Above, a map showing the portion of Africa where Kiswahili is spoken.
Kiswahili is mostly of Bantu origin. Bantu provides
the basis for many African languages (much like Latin provides the
basis for Romance languages in Europe). When Arabic traders from the
Indian Ocean began living along the Swahili coast, it was only natural
for Arabic words to mix with Bantu ones; also, most residents of the
Swahili coast knew some Arabic in order to understand the Qur’an.
Swahili is likely a very old language, and some sources date it back to
the second century AD!
Of course, Kiswahili also has words from languages
besides Bantu and Arabic. The numbers are a great way to see the
combination of Arabic and Bantu languages.
Numeral - In Kiswahili - From what language?
1 - Moja- Bantu
2 - Mbili - Bantu
3 - Tatu - Bantu
4 - Nnne - Bantu
5 - Tano - Bantu
6 - Sita - Arabic
7 - Saba - Arabic
8 - Nane - Bantu
9 - Tisa - Arabic
10 - Kumi Bantu
Kiswahili words like chai (tea), serikali
(government), and diwani (councilor) are taken from Persian. When the
Portuguese began to control the Swahili coast in the 1500s, some of
their words were adopted into Kiswahili also. Words like meza (table)
and leso (handkerchief) are from Portuguese. Kiswahili is written with
Roman letters (just like the English alphabet) but there is no Q or X.
You can read more about the history of Kiswahili here.
8. What is the importance of having a
language that combines other languages? How might this he especially
helpful in a trading society?
9. Why might Kiswahili be written with Roman characters (letters) as opposed to Arabic characters?
