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.

Ajami usedToWriteLanguage Swahili language
Kenyan diaspora hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Uhuru Gardens languageOfName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Madaraka Day languageOfName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mashujaa Day languageOfName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kenyan national anthem officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Ewaso Ng’iro languageOfName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Embu hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Meru languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Kiswahili
Narok County officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Indian Ocean contact varieties of Hindi hasContactLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
State House, Mombasa languageOfOfficialUse Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
William Ruto languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Voi languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mzima Springs languageOfToponym Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Tsavo River languageOfToponym Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Nanyuki languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Chibu Dangote languageOfPerformance Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Simba languageOfPerformance Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Number One language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Jeje language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Jeje vocalLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
African Beauty language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Waah! language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Waah! mainVocalLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Nana language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Rayvanny languageOfWorkOrName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Zuchu languageOfWorkOrName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Zuchu performsInLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Ali Kiba languageOfWorkOrName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Naseeb Jr. languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Orientale Province commonlySpokenLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Inama language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Harmonize languageOfWorkOrName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Tiffah Dangote languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Masindi languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Nillan Dangote languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Bunia hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kanyaga language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mbagala language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mbagala hasTitleLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Uhuru Falls languageOfToponym Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kamwambie language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo officialLanguage Swahili language
subject surface form: Uganda
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kilwa District hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Husuni Ndogo languageContext Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Songo Mnara usedLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Keiyo usedAlongside Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Islamic period hasMajorLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Lindi Region officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili