Wikpedia<\/a><\/p><\/div>\nHave you ever heard about Swahili, the national language in African countries such as Kenya and Uganda? Well, if you\u2019re interested in African languages but don\u2019t know where to start, this might be the best place. Unlike languages like French or English, Swahili has an extremely simple writing system with very few variations in sound and spelling correspondence. As a result, it is fairly easy to read and pronounce.<\/p>\n
To persuade you to give Swahili a try, we compiled a list of 8 surprising facts about this language in the hope that, by the end of the article, you feel inspired to learn more about it.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0It\u2019s many languages in one<\/h2>\n
As a result of years of intensive trade all along the East African coast, Swahili has been influenced by lots of local Bantu and Arabic languages, resulting in a very interesting mix. But the influences don\u2019t stop there. Swahili also contains English, French, Portuguese and German elements, which speakers borrowed at different times due to commercial contact.\u00a0This means that if you already speak one of these languages, you\u00a0will have a head start!<\/p>\n
2.\u00a0It\u2019s spoken by millions of people<\/h2>\n
If you think this is a marginal language you may only find in some almost extinct towns in Kenya, think again. Worldwide, there are around 16 million people who speak Swahili as a mother tongue. So, if you travel to Africa, it won\u2019t be hard to find someone to practise your speaking skills with.<\/p>\n
3.\u00a0Swahili people love traditional tales<\/h2>\n
For a language that originated as a contact dialect, the Swahili people have a very rich literary culture, as shown by the dozens of myths and legends that exist in their language. Many of these are brief stories that tell about Mohammed\u2019s life and adventures, and they go\u00a0back to the Muslim faith and traditions. For language learners, reading these folkloric texts could be an interesting and enriching way to learn Swahili.<\/p>\n
4.\u00a0There is a Swahili BBC<\/h2>\n
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting service owned and developed by the BBC. Funded by the United Kingdom’s television licence fee, it covers the latest news in 40 languages, among them Swahili. This means that you can read and hear what\u2019s happening in the world in Swahili from one of the most reliable sources worldwide.<\/p>\n
5. It\u2019s easier than you might think<\/h2>\n
If you want to learn an African language that is not too difficult (or not\u00a0difficult\u00a0at all!), then Swahili is definitely the best choice. This is because, unlike most African languages, Swahili doesn\u2019t use distinctive pitch levels to mark the meaning of words. Besides, Swahili is also easy to read, as its spelling-to-sound rules are extremely simple!<\/p>\n
6. There\u2019s a hybrid slang of Swahili and English<\/h2>\n
Sheng is a completely different variety from the Swahili spoken on the coast. It\u2019s a mixture between Swahili and English that originated among the urban youth in Nairobi. Nowadays, however, it\u2019s quickly spreading across age-groups and social classes, and gaining popularity in places such as Tanzania and Uganda.<\/p>\n
7. Swahili has a rich history<\/h2>\n
The earliest known documents written in Swahili are letters that date back to the early 18th century. These were found in present-day Tanzania and are now kept in the Historical Archives of Goa, India. After you\u2019ve learned\u00a0some Swahili, wouldn\u2019t it be nice to visit the Archive, read these ancient letters, and see how much you can understand without help from a guide?<\/p>\n
8.\u00a0A very iconic line from a Disney movie is in Swahili<\/h2>\n
You probably didn\u2019t know it, but \u2018Hakuna Matata\u2019, the most iconic phrase from The Lion King, is a Swahili expression meaning \u201cno worries\u201d. It is a combination of the words Hakuna (\u2018there is not\u2019) and Matata (\u2018problem\u2019 or \u2018worries\u2019).<\/p>\n
![\"Swahili](\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Swahili-speaking_Africa.png#\/media\/File:Swahili-speaking_Africa.png\")
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