The earliest Swahili manuscripts date back to the 1700s, written in Arabic script.

Swahili was first written down by Muslim scholars along the East African coast. It also evolved on the Zanzibar archipelago.

Swahili is the most widely spoken language in Africa, with over 200 million speakers. It is an official language in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and the African Union.

The word “Swahili” comes from the Arabic word “Sawāḥil” (سواحل), meaning “coasts.”

Swahili originated as a trade language between Arabs and Bantu-speaking Africans.

About 30 percent of the Swahili vocabulary comes from Arabic.

The greeting “Jambo” is famous worldwide, but locals usually say “Habari” or “Hujambo.”

“Hakuna Matata” literally means “no troubles,” and yes, Disney popularized it globally. “Simba” truly means “lion.” Disney didn’t make that up.

Swahili uses the Latin alphabet, just like English, and it is one of the easiest African languages for English speakers to learn.

Swahili is phonetic, words are pronounced exactly as they are written. It has no tones, unlike many other African languages.The Swahili word for “teacher” is “mwalimu.” Tanzania’s first president, Julius Nyerere, was affectionately called Mwalimu Nyerere.

“Safari” means “journey” in Swahili. It is not limited to lion-chasing tours.

Swahili verbs always end with “a.”

There is no word for “please” in traditional Swahili. Politeness is expressed through tone and phrasing.

Swahili was one of the first African languages taught in U.S. universities.

It serves as a lingua franca in East Africa, bridging communication among more than one hundred ethnic groups.

NASA once used Swahili phrases in training for astronauts working on African missions.

Swahili has also absorbed words from Portuguese, English, German, and Hindi.

The Swahili word “mungu” (God) predates both Islam and Christianity, originally referring to a supreme creator spirit.