Swahili language

E2738

Swahili is a major Bantu language widely spoken in East and Central Africa, serving as a regional lingua franca and an official language in several countries including Tanzania and Kenya.

All labels observed (15)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Bantu language
lingua franca
natural language
developedAs trade language
dominantWordOrder subject-verb-object
family Niger–Congo languages
surface form: Niger-Congo languages
glottologCode swah1253
hasAlternativeName Swahili language
surface form: Kiswahili
hasEstimatedSpeakers over 15 million native speakers
over 80 million total speakers
hasMajorDialect Kiunguja
surface form: Kiamu

Kimvita
Kiunguja
hasNounClassSystem true
historicallyWrittenIn Arabic script
iso639-1Code sw
iso639-2Code swa
iso639-3Code swh
lexicalInfluenceFrom Arabic
surface form: Arabic language

English language
German
surface form: German language

Portuguese language
macrolanguage Swahili language self-linksurface differs
surface form: Swahili macrolanguage
nativeName Swahili language self-linksurface differs
surface form: Kiswahili
officialLanguageOf African Union
Burundi
Democratic Republic of the Congo
East African Community
Kenya
Rwanda
Tanzania
Uganda
originRegion East Africa
surface form: East African coast
primaryRegion Central Africa
East Africa
spokenIn Burundi
Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kenya
Mozambique
Oman
Rwanda
Somalia
Tanzania
Uganda
standardBasedOn Swahili language self-linksurface differs
surface form: Zanzibar dialect (Kiunguja)
subfamily Bantu languages
usedAsMediumOfInstructionIn Tanzania (primary education)
usedIn broadcast media in East Africa
popular music in East Africa
writingSystem Latin script

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (345)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

National Assembly of Kenya languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Kiswahili
Amason Kingi languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kenya Wildlife Service languageOfWork Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
National Environment Management Authority languageOfWork Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mwanza Region languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Basukuma countryOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Nguzo Saba languageOfName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Sabaot usedAlongside Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mbagathi River languageOfToponym Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Luo language hasLoanwordsFrom Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Auma languageSpoken Swahili language
subject surface form: Auma Obama
this entity surface form: Swahili
Sauti Kuu Foundation hasLanguageOfWork Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Geita languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Geita Gold Mine hasLanguageOfOperation Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Nzera languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Nyankumbu hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Tanzania and Burundi haveOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mombasa County hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mombasa County hasEthnicCommunities Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Coast Province ethnicGroups Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Coast Province language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Swahili people ethnonym Swahili language
this entity surface form: Waswahili
Swahili people language Swahili language
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga languageOfWorkOrName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Alego Kogelo languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kenya Revenue Authority languageOfWork Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Arusha Region officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mombasa Island language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Arusha–Dodoma road hasLanguageEnvironment Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Tom Mboya languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Homa Bay District hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kericho District languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kerewe language dominantContactLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kerewe language countryOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Meru language isUsedAlongside Swahili language
Nansio hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Iraqw hasLoanwordsFrom Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kalangala District officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Runyankole hasLoanwordsFrom Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Ukerewe District hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Things Fall Apart hasTranslation Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Royal Yugoslav Navy usedLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Bangala influencedBy Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Bangala usedAlongside Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Northern Region, Uganda hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Shimaore influencedBy Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Shimaore sharesVocabularyWith Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kerewe people countryOfficialLanguage Swahili language
Goma languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Lira languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili