Editing Swahili language (section)

==Current status==

===Overview===
Estimates of the total number of first- and second-language Swahili speakers vary widely, from as low as 50 million to as high as 200 million, but generally range from 60 million to 150 million.<ref name="speakers">The ''Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities'' (ed. Carl Skutsch; publ. Taylor & Francis; 2013), pages 183–184: "The most important single [Bantu language] is Swahili as a primary or secondary language (50 million speakers)."
* John M. Mugane, ''The Story of Swahili'' (2015), page 1: "In terms of speakers, [Swahili] is peer to the dozen or so languages of the world that boast close to 100 million users" [footnoted to page 287:] "The World Bank estimates that 120 to 150 million people speak Swahili as a second language; William J. Frawley (2003, 181) puts the number at a minimum of 75 million, and Ethnologue has it as 40 million. This book takes the higher number as closer to the reality, given that Swahili is well known as a lingua franca in countries whose populations far exceed 150 million." (Page 227: "Africa's Swahili-speaking region, in which 100 million people who speak it as a second language have created a diverse array of [varieties]".)
* [https://clp.arizona.edu/courses/languages/swahili University of Arizona Critical Languages Program]: "[estimates] vary widely, from 60 million to over 150 million".
* {{cite web |date=5 November 2021 |title=World Kiswahili Language Day |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379702 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523105024/https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379702 |archive-date=23 May 2022 |access-date=4 November 2023 |publisher=UNESCO |quote=Kiswahili is one of the most widely used languages of the African family, and the most widely spoken in sub-Saharan Africa. It is among the 10 most widely spoken languages in the world, with more than 200 million speakers.}}</ref>

Swahili has become a second language spoken by tens of millions of people in the five [[African Great Lakes]] countries ([[Kenya]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|DRC]], [[Rwanda]], [[Uganda]], and [[Tanzania]]), where it is an official or national language. It is also the first language for many people in Tanzania, especially in the coastal regions of Tanga, Pwani, Dar es Salaam, Mtwara and Lindi. In the inner regions of Tanzania, Swahili is spoken with an accent influenced by other local languages and dialects. There, it is a first language for most of the people who are born in the cities, whilst being spoken as a second language in rural areas. Swahili and closely related languages are spoken by relatively small numbers of people in [[Burundi]], [[Comoros]], [[Malawi]], [[Mozambique]], [[Zambia]] and [[Rwanda]].<ref>Nurse & Thomas Spear (1985) ''The Swahili''</ref> The language was still understood in the southern ports of the [[Red Sea]] in the 20th century.<ref name="Kharusi">{{Cite journal |last=Kharusi |first=N. S. |date=2012 |title=The Ethnic Label Zinjibari: Politics and Language Choice Implications Among Swahili Speakers in Oman |journal=[[Ethnicities (journal)|Ethnicities]] |language=en |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=335–353 |doi=10.1177/1468796811432681 |s2cid=145808915}}</ref><ref>Adriaan Hendrik Johan Prins (1961) ''The Swahili-speaking Peoples of Zanzibar and the East African Coast.'' ''[[Ethnologue]]''</ref> The [[East African Community]] created an institution called the East African Kiswahili Commission (EAKC) which began operations in 2015. The institution currently serves as the leading body for promoting the language in the [[East Africa|East African region]], as well as for coordinating its development and usage for regional integration and sustainable development.<ref name="Press Release on EAKC"/>

Swahili is among the first languages in Africa for which [[language technology]] applications have been developed. [[Arvi Hurskainen]] is one of the early developers. The applications include a [[spelling checker]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Zana za Uhakiki za Microsoft Office 2016 – Kiingereza|url=http://www.microsoft.com/sw-ke/download/details.aspx?id=52668|website=Microsoft Download Center|access-date=23 October 2019|archive-date=6 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306044655/http://www.microsoft.com/sw-KE/download/details.aspx?id=52668|url-status=live}}</ref> [[part-of-speech tagging]],<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=Salama|url=http://77.240.23.241/|website=77.240.23.241|access-date=23 October 2019}}</ref> [[language learning software]],<ref name="auto" /> an analysed Swahili [[text corpus]] of 25 million words,<ref>{{cite web|title=Helsinki Corpus of Swahili 2.0 (HCS 2.0) – META-SHARE|url=http://metashare.csc.fi/repository/browse/helsinki-corpus-of-swahili-20-hcs-20/d544fe38184411e291cf005056be118e78589842c66b4efda6ad46f4034679c9/|website=metashare.csc.fi|access-date=23 October 2019|archive-date=23 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023142138/http://metashare.csc.fi/repository/browse/helsinki-corpus-of-swahili-20-hcs-20/d544fe38184411e291cf005056be118e78589842c66b4efda6ad46f4034679c9/|url-status=live}}</ref> an [[electronic dictionary]],<ref name="auto" /> and [[machine translation]]<ref name="auto" /> between Swahili and English. The development of language technology also strengthens the position of Swahili as a modern medium of communication.<ref>Hurskainen, Arvi. 2018. Sustainable language technology for African languages. In Agwuele, Augustine and [[Adams Bodomo|Bodomo, Adams]] (eds), The Routledge Handbook of African Linguistics, 359–375. London: Routledge Publishers. {{ISBN|978-1-138-22829-0}}</ref> 

