SwahiliKenya's two official languages are English and Swahili. Swahili is a Bantu language, spoken mainly in Tanzania and Kenya, and parts of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Swahili developed as a means to communicate across tribal languages for trade and commerce. It is an easy language to learn because it consists of root words changed by adding various suffixes and prefixes. In Tanzania and on the Kenyan coast, the true grammatical form of Swahili is spoken. Most of the dictionaries and language helps in the United States teach this dialect of Swahili.
Although you will be able to communicate with most everyone in English (unless you are in rural areas), you will still want to spend time learning some Swahili. Language learning is a great way to break down barriers between cultures, to adopt a learning posture, and to make friends. You may be surprised at the relationships you build during this process! |
|
|
AlphabetThankfully for English speakers the Swahili Alphabet uses Roman characters and is based upon the International Phonetic Alphabet. This means that Swahili letters have only one sound and are pronounced the same as in English with a few variations. There are five vowel sounds, no C (unless followed by an H), and no Q or X. However, there are some double consonants which consist of: Dh, Gh, Kh, Sh, Th, Ng, Ny, and Mw.
A pronounced as in father E pronounced as ai in maid I pronounced as a double ee O pronounced as in grow U pronounced as a double oo CH pronounced as in child Dh pronounced as in dad Gh pronounced as in gate Kh pronounced as in kite Sh pronounced as in shower Th pronounced as in theatre Ng pronounced as in ring Ny pronounced as Spanish ñ Mw pronounced as mm then w |
Interested in starting to learn Swahili? Check out our Swahili+ page!
