Swahili, also known by its native nameKiswahili, is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands).[8] Although linguistically categorised as a Bantu language, Swahili has borrowed a number of words from foreign languages, particularly Arabic, but also words from Portuguese, English and German. Around forty percent of Swahili vocabulary consists of Arabic loanwords,[9] including the name of the language (?????????saw??il?, a plural adjectival form of an Arabic word meaning 'of the coast'). The loanwords date from the era of contact between Arab slave traders and the Bantu inhabitants of the east coast of Africa, which was also the time period when Swahili emerged as a lingua franca in the region.[10] The number of Swahili speakers, be they native or second-language speakers, is estimated to be approximately 200 million.[11][12]
Geographic-administrative extent of Swahili. Dark: native range (the Swahili coast). Medium green: official use. Light green: no official or national language status.
Shikomor (or Comorian), an official language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte (Shimaore), is closely related to Swahili and is sometimes considered a dialect of Swahili, although other authorities consider it a distinct language.[22][23] In 2022, based on Swahili's growth as a prominent international language, the United Nations declared Swahili Language Day as 7 July to commemorate the date that Julius Nyerere adopted the Swahili as a unifying language for African independence struggles.[24]
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