[[File:Swahili 2024.png|thumb|402x402px|Swahili in East Africa]]

===Tanzania===
The widespread use of Swahili as a national language in Tanzania came after Tanganyika gained independence in 1961 and the government decided that it would be used as a language to unify the new nation. This saw the use of Swahili in all levels of government, trade, art as well as schools in which primary school children are taught in Swahili, before switching to English (medium of instruction)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/publications/se/6107/610708.html |title=The Failure of Language Policy in Tanzanian Schools |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-date=16 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716031547/http://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/publications/se/6107/610708.html |url-status=live }}</ref> in secondary schools (although Swahili is still taught as an independent subject). After Tanganyika and Zanzibar unification in 1964, ''Taasisi ya Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili'' (TUKI, Institute of Swahili Research) was created from the Interterritorial Language Committee. In 1970 TUKI was merged with the [[University of Dar es Salaam]], while ''Baraza la'' ''Kiswahili la Taifa'' (BAKITA) was formed. BAKITA is an organisation dedicated to the development and advocacy of Swahili as a means of national integration in Tanzania. Key activities mandated for the organisation include creating a healthy atmosphere for the development of Swahili, encouraging use of the language in government and business functions, coordinating activities of other organisations involved with Swahili, standardising the language. BAKITA vision are: "1.To efficiently manage and coordinate the development and use of Kiswahili in Tanzania 2.To participate fully and effectively in promoting Swahili in East Africa, Africa and the entire world over".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vision and Mission of The National Kiswahili Council |url=https://www.bakita.go.tz/eng/vision_mission |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022065512/https://www.bakita.go.tz/eng/vision_mission |archive-date=22 October 2020 |access-date=13 October 2020 |website=The United Republic of Tanzania National Kiswahili Council |language=en}}</ref> Although other bodies and agencies can propose new vocabularies, BAKITA is the only organisation that can approve its usage in the Swahili language. Tanzanians are highly credited for shaping the language to appear the way it is now.

===Kenya===
In Kenya, Swahili (or Kiswahili as it is referred to in the Constitution and by the Kenya Law Reform Society <ref> https://www.klrc.go.ke/index.php/constitution-of-kenya/108-chapter-two-the-republic/173-7-national-official-and-other-languages</ref> ) has been the national language since 1964 and is official since 2010.<ref name="theeastafrican.co.ke">{{cite web|url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/uganda-finally-adopts-kiswahili-as-official-language-3869770|title=Uganda finally adopts Kiswahili as official language|work=[[Nation Media Group|The East African]]|date=5 July 2022 |access-date=13 July 2022}}</ref> ''Chama cha Kiswahili cha Taifa'' (CHAKITA) was established in 1998 to research and promote Kiswahili language in Kenya.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chakita.org/|title=CHAKITA:Chama Cha Kiswahili Cha Taifa|work=chakita.org|access-date=21 June 2022}}</ref> Kiswahili is a compulsory subject in all Kenyan primary and secondary schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kbc.co.ke/cs-matiangi-kiswahili-remain-compulsory-in-new-curriculum/|title=CS Matiangi: Kiswahili to remain compulsory in new curriculum|work=Kenya Broadcasting Corporation(KBC)|access-date=21 June 2022}}</ref>

===Congo===

{{Main|Congo Swahili}}

Swahili is recognized as a national language in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] and is widely spoken in the eastern regions. The local dialects of Swahili in [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]] are known as [[Congo Swahili]] and differ considerably from Standard Swahili.<ref>{{Cite book  |url= |last1=Okamura |first1=Toru |last2= Kai |first2= Masumi |title=Indigenous Language Acquisition, Maintenance, and Loss and Current Language Policies  |year=2020  |publisher=IGI Global |page=58 |isbn=9781799829614}}</ref>

