About the Swahili language

Simba, Rafiki, Pumba and of course Hakuna Matata – all these famous names and phrases come from probably the most well-known and the most widespread African language. If I told you, name one African language, you’d probably name this one. Swahili is a lingua franca in East Africa and an official language in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda. Around 100 million people speak Swahili (and many more can understand it to some extent), however it only has around 5 million native speakers. How did a small language of just 5 million people become a language that people all throughout East Africa use in order to understand each other?

#bantu #africanlanguages #africa

[stevensilungwe]

Swahili ni tamu sana 🇿🇲🇹🇿.
Learn this beautiful language and feel like a real African.

[khalidjuma]

I am very impressed to hear this from you Julie, I am a native Swahili speaker from Tanzania. Welcome to learn this wonderful Bantu Language.

[MG-wxyx]

I'm a native Swahili speaker from Tanzania and I can say it's so fascinating to hear a non-native Swahili speaker speaking and mostly teaching Swahili. Swahili is the official language of Tanzania.

[Pining_for_the_fjords]

The way Swahili handles verb tenses with a single infix; -na for the present, -li for the past, -ta for the future and -me for the present perfect, is a lot simpler than any other language I know of.

[AfricanLanguageLessons]

Swahili is a beautiful language and indeed very similar to other African languages especially in South, Central and East Africa. I teach these similarities alongside my mother tongue luhya-bukusu from western Kenya on mychannel. The correlation between the local languages is mind blowing: different yet similar. Thank you for bringing this to light 👏🏾👏🏾

[Neidzwiedz]

In the late 70's when I was 4-5 we lived in Tanzania (Dar es Salaam) for 2 years. My younger brother and I both picked up some Swedish from our neighbors and Swahili from everywhere else. Even after returning to the States we were able to keep up with it because when my parents didn't want us to know what they were talking about they spoke Swahili, which was like a language class in its self. After a while that strategy didn't work any more.

[pellestianomasai]

As a Swahili speaker from Tanzania, I commend this message, you really know what you're communicating, very educative message. Shukrani Kwa juhudi za kuelimisha na kusambaza Lugha hii adhim ya Kiswahili Duniani kote!

[kiddyadams]

safi sanaa, hongera kwa uchambuzi mzurii. kiswahili kitaamu saana kukiongea, kukisoma na kuandika pia

[Sadju]

I wondered when the next JuLingo video was going to drop! Thanks Julie!

[larsbitsch-larsen]

My formative years 5-12 was in Congo (DRC). Swahili was then a language "invading" the local language Otetela. I was told that even though Swahili is well understood in most of east Africa the loan word came from the colonial languages. So Swahili in English territories took English words like computer and the French territories took ordinatuer etc. Swahili being a wide spread language lends to better communication. But when this means that Otetela gradually will disappear I feel sorrow. Otetela is a tonal language and as such lends it self to be transcribed" into musical drums. The Otetela have large wedge shaped drums 1 meter long and 80 cm high acustically shaped to transmit sound in a specific direction. When I lived in Congo the sound of jungle drums was a regular thing morning and evening. Of later, they are still used ceremoniously and young boys can be seen walking along the village main street morning and evening announcing the daily news for at small tip.
So with the spread of Swahili and radio and internet the old tradition of (Tarzan's) jungle drums will disappear. I couldn't find a picture of the drum on the internet, but my sister has one so I will send a picture some time in the future.

[williswameyo]

It is a fascinating language, Iam from Kenya🇰🇪🇰🇪, I am quite fluent in Swahili, It is the National language in Kenya

[stephenrioux]

I'm glad I found your channel. Educational and very cool!

[RCSVirginia]

Pleasant is a great way to describe Swahili: It is very pleasing to the ear. One can only hope that it will continue to be a major language in East Africa.

[jeanclauderukundo]

I am a congolese from DRC. Swahili is one of our four national languages, mainly spoken in the East part.

[najibullahghafori]

helllo julie, love your content from Afghanistan,
please make the next video about Pashto, it's very ancient arianic (iranic) language, it's our official language here in Afghanistan and is believed to have evolved from avestan and bactrian,
tell us it's history and everything, it would be very interesting since there are not much information about it online
please please
love you
PS: Pashtun female Kochi (nomadic) dress would look amazing on you for the thumbnail

[yipmabaruya]

Good morning from Papua New Guinea. I enjoyed watching your contents

[PierreJohnsonOnline]

Thanks for your video. Informative and motivated as usual. Having worked and visited the Comoros archipelago, with 4 islands and a geopolitical divide since 1976, I know firsthand that the Comoros languages (shi-maoré, shi-mweli, shi-ngazija and shi-zuani) are apparently Swahili dialects. Counting them in the Swahili language family would expand it geographically at least (in numbers of locutors only in a bit more than 1 million people, not counting the diaspora). But the origin of those Comoros languages may not be as simple, so they could be a great research for you!

[Ingomayimyibutsa]

Thank you for this one. Hakuna matata kabisa. Greetings from a burundian who speaks swahili.

[amplifymysound]

Love the sound and simplicity of Swahili, just wish it was more useful around me

[etherean]

Swahili fiction and poetry is also very beautiful especially when the writers decide to go crazy with it 😂
But if you don't know the language that well you may get stuck with a kamusi(dictionary) and most of the style, sarcasm nd references will fly over your head anyway.

Stories like "Kusadikika", "Lila na Fila" (a poetic retelling of a Swahili ogre/trickster story) and "Siku Njema" will leave you asking for more.