Swahili: The Rise of an African World Language
Today Lingoblog celebrates United Nations Swahili Day with this post by Kofi Yakpo.
Encounters with Swahili
In 1995, I won a scholarship to study Swahili at the Institute of Swahili and Foreign Languages in Zanzibar, Tanzania. I had crammed for two months before the qualifying exam, trying to catch up with African Studies students who had been studying Swahili for two years. I couldn’t utter a single coherent sentence, but I knew all the nominal classes and verbal extensions by heart. It got me through.
I stayed with the family of Bi Faiza in Michenzani, Zanzibar, a household consisting of Bi Faiza and her three daughters. She welcomed me as her son, and so, my journey of learning began. … ↪