Swahili
This is the most spoken language in Africa, with over 100 million speakers. Also known as Kiswahili, the language is a Bantu language believed to have originated from other languages, specifically Arabic, following historical interactions between Arabs from the Middle East and East Africans. Swahili is the lingua franca of the African Great Lakes region and other parts of eastern and south-eastern Africa, including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is currently the national language of four countries, namely Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and the DRC. Shikomor, the official language in Comoros and also spoken in Mayotte (Shimaore), is also related to Swahili. With Swahili being widely spoken, it becomes imperative to learn the language as it will afford you the opportunity to visit and transact business with countries like Tanzania and Kenya. You could also go to Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, and Mozambique and do same. It shouldn’t be too hard for you to learn Swahili, as unlike other African languages, it does not use tones. It basically uses the Latin alphabet. And learning the language would also be easier if you already know some Arabic, as there are so many Arabic loanwords in Swahili. To practice some Swahili greetings, here’s how to go about it.
