Swahili
pronunciation
How to pronounce Swahili in British English:
UK [swəˈhi:li]
How to pronounce Swahili in American English:
US [swə'hilɪ]
-
- Noun:
- the most widely spoken Bantu languages; the official language of Kenya and Tanzania and widely used as a lingua franca in east and central Africa
Word Origin
- Swahili
- name of a Bantu people inhabiting the coast of southeastern Africa, 1814, literally "coast-dwellers," from Arabic sawahil, plural of sahil "coast" + ethnic suffix -i.
Example
- 1. Mr gration was born in congo to missionary parents , speaks swahili and knows the region well .
- 2. He grew up speaking english ; a later adoption of sheng , a slang based on swahili , energises him .
- 3. Whether you speak chinese , english or swahili , a laugh or smile has virtually the same meaning all over the world , researchers said .
- 4. Until 2010 mr joseph ran safaricom , the kenyan company that launched m-pesa , so-called because pesa means money in swahili .
- 5. Kabila fils has a personal bodyguard of several thousand handpicked men , outside the army command , who tend to speak swahili and hail from the eastern and south-eastern region where he can count on his most loyal support .