Swahili
Swahili is most popular language in Africa after Arabic and it is estimated to be spoken by 50 million people as second language and 2 million people as first language. It is the official language of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and used till primary level in schools. Literature from18th century in Swahili language is present in Arabic script however modern Swahili is written in Latin alphabet. Some existence of notable literature is present especially poetry however with recent introduction of Roman alphabets, Swahili writing has flourished considerably.
It contains a lot of vocabulary from Arabic, Persian, English, Portuguese, German and Malagasy languages. The word Swahili is an Arabic word which means ‘the coast’. Swahili is the mother tongue of Swahili people who inhibit from Southern Somali to Mozambique and Tanzania.
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Swahili is an old language and believed to be originated several thousand years ago when Arab and Persian traders arrived at East African coast. Swahili is also known as kiSwahili, or Kiswahili and it is classified as part of the Bantu language which is a subgroup in the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language. Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, BBC and Voice of America broadcasts many programs in Swahili while some major universities in the world offer Swahili language courses.
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