Swahili

Guest   Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:16 am GMT
Can Swahili compete as a principal continental language? Does it have any chance of ever catching up to English/French/Arabic in the African continent as a whole?
Guest   Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:39 am GMT
Mlango wa bahari ya Skagerak unaiunganisha na bahari ya Baltiki. Mfereji wa Kiel inafupisha njia hii ukikata jimbo la Schleswig-Holstein ya Ujerumani. Kusini-magharibi kuna mlango wa Mfereji wa Kiingereza kati ya Britania na Ufaransa.
Skippy   Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:04 pm GMT
Possibly, but I would argue not... Although it is a lingua franca in many regions in Africa, it is of little use outside of those regions. When deciding between, for example, Swahili and French, it's likely that one would choose French because it would also come in useful in Europe and much of the Pacific, as well as Africa.

I may be wrong, but that's just the first thing that I thought of.
K. T.   Fri Jul 18, 2008 11:25 pm GMT
It's a good choice for an African language, though. It has some Arabic running through it (actually a lot of languages have Arabic influence), and it sounds darn fun on its own!
PARISIEN   Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:12 am GMT
<< When deciding between, for example, Swahili and French, it's likely that one would choose French >>

-- There's no such problem cause except for a minor part of Eastern (formerly Belgian) Congo and some tiny islands in the Indian Ocean Swahili is nowhere in competition with French.
Swahili is the lingua franca of (formerly British) East Africa, spoken throughout Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda as an official language (but it's native for only a part of the population, not necessarily the majority).
Guest   Sat Jul 19, 2008 12:17 am GMT
So Africa has no real lingua franca? Although I guest English probably would serve most.
Guest   Sat Jul 19, 2008 10:49 am GMT
<<Can Swahili compete as a principal continental language?>>

Yes, Swahili has tremendous potential for growth as mother tongue in a very large area and high potential for growth as a language acquired mainly in eastern africa but also elsewhere africa and even in the whole world !!!!!!

Why? very easy to understand. Today only 5 million or more people speak Kiswahili as their mother tongue, but this situation is changing very rapidly. In those countries where is official in all country, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania Swahili is becoming the language that citizens choose to talk to their children. This means that increasingly more people speak Swahili as mother tongue and by 2050 over 90% of the citizens of these three countries will speak Swahili as their mother tongue (they already speak Swahili).


If we look at the population of these three countries by 2050, we see a big surprise

Kenya 85 millons
Tanzania 85 millons
Uganda 93 millons

http://www.xist.org/earth/pop_prospects1.aspx

This means that at least 263 million people will speak Swahili as their mother tongue, but that's not all, in reality will be much more because Swahili goes from Indian Ocean coastline of southern Somalia to northern Mozambique, including the Comoros Islands (huge area). In DR Congo Swahili is recognized as a regional language and the same in other countries in the region. Like it or not like, Swahili will dominate the throughout east africa and maybe more (Probably Southem of Africa)


<<Does it have any chance of ever catching up to English/French/Arabic in the African continent as a whole?>>


Yes but not only in africa but throughout the world !!!!!

Bad news for European languages especially English because in the area of influence of Swahili there will be no place for anything else.

English will be harmed but another languages such as French and Portuguese could also decrease in this region. In countries traditionally Francophone like Rwanda or DR Congo Swahili is entering very strong by all these countries. Portuguese language will be affected in mozambique, especially in the north where Swahili is the lingua franca.

Let me say that in USA for example, the study of Swahili is growing much at all educational levels.

Another important thing is that the next president of USA, Barack Obama will make Swahili official language throughout the country because he is half Kenyan.
J.C.   Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:21 am GMT
Wow, this thread is a motivation for me to restart studying Swahili. The only problem is to find people who speak it...
Does anyone have hints on materials for studying? I started using "Le Swahili sans peine"

Kwaheri!!
Guest   Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:46 am GMT
"Another important thing is that the next president of USA, Barack Obama will make Swahili official language throughout the country because he is half Kenyan. "

Haha, good one.
Guest   Sat Jul 19, 2008 9:32 pm GMT
If Obama support Swahili and McCain Spanish, the next President will be again white. Like always!! White power!!
Guest   Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:39 pm GMT
Does Obama speak Swahili?
Guest   Sun Jul 20, 2008 1:11 am GMT
I have read that now blacks in the U.S. want to learn Swahili to differentiate themselves from whites (English) and Hispanics (Spanish) ...

I have read that some blacks in the U.S want that all afro-americans in this country learn Swahili for have her own code of colunicacion because they see that Hispanics have their language (Spanish) and they (blacks) don't understand .... and whites have their own language (English) from the Anglo-Saxons so blacks want to speak Swahili as their mother tongue for differentiate from whites (English) and Hispanics (Spanish).... is true?
Guest   Sun Jul 20, 2008 8:25 am GMT
Correct, the Blacks in USA are learning Swahili in record numbers.
Guest   Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:12 am GMT
French is very useful in Africa. In fact Francophone Africa claim it as their own language or should I say not exclusively for the French people.

Why is French so deeply rooted in Africa? It's because Africans see it as a tool to lift up their own esteem. In addition the level of education in French speaking world is so high. Have you ever noticed that Africans who speak French are much respected once they travel outside Africa let's say in the US than those who do not.
Guest   Mon Jul 21, 2008 9:26 am GMT
Swahili's stronhold is in Eastern Africa in ountries Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and to a lesser extent Mozambique.

It's agood thing that those countries were not colonized by the French otherwise Swahili would not have grown or it would have gone extinct.