Rely On Our Professional, Native Swahili Translation Services

Number of Swahili speakers by country

* D.R. Congo numbers according to Cellule d’analyses des indicateurs de développement, all other numbers according to Ethnologue

A language that has already joined the digital revolution

Swahili is among the first African languages for which language technology applications have been developed. The Finnish language technology expert Arvi Hurskainen developed a rules-based application for the language as early as 1985. Several applications followed including a spellchecker, a part-of-speech tagger, a language learning program, a 25-million-word text corpus, an online dictionary and a machine translator, boosting the language’s status as a modern medium of communication.

Swahili’s rich history

The Swahili-speaking communities along the East African coast acted as intermediaries between the Bantu populations of the interior and the seafaring traders from the Arabian lands to the north and Indian subcontinent to the east. The use of the language spread with the expansion of commerce during the colonial period spanning the 19th and 20th centuries. The British, who controlled the Swahili-speaking areas of what is today Kenya and Tanzania, chose the educated speech of the main town on the island of Zanzibar as the lingua franca, facilitating the development of the idiom’s international standard.

A language with strong influences from many tongues

The chief foreign contributor to Swahili is Arabic, which brought an enormous number of loanwords to the language, (including the name of the idiom, swahili, from the Arabic word sawāḥilī, an adjective meaning “of the coast”). The rise of Swahili as an important regional tongue spans several centuries, starting from the first contacts between Arabian traders and the region’s local inhabitants. Over the centuries, Swahili developed into a lingua franca of the many closely related Bantu-speaking tribal groups. In the early 19th century, Swahili’s use spread inland, receiving a boost with the arrival of Arab ivory and slave caravans. This pushed the language’s reach well into the continent’s interior, northward into Uganda and westward into the Congo. European colonizers were the next to adopt it, most notably the Germans, who instituted Swahili as the language of administration in Tanganyika, paving the way for its adoption as Tanzania’s national language. Although Swahili was just one of many local languages in Kenya and Uganda during the colonial period, in line with the development of a lingua franca for the East African Community, educational authorities in both countries now promote its use.

An internationally accepted standard alongside many mutually intelligible dialects

Swahili has many dialects, which are for the most part mutually intelligible, in additional to several pidgin variants. Nine dialects predominate:

• Kiunguja spoken in Zanzibar Town on the island of Zanzibar and in many mainland areas of Tanzania. Standard Swahili is based on the Kiunguja dialect;
• Kitumbatu and Kimakunduchi: the two dialects spoken outside of Zanzibar Town on the island of Zanzibar.
• Kimvita: spoken in Mombasa, as well as along Kenya’s southern coast. It is the second most important dialect after Kiunguja;
• Mambriu: spoken in the towns of Mambriu, Malindi and the central coast of Kenya;
• Kiamu: spoken on the island of Lamu and adjoining parts of Kenya’s northern coast;
• Kimrima (a.k.a. Mtang’ata): spoken in the coastal area of Tanzania immediately facing the island of Zanzibar. This includes Tanzania’s former capital and largest city of Dar es Salaam;
• Kipemba: spoken on the island of the same name off the Tanzanian coast;
• Kimgao: spoken in the Kilwa district in southeastern Tanzania.

Swahili’s capacity to adapt to changing contexts has contributed to its unique position among the languages of East and Central Africa.

Standard Swahili based on the Kiunguja dialect of Zanzibar is the recommended variant for all translation intended for Swahili audiences in general. The variant is the one used in education, media, public relations and advertising. Pronto Translations’ team of Swahili translators is fully proficient in the variant.

Kenya

Swahili is the lingua franca of the streets of Kenya’s urban centers, small and medium-sized shops, as well as media, and certain trades. A survey of language use in Nairobi carried out in 2002 by noted East African linguist and lecturer at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Chege Githiora, revealed that although only 7% of the 1,300 respondents reported Swahili as a first language, more than 50% use Swahili in their household interactions with other family members. Most people generally speak a local language at home, use Swahili for the “street” and in local shops, and English for business. Swahili is taught as a subject at all levels of education in Kenya, with many graduates from the three main national universities specializing in Swahili each year. Radio and TV programs are broadcast in Swahili, English, and various local languages. In rural areas, use is somewhat more limited, with it being heard on local radio and TV, used in shops or businesses operated by nonlocals, as well as in Swahili newspapers and flyers. In rural schools, children are taught in their local language up to Standard 4, but switch over to Swahili as well as English as these are the languages in which they must pass all later exams. Overall, about two-thirds of Kenyans have a good command of of Swahili as compared to less than one-sixth who has mastered English.

Several Kenyan Swahili newspapers, both online and print, are widely read in the country including Tuko (https://kiswahili.tuko.co.ke/) and Taida Leo (https://taifaleo.nation.co.ke/).

