Swahili | |
---|---|
Kiswahili | |
Native to | Burundi, DR Congo, Kenya, Mayotte (mostly Comorian), Mozambique (mostly Mwani), Oman, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda |
Native speakers | 26 million (2007) 120 million L2 speakers |
Language family | |
Writing system | Latin, Arabic |
Official status | |
Official language in | African Union Tanzania Kenya Uganda Comoros (as Comorian) |
Regulated by | Baraza la Kiswahili la Taifa (Tanzania) |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-1 | sw |
ISO 639-2 | swa |
ISO 639-3 | swa – inclusive code Individual codes: swc – Congo Swahili swh – Coastal Swahili |
Guthrie code | G.42–43; G.40.A–H (pidgins & creoles) |
Linguasphere | 99-AUS-m |
Areas where Swahili is spoken |
The Swahili language is a language widely spoken in East Africa. In the language, its name is Kiswahili. It is a Bantu language.
Swahili is spoken in a wide area from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique and in all of Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi. Congo has five million first-language speakers and fifty million second-language speakers. Swahili has become a language with which people communicate within East Africa and the surrounding areas.