===Burundi===
In order to strengthen political ties with other [[East African Community]] nations, both Kiswahili and English have been taught in Burundian elementary schools since the academic year 2005/2006. Kiswahili is now used widely in Burundi but is not recognised as an official language; only French, Kirundi, and English have this distinction.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ul.qucosa.de/api/qucosa%3A70969/attachment/ATT-0/|title=The variability of Kiswahili In Bujumbura|access-date=2023-09-04}}</ref> Since 2013, Swahili has been included in the all Burundian education system.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://information.tv5monde.com/afrique/burundi-lapprentissage-du-francais-en-perte-de-vitesse-2116171|title=Burundi : l'apprentissage du français en perte de vitesse|date=22 March 2023 |access-date=2024-11-21}}</ref>

===Uganda===
Uganda adopted Kiswahili as one of its official languages (alongside [[English language|English]]) in 2022, and also made it compulsory across primary and secondary schools in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/kiswahili-language-compulsory-in-primary-secondary-schools-cabinet--3869906|title=Kiswahili language compulsory in primary, secondary schools – Cabinet|work=[[Nation Media Group|The Monitor]]|date=5 July 2022 |access-date=13 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="theeastafrican.co.ke"/>

===Somalia===
The [[Somali language]] is the national and primary first language of Somalia.<ref name=Somcon1>{{Cite web|title=The Federal Republic of Somalia Provisional Constitution of 2012.|url=https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?p_lang=en&p_isn=94693&p_country=SOM&p_classification=01}}</ref> The Swahili language is not widespread in Somalia and has no [[Official language|official status]] nationally or regionally.<ref name=Somcon1/> [[Dialect]]s of Swahili are spoken by some [[Minority group|ethnic minorities]] on the [[Bajuni Islands|Bajuni islands]] in the form of [[Bajuni dialect|Kibajuni]] on the southern tip of the country and in the town of [[Barawa|Brava]] in the form of [[Bravanese dialect|Chimwiini]]; both contain a significant amount of [[Somali language|Somali]] and [[Italian language|Italian]] loanwords.<ref>{{Cite report|last=Henderson|first=Brent|title=Chimwiini: Endangered Status and Syntactic Distinctiveness|url=http://users.clas.ufl.edu/bhendrsn/JWAL%20paper%20Chimwiini.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119153301/http://users.clas.ufl.edu/bhendrsn/JWAL%20paper%20Chimwiini.pdf|archive-date=2022-01-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Nurse|first=Derek|title=When northern Swahili met southern Somali|url=https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/23416/1006736.pdf?sequence=1#page=659|journal=Contemporary African Linguistics}}</ref> Standard Swahili is generally only spoken by Somali nationals who have resided in Kenya and subsequently returned to Somalia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Scharrer|first=Tabea|date=2018-06-16|title="Ambiguous citizens": Kenyan Somalis and the question of belonging|journal=Journal of Eastern African Studies|volume=12|issue=3|pages=494–513|doi=10.1080/17531055.2018.1483864|s2cid=149655820|issn=1753-1055|doi-access=free|hdl=21.11116/0000-0001-F64C-5|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Weitzberg|first=Keren|title=We Do Not Have Borders: Greater Somalia and the Predicaments of Belonging in Kenya|date=2017-07-25|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv224txv2.16|work=|pages=181–182|publisher=Ohio University Press|doi=10.2307/j.ctv224txv2.16|s2cid=240478166|access-date=2022-01-19}}</ref> Lastly, a closely related language [[Zigula language|Mushunguli]] (also known as Zigula, Zigua, or Chizigua) is spoken by some of the [[Somali Bantus|Somali Bantu]] ethnic minority mostly living in the [[Jubba Valley]].<ref>{{e25|xma|Mushungulu}}</ref> It is classified as a [[Northeast Coast Bantu languages|Northeast Coast Bantu language]] as Swahili is<ref>{{Cite web|title=Glottolog 4.5 – Northeast Coastal Bantu|url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/nort3209|access-date=2022-01-25|website=glottolog.org}}</ref> and has some intelligibility with Swahili.

In 2024, Somalia joined the [[East African Community]] and its inclusion may facilitate the spread of the Swahili language in Somalia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Somalia finally joins EAC as the bloc's 8th Partner State |url=https://www.eac.int/press-releases/3049-somalia-finally-joins-eac-as-the-bloc-s-8th-partner-state |access-date=2025-01-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240304163326/https://www.eac.int/press-releases/3049-somalia-finally-joins-eac-as-the-bloc-s-8th-partner-state |archive-date=2024-03-04 |website=www.eac.int}}</ref> Nevertheless, in Somalia, Swahili, as a foreign language, will have to compete with [[English language|English]]; the primary global [[lingua franca]], [[Arabic]]; the official second language of Somalia and a [[sacred language|liturgical language]] for Muslims,<ref name=Somcon1/> as popular secondary or tertiary languages. Consequently, there is significant uncertainty regarding the adoption of the Swahili language in Somalia compared to the situation in most other EAC member states.