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Welcome to the Swahili General Discussion! This is where we discuss everything related to the Swhili language, including, but not limited to:

-asking specific questions about Swahili vocabulary and grammar (people who can speak Swahili fluently can help answer others' questions)
-recommendations for Swahili dictionaries, websites, etc
-and everything else about the beautiful langauge of Eastern Africa! 3nodding

Please note that although speaking in Swahili is allowed here, it is not mandatory.

Let's start off with a few facts about the Swahili language:

Spoken in: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo (DRC), Somalia, Comoros Islands (including Mayotte), Mozambique, Malawi

Total number of speakers: 35-55 million

Language Family: Niger-Congo

Regulated by: n/a

Awwh dammit! I had a book by Mario Pei (Great person to read up on by the way, linguist <3) that had lessons in Arabic, Swahili, Mandarin, Pidgins, and it was just. It was pretty damn awesome.

All I learned in Swahili was how to say "We're all going to die", but I can't remember it right now. sweatdrop

I really want to learn Swahili. It's so ... tribal? I really don't know the word. But I love it! A good site for Swahili-
http://www.glcom.com/hassan/index.html

Ninakupenda - I love you!

The coolest word - Pikipiki! Which means motorcycle! =3

I used to have a book with a bunch of Swahili words and a brief explanation of the grammar. I really wanted to learn it and I did try, but things were just too busy at all that. I eventually lost the book and all I got from it was "Kwa heri" and "jambo!"

Jambo! In 5th grade we sang a chorus song which was partially in Swahili
so all i remember is Jambo, karibou kwa afrika (if thats spelled right)
its Hi welcome to africa

I'm just starting to study Swahili. I picked up 'Teach Yourself' (a book and CD set) and 'The Rough Guide' which should keep me busy for a while. I love the sound of it, but it's very different from any other language I've looked at. I'm so used to German now that having vowels between my consonants feels a little weird.

BTW, in regards to the initial post, everything I've read says it's in the Bantu language family, not 'Niger-Congo'.

Also, I've found that the materials available for learning Swahili are very limited, at least around where I live. I think they had maybe four things at the bookstore I go to.

I heard from a linguist that Swahili only has only slightly more than 500 words in the language.

I would like to learn it one day, just for fun.