Where did the Swahili originate from?

The language dates from the contacts of Arabian traders with the inhabitants of the east coast of Africa over many centuries. Under Arab influence, Swahili originated as a lingua franca used by several closely related Bantu-speaking tribal groups.

What country speaks Swahili?

Swahili has official language status in Tanzania and Kenya and is also widely spoken in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Comoros Islands. It’s also spoken by smaller numbers in Burundi, Rwanda, Northern Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.

How many phonemes are there in Swahili?

The sound system of Swahili shares a number of features with other Niger-Congo languages. It has 5 vowel and 36 consonant phonemes. The language has a simple syllable structure with syllables typically ending in a vowel with no consonant clusters and no final consonants.

What is Swahili a mix of?

Swahili is predominantly a mix of local Bantu languages and Arabic. Decades of intensive trade along the East African coast resulted in this mix of cultures. Besides Arabic and Bantu, Swahili also has English, Persian, Portuguese, German and French influences due to trade contact.

Is Swahili a dying language?

When you move across the East African region, you will be shocked by the way the language is slowly dying. In Tanzania where Swahili is still comparatively strong—there are signs that the youth are more inclined to speak English.

Are Swahili and Zulu related?

They’re really dialects of the same language; they’re very closely related. Zulu speakers can understand a Xhosa speaker. But the two groups of people do not recognize this fact, so they are counted as separate languages, and so you have a problem with counting.

How do say hello in Swahili?

There are basically five ways to say hello in Swahili: – nzuri (nZOOree) (fine) U hali gani? (oo HAlee GAnee) (how are you) – njema (fine) Shikamoo (a young person to an elder) – marahaba. For casual interactions: mambo?

Is Zulu a dying language?

There has been a loss of many of the old Zulu ‘A’ words or respect (hlonipha) words. This does not mean that Zulu is dying but it is, in fact, a living adapting language because in place of the older vocabulary it is incorporating words from English and modern technology to make it more practical and useable.