What is the importance of the Swahili language in East Africa?
It is a language of influence politically, economically and socially, and a knowledge of it can deepen business relationships. 4. Swahili plays an important part in education in several African countries. Uganda made Swahili a required subject in primary schools in 1992.
What is Swahili and why is it important?
Swahili (or Kiswahili as it is called when one is speaking the language) is the most important and widely studied indigenous language of Africa, the National and official language of Kenya and Tanzania. Swahili is taught in academic institutions from Japan in the East to Mexico in the west.
Why is Swahili an important language throughout the continent?
Its capability to adapt to changing contexts has contributed to its unique position among the languages of East and Central Africa. Swahili is the universal lingua franca of Kenya today in small-scale trade and media. It is closely connected with urban life and with certain occupations.
Why is it important to learn Swahili?
Basically, Swahili being a trade language is very useful in business. Swahili will definitely make it easier for one to build relationships and trust when working with people who speak Swahili, and it`s a bit more efficient than trying to learn many other different tribal languages of East and Central Africa.
Is Swahili a useful language to learn?
The culture of the Swahili people is built on centuries of traditions. Myths, legends, and other folklore are common in this unique culture. Countries like Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, etc. have Swahili speakers amounting to millions. Hence it is a very useful language to know regardless of where you are in Africa.
Is Swahili worth learning?
Swahili is really easy. Probably the easiest non-related to English language you can learn. So if you want to expand your language knowledge outside of the easier Romance & Germanic languages, it’s a good choice. Also it totally impresses people that you know Swahili because no one else knows how easy it is.
Is Swahili a lingua franca in East Africa?
Most of East Africa uses Swahili as their lingua franca, with Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Kenya using it as their official language. Total number of speakers of Swahili worldwide is over 140 million. Indeed, Swahili is the most widely spoken language in East Africa.
Which was the main cause of the development of Swahili culture?
Around the 8th century, the Swahili people engaged in the Indian Ocean trade. As a consequence, they were influenced by Arabic, Persian, Indian, and Chinese cultures. It is the mixture of Perso-Arab and Bantu cultures in Kilwa that is credited for creating Swahili as a distinctive East African culture and language.
Is Swahili an easy language to learn?
Swahili is said to be the easiest African language for an English speaker to learn. It’s one of the few sub-Saharan African languages that have no lexical tone, just like in English. It’s also much easier to read as you read out Swahili words just the way they are written.
What is the hardest African language to learn?
Taa, the last vital language of the Tuu language family and formerly called ʻSouthern Khoisan’, it is believed to be the world’s most difficult language. Part of the Khoisan language group and is spoken in the Kalahari Desert of Southern Africa, it is also known as !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaTX1Hf74XY