What is Swahili?

An African Bantu language heavily influenced by Arabic through historical trade and other contacts, and to a lesser extent also influenced by Persian, English, Portuguese, German etc. The full name is Kiswahili.

Why study Swahili?

• Its a fun language to learn!
• Department of Defense currently ranks Swahili among the highest priority languages to learn for strategic purposes.

Where is Swahili spoken?

Predominantly in East Africa,

as a primary language in,		as a secondary language in,
	Kenya		Burundi
	Tanzania		Democratic Republic of Congo
	Uganda		Mozambique
			Rwanda
			Somalia

Are other languages are spoken in East Africa?

Yes, over 100 other languages are spoken, including English.

How is Swahili written?

Swahili is written in the Latin alphabet, from left to right.

The Swahili alphabet includes:

• 23 single letters : a, b, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v, w, y, z.
• The letters q and x are not used. The letter c, although present, is never used alone.
• 9 digraphs : ch, dh, gh, kh, ng', ny, sh, th, ts.
• The basic principle which was retained to establish the Swahili alphabet, is that every distinct sound or phoneme should always be transcribed by the same distinct written form (either a single letter, or a cluster of letters), and conversely.
• More info.

A Few Swahili Phrases

• Habari gani? — How’s it going? Nzuri! — Good!
• Mimi ni Mmarekani — I’m an American.
• Huyu ni rafiki yangu — This is my friend.
• Teksi iko wapi? — Where can I find a taxi? Ninataka kwenda Nairobi — I’d like to go to Nairobi.
• Haraka haraka haina baraka — Hurry hurry has no blessing. (Proverb)
• Tembo wakigombana, nyasi ndizo huumia — When elephants quarrel, it is the grass which suffers. (Proverb)
• See Mwana Simba for more Kiswahili