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.

Latin alphabet writingSystemFor Swahili language
Arabic influencedLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Swahili language hasAlternativeName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Kiswahili
Swahili language nativeName Swahili language self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Kiswahili
Swahili language macrolanguage Swahili language self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Swahili macrolanguage
Swahili language standardBasedOn Swahili language self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Zanzibar dialect (Kiunguja)
African Union hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kigoma Region officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Nairobi officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
EAC officialLanguage Swahili language
subject surface form: East African Community
this entity surface form: Swahili
Southern African Development Community officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Niger–Congo languages includesLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Democratic Republic of the Congo recognizedNationalLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Uganda officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Uganda nationalLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Friends World Committee for Consultation hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Google Translate availableLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Islamic world hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kenya officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kenya nationalLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Samuel hasLanguageForm Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
East African Community officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Tanzania officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Tanzania nationalLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
UNECA language Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Voice of America languageOfWorkOrName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Whisper supportsLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
East Africa widelySpokenLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kiunguja partOf Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili language continuum
Kiunguja basisFor Swahili language
this entity surface form: Standard Swahili
Kiunguja alternativeName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Zanzibar Swahili
Kiunguja ancestorOf Swahili language
this entity surface form: Tanzanian Standard Swahili
Kimvita subdivisionOf Swahili language
Kimvita hasAlternativeName Swahili language
this entity surface form: Mombasa Swahili
Kimvita mutuallyIntelligibleWith Swahili language
this entity surface form: Standard Swahili
Kimvita influencedStandardVariety Swahili language
this entity surface form: Kenyan Standard Swahili
Rwanda officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Bantu languages majorLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Bantu languages majorLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Kiswahili
Nicholas hasLanguageOfUse Swahili language
Islamic music usesLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Western Zone of Tanzania languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Western Zone of Tanzania officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
African Union Commission officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Tabora Region languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Executive Council of the African Union hasOfficialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Kiswahili
Kigoma languageUsed Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Katavi Region officialLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili
Kasulu hasLanguage Swahili language
this entity surface form: Swahili