Of importance, and something to consider if your message is decidedly contemporary or directed to urban consumers, is the rise of a new urban “lingo” that has become prevalent on the streets of Kenya’s cities, most notably in Nairobi. Swahili, English, and other ethnic languages have meshed to create a new language called Sheng. Sheng’s grammar and syntax is based on that of Swahili, hence it is clearly a variation of it, but it incorporates other languages, mostly English. The language is closely associated with the country’s urban youth.

Uganda

English and Swahili are both official languages, with the latter having been added in 2005.

Swahili entered common usage in Uganda when, from 1902 into the 1960s, the inhabitants of the northern part of the country were recruited to serve in British colonial government’s army. Joining the army was seen as prestigious. As a result, when they returned home, they were speaking a new language: Swahili. The language gained influence as it was not only used in the army and the police, but was also taught in schools.

Uganda’s membership in the EAC spurred the government to further accelerate the population’s mastery of Swahili. On September 9, 2019 the cabinet passed a resolution establishing the National Kishwahili Council with the mandate to develop and implement Swahili as a lingua franca, to serve as a common language among speakers of different native languages.

Other than in the Buganda regions of Central Uganda, where Luganda is dominant, Swahili is the lingua franca.  The language is spoken natively in the Bwera and Kaboka regions in the country’s West and Southwest. It serves as a second language in the Kiryandongo district of Northern Uganda, in the areas on both sides of the West Nile, around Lake Albert and throughout the eastern part of the country.

Burundi

Although Kurundi (a.k.a. Rundi) is the main language of the country, Swahili is widely spoken in the Great Lakes region. It is also used in commerce and in connection with the country’s Muslim minority or with immigration from elsewhere in East Africa.

In the capital of Bujumbura, Swahili (mixed with French) has taken hold, where it is viewed by city dwellers, and especially its youth, as something “cool” and modern.

Rwanda

Swahili is co-official, alongside Kinyarwanda, English and French.

Although Kinyarwanda remains the language of the street as well as most media broadcasting, much like in Burundi, Swahili (mixed with French) has achieved a fashionable and commercially viable popularity, especially in the city of Rubavu/Gisenyi due to its proximity to and trade with nearby Goma in the DRC, as well as in some neighborhoods of Kigali, the capital, most notably within the Muslim community in Nyamirambo, the Congolese community in Gikongo and in Gatsata, home of the area’s many garages and multinational community of car mechanics.

Oman

From 1698 to 1861, Oman and Zanzibar were part of the same country, the Sultanate of Zanzibar. Although the sultanate split into two countries, relations remained close, with many Swahili-speaking Zanzibaris settling in Oman and taking the language with them. The language is still widely spoken in Oman today, alongside an appreciation of Swahili music and traditions.

Writing

Swahili’s long literary tradition dates back to the mid-17th century. The oldest surviving documents, transcriptions of oral Swahili epic poetry written in Arabic script, date back to the early part of the 18th century. Many works of Western writers have been translated into Swahili. Tanzanian author Shaaban Robert is the most well-known of the contemporary novelists. Swahili shifted from Arabic script to a Roman-based alphabet in the mid-19th century. The standard for the written language was established in the 1930s.

The language’s international reach

Many international radio stations including the BBC, Radio Cairo, the Voice of America, Deutsche Welle, Voice of Russia, NHK Radio-Japan, Radio China International, IRIB World Service (Iran), Radio Sudan and Radio South Africa beam out programs in Swahili. Swahili has made inroads into the Western world of entertainment: one of the earliest was the role of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek, the original series, in 1966. The lyrics for the Michael Jackson song “Liberian girl” include Swahili phrases: Nakupenda pia, nakutaka pia, mpenzi we! (I love you, and I want you, my dear!). The Lion King, one of the most well-known Disney films, comes replete with Swahili words, among them, simba (lion), rafiki (friend), as the names of some of the characters. The Swahili phrase hakuna matata (No troubles or no problems) is quoted in the movie.

Hire Professional Swahili Language Translations Specialists!

If you are searching for linguists who translate English to Tanzanian Swahili, you should choose us. At Pronto Translations, you will find a professional translator for almost any language spoken on Earth. Our Swahili translation team will deliver any document when you need it, matching the tone and intent of your original text.

Our Swahili language translator team is based in Nairobi, Kenya, but our main offices are in New York. Our US service area covers:

• Chelsea
• Midtown
• Soho
• Greenwich Village
• All of Manhattan
• Hoboken, NJ
• Jersey City, NJ
• … and anywhere in the US or around the world

Our services are delivered remotely to anywhere worldwide.

Call us now: 646-984-4073!

Contact us to discuss your Swahili translation project