili using only words of Bantu origin.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

One of the most famous phrases in Swahili is "hakuna matata" from Disney's "Lion King" and "Timon and Pumba" cartoon series. It means "no problem" or "no worries" (literally: "there are no problems"). The African American holiday of Kwanzaa derives its name from the Swahili word kwanza which means first or beginning. Safari (meaning journey) is another Swahili word that has spread worldwide.

Related Topics:
Hakuna matata - Lion King - African American - Kwanzaa - Safari

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~