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Swahili Language
Swahili, also known as as it is referred to endonym and exonym, in the Swahili language, is a Bantu languages, Bantu language originally spoken by the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent littoral islands). Estimates of the number of Swahili speakers, including both native and second-language speakers, vary widely. They generally range from 150 million to 200 million; with most of its native speakers residing in Tanzania and Kenya. Swahili has a significant number of loanwords from other languages, mainly Arabic, as well as from Portuguese language, Portuguese, English language, English and German language, German. Around 40% of Swahili vocabulary consists of Arabic loanwords, including the name of the language ( , a plural adjectival form of an Arabic word meaning 'of the coasts'). The loanwords date from the era of contact between Arab slave trade, Arab traders and the Northeast Bantu languages, B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swahili People
The Swahili people (, وَسوَحِيلِ) comprise mainly Bantu, Afro-Arab, and Comorian ethnic groups inhabiting the Swahili coast, an area encompassing the East African coast across southern Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and northern Mozambique, and various archipelagos off the coast, such as Zanzibar, Lamu, and the Comoro Islands. The original Swahili distinguished themselves from other Bantu peoples by self-identifying as Waungwana (the civilised ones). In certain regions, such as Lamu Island, this differentiation is even more stratified in terms of societal grouping and dialect, hinting at the historical processes by which the Swahili have coalesced over time. More recently, through a process of Swahilization, this identity extends to any person of African descent who speaks Swahili as their first language, is Muslim, and lives in a town of the main urban centres of most of modern-day Tanzania and coastal Kenya, northern Mozambique, or the Comoros. The name ''Swahili' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bantu Languages
The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu language, Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀), or Ntu languages are a language family of about 600 languages of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern, East Africa, Eastern and Southeast Africa, Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages. The total number of Bantu languages is estimated at between 440 and 680 distinct languages, depending on the definition of Dialect#Dialect or language, "language" versus "dialect"."Guthrie (1967–71) names some 440 Bantu 'varieties', Grimes (2000) has 501 (minus a few 'extinct' or 'almost extinct'), Bastin ''et al.'' (1999) have 542, Maho (this volume) has some 660, and Mann ''et al.'' (1987) have ''c.'' 680." Derek Nurse, 2006, "Bantu Languages", in the ''Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics'', p. 2:Ethnologue report for Southern Bantoid" lists a total of 535 languages. The count includes 13 Mbam languages, which are not always included under "Narrow Bantu". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic Script
The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic (Arabic alphabet) and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (after the Latin script), the second-most widely used List of writing systems by adoption, writing system in the world by number of countries using it, and the third-most by number of users (after the Latin and Chinese characters, Chinese scripts). The script was first used to write texts in Arabic, most notably the Quran, the holy book of Islam. With Spread of Islam, the religion's spread, it came to be used as the primary script for many language families, leading to the addition of new letters and other symbols. Such languages still using it are Arabic language, Arabic, Persian language, Persian (Western Persian, Farsi and Dari), Urdu, Uyghur language, Uyghur, Kurdish languages, Kurdish, Pashto, Punjabi language, Punjabi (Shahmukhi), Sindhi language, Sindhi, South Azerbaijani, Azerb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orthography
An orthography is a set of convention (norm), conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, punctuation, Word#Word boundaries, word boundaries, capitalization, hyphenation, and Emphasis (typography), emphasis. Most national and international languages have an established writing system that has undergone substantial standardization, thus exhibiting less dialect variation than the spoken language. These processes can fossilize pronunciation patterns that are no longer routinely observed in speech (e.g. ''would'' and ''should''); they can also reflect deliberate efforts to introduce variability for the sake of national identity, as seen in Noah Webster's efforts to introduce easily noticeable differences between American and British spelling (e.g. ''honor'' and ''honour''). Orthographic norms develop through social and political influence at various levels, such as encounters with print in education, the workplace, and the state. Some nations have established ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latin Script
The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Greek alphabet was altered by the Etruscan civilization, Etruscans, and subsequently their alphabet was altered by the Ancient Romans. Several Latin-script alphabets exist, which differ in graphemes, collation and phonetic values from the classical Latin alphabet. The Latin script is the basis of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), and the 26 most widespread letters are the letters contained in the ISO basic Latin alphabet, which are the same letters as the English alphabet. Latin script is the basis for the largest number of alphabets of any writing system and is the List of writing systems by adoption, most widely adopted writing system in the world. Latin script is used as the standard method of writing the languages of Western and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Socotra Swahili Language
