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.

George hasLanguageOfUse Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Hai District hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Siha District hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Same District officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Tanga Region officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kajiado County languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Chagga people secondaryLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Same languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mwanga languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Marangu Gate languageUsedAt Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kibo Hut hasLanguageOfSignage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Uhuru na Umoja language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Freedom and Unity hasOriginalLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Uhuru Peak languageOfName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Northern Province, Rwanda officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Shirazi language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Shirazi selfIdentification Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Londorossi Gate hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Machame Gate hasLanguageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mwanga District hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Taita-Taveta County officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Umbwe Gate languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Barafu Camp languageOfSignage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Namanga languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Emali languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Naivasha languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Marsabit County language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Nakuru County hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Mwalimu language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Butiama namedInLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Ujamaa languageOfTerm Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Tanganyika African National Union languageOfPolitics Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Chama Cha Mapinduzi languageOfName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Government of Rwanda officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kicukiro District hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Nyarugenge District hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Maria Nyerere languageSpoken Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Eldoret languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Egerton University (nearby) languageOfInstruction Swahili language
subject surface form: Egerton University
this entity surface form: Swahili
Common Voice hasLanguageCoverage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Common Voice dataset hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kenyan officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Muthaiga languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kerio River hasLocalNameLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Latn isUsedForWriting Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili