Saturday, December 4, 2010

"SWAHILI METHOD FOR BEGINNERS"


I stumbled upon what looks to be great website for learning Kiswahili. Back in the 60s there was talk about making Kiswahili an official pan-African language of communication. [1] Although Kiswahili has official status in the African Union and is still promoted by Maulana Karenga and other pan-Africanists, the pan-African language initiative is nearly dead. I still think its a useful idea that we might revisit. Currently there are probably over 100 million Kiswahili speakers on the African continent--primarily in East and Central Africa. But you can also study the language at West African institutions like the University of Ghana. Muriel and Tom Feelings [2] have published several children's books on Kiswahili [3][4].

Notes
[1] There is a misconception that Kiswahili is not really an African language. This is false. Kiswahili is 100% Bantu in structure with Arabic loans words. See The Swahili: reconstructing the history and language of an African society (p. 15)
[2] Tom Feelings (1933-2003) was an African American cartoonist and a political dissident in the 60s. He resided in Ghana along with Maya Angelou and others during the Nkrumah years. See American Africans in Ghana by Kevin Gaines and Middle Passages by James Campbell.
[3] Jambo Means Hello (see image above)


Also dig:

     • The Kamusi Project

tags: Swahili language, east africa, Languages of Africa, maulana karenga, bantu, arabic

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