Swahili

Swahili (Kiswahili) is a Bantu language that serves as a lingua franca of much of East Africa. It's the national language of Tanzania and Kenya, and is widely used across the African Great Lakes region. Swahili has borrowed significantly from Arabic, Portuguese, German, and English due to centuries of trade and colonization.

Swahili emerged as a trade language along the East African coast around the 1st century CE, developing from interactions between Bantu-speaking peoples and Arab traders. The language spread inland during the 19th century through trade routes and later through colonial education policies.