Socotra Swahili is an extinct Bantu language that was spoken in Socotra Socotra, locally known as Saqatri, is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Situated between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, it lies near major shipping routes. Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago as ..., Yemen. It was reported to be spoken by a fifth of the island (c. 2,000 people) in 1962. cited in References Languages of Yemen Swahili language Socotra Languages of the African diaspora {{Yemen-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sidi Language
Sidi is a Bantu language of Pakistan and India, related to Swahili. Most of the Sidi community today speaks a regional Indic language, mostly Gujarati, mixed with some Bantu words and phrases, and the current number of speakers is unknown. It was reportedly still spoken in the 1960s in Jambur, a village in Kathiawar Kathiawar (), also known as Saurashtra, is a peninsula in the south-western Gujarat state in India, bordering the Arabian Sea and covering about . It is bounded by the Kutch district in the north, the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest, and by the ..., Gujarat, by the Siddi.Whiteley, 1969, ''Swahili: The Rise of a National Language'' A survey of regional languages conducted by the government of Gujarat in 2016 reported that the language is in danger of extinction. References Languages of Pakistan Languages of Sindh Languages of India Swahili language Languages of the African diaspora {{Swahili-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mwani Language
The Mwani language, also known by its native name Kimwani, ( ) is a Bantu language spoken on the coast of the Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique, including the Quirimbas Islands. Although it shares high lexical similarity (60%) with Swahili, it is not intelligible with it. It is spoken by around 167,150 people (including 147,150 who speak it as a first language and 20,000 who use it as their second language). Speakers also use Portuguese (the official language of Mozambique), Swahili and Makhuwa language. ''Kiwibo'', the dialect of the Island of Ibo is the prestige dialect. ''Kimwani'' (sometimes spelled as ''Quimuane'') is also called ''Mwani'' (sometimes spelled as: ''Mwane, Muane'') and ''Ibo''. According to Anthony P. Grant Kimwani of northern Mozambique appears to be the result of imperfect shift towards Swahili several centuries ago by speakers of Makonde, and Arends et al. suggest it might turn out to be a Makonde–Swahili mixed language.Arends, Muysken, & Smith (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makwe Language
The Makwe or Macue language () is a close relative of Swahili spoken on the coast of the Cabo Delgado Province of Mozambique, and across the border in Mtwara Region of Tanzania. Although it shares high lexical similarity (60%) with Swahili, it is not intelligible with it, nor with its cousin Mwani. Arends et al. suggest it might turn out to be a Makonde–Swahili mixed language A mixed language, also referred to as a hybrid language or fusion language, is a type of contact language that arises among a bilingual group combining aspects of two or more languages but not clearly deriving primarily from any single language. .... A grammar of the Makwe language by Maud Devos was published in 2008. References Languages of Mozambique Swahili language {{Swahili-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congo Swahili
Congo Swahili, formerly sometimes known as Zaïre Swahili, are the varieties of the Swahili language spoken in the Democratic Republic of The Congo. Overview Congo Swahili differs greatly from Standard Swahili. There is a common saying among Swahili speakers that goes: "Swahili was born in Zanzibar, grew up in Tanzania, fell sick in Kenya, died in Uganda and was buried in Congo", which highlights how speakers of other dialects often find Congo Swahili incomprehensible. One of the main reasons for the differences is that, unlike Standard Swahili, Congo Swahili is strongly influenced by French, rather than Arabic. It has also borrowed words from the local languages spoken in the DRC, which are not found in other varieties of Swahili. Grammar These are some of the grammatical innovations of Congo Swahili that do not exist in Standard Swahili: * A distinction between near past and remote past. * A distinction between near future and remote future. * A distinction between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bajuni Dialect
Bajuni (''Kibajuni''), also known as Tikulu (''Tikuu''), is a Bantu language related to Swahili spoken by the Bajuni people who inhabit the tiny Bajuni Islands and coastal Kenya, in addition to parts of southern Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ..., where they constitute a minority ethnic group. Maho (2009) considers it a distinct dialect. Nurse & Hinnebusch classify it as a northern dialect of Swahili. Consonant Inventory The consonant inventory is as follows. Note: represents a sound pronounced with an r-like offglide. See also * Bajuni people Notes References * * * * {{authority control Languages of Kenya Languages of Somalia Swahili language ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bravanese Dialect
Bravanese, also called Chimwiini (ChiMwini, Mwiini, Mwini) or Chimbalazi, is a related to Swahili spoken by the Bravanese people, who are the predominant inhabitants of Barawa or Brava, in Somalia. Maho (2009) considers it a distinct dialect, and it has been classified as a Northern Dialect of Swahili. However, it strongly distinguishes itself from standard Swahili under all linguistic considerations. Due to the ongoing Somali Civil War, most speakers have left the region and are scattered throughout the world in ex-refugee immigrant communities in places such as Columbus and Atlanta in the United States, London and Manchester in the United Kingdom, and Mombasa, Kenya. It has fewer than 15,000 speakers. Bravanese may have once served as a regional lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, langua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
