Swahili language and Related Topics

Uganda

Landlocked country in East Africa.

A caesarean section performed by indigenous healers in Kahura, in the Empire of Kitara (present-day Uganda) as observed by medical missionary Robert William Felkin in 1879. This incident was recorded long before the arrival of the European missionary doctors and clinics. The kingdom performed a highly developed surgical procedure, the first-ever cesarean section technique that saved both the mother and child.

Construction of the Owen Falls Dam in Jinja.

The Uganda printers building on Kampala Road, Kampala, Uganda

Grey Crowned Crane - a symbol of Uganda.

Belligerents of the Second Congo War. On 19 December 2005, the International Court of Justice found against Uganda, in a case brought by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for illegal invasion of its territory, and violation of human rights.

Uganda map of Köppen climate classification.

U.S. President George W. Bush met with President Yoweri Museveni in Entebbe, Uganda, 11 July 2003.

Protests in New York City against Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Graphical depiction of Uganda's product exports in 28 color-coded categories.

Change in per capita GDP of Uganda, 1950–2018. Figures are inflation-adjusted to 2011 International dollars.

Mobile operators offer money sending, receiving services, bill payments among many more services.

Cultural celebrations in Northern Uganda

Saint Mary's Cathedral Rubaga, is the parent cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kampala.

The official languages are English and Swahili, although the Constitution states that "any other language may be used as a medium of instruction in schools or other educational institutions or for legislative, administrative or judicial purposes as may be prescribed by law."

Mozambique

Country located in Southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini (Swaziland) and South Africa to the southwest.

Arab-Swahili slave traders and their captives on the Ruvuma River

The Island of Mozambique is a small coral island at the mouth of Mossuril Bay on the Nacala coast of northern Mozambique, first explored by Europeans in the late 15th century.

View of the Central Avenue in Lourenço Marques, now Maputo, ca. 1905

Portuguese language printing and typesetting class, 1930

Portuguese troops during the Portuguese Colonial War, some loading FN FAL and G3

The geopolitical situation in 1975, nations friendly to the FRELIMO are shown in orange

A US helicopter flying over the flooded Limpopo River during the 2000 Mozambique flood

Mozambique map of Köppen climate classification zones

A section of the crowd at its final campaign rally for the 2014 election

Mozambique's embassy in Washington, D.C.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets members of Indian community in Mozambique, 7 July 2016

Historical development of real GDP per capita in Mozambique, since 1960

A proportional representation of Mozambique's exports

Traditional sailboat in Ilha de Moçambique

European tourists on the beach, in Inhambane, Mozambique

National Mozambican airline, LAM Mozambique

Woman fetching water during the dry season from a polluted source in Machaze District of the Central Manica Province

The increase in the number of HIV positive Mozambicans on Antiretroviral treatment, 2003–14

Woman with traditional mask in Mozambique

Headquarters of Rádio Moçambique in KaMpfumo district of Maputo (photo 2009)

Pupils in front of their school in Nampula, Mozambique

Between the 7th and 11th centuries, a series of Swahili port towns developed there, which contributed to the development of a distinct Swahili culture and language.

Women from Comoros in traditional dress.

Swahili people

Area encompassing the Zanzibar archipelago and mainland Tanzania's seaboard, littoral Kenya, northern Mozambique, the Comoros Islands, southwestern Somalia and Northwest Madagascar.

Swahili Arabic script on a one-pysar coin from Zanzibar c. 1299 AH (1882 CE)

Swahili Arabic script on a carved wooden door (open) at Lamu in Kenya

Swahili Arabic script on wooden door in Fort Jesus, Mombasa in Kenya

The modern Swahili people speak the Swahili language as a mother tongue, which belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo family.

Southern African Development Community

Inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.

In August 2019 SADC adopted Swahili as its fourth working language, alongside English, French and Portuguese.

African Great Lakes

The African Great Lakes (Maziwa Makuu, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift.

The African Great Lakes system, in blue.

Map of larger region including the East African Rift and the entire so-called Great Rift Valley

The Swahili language is the most commonly spoken language in the African Great Lakes region.

Tanzania

Country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region.

A 1.8-million-year-old stone chopping tool discovered at Olduvai Gorge and on display at the British Museum.

A 1572 depiction of the portuguese city of Kilwa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Battle during the Maji Maji Rebellion against German colonial rule in 1905.

Tanzania map of Köppen climate classification

The Masai giraffe is Tanzania's national animal

The semi-autonomous Zanzibar Archipelago

Tanzanian ambassador to Russia Jaka Mwambi presenting his credentials to the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Tanzanian Embassy in West End, Washington, D.C., USA

FIB Tanzanian special forces during training

A proportional representation of Tanzania exports, 2019

Historical development of real GDP per capita in Tanzania, since 1950

Nyerere Bridge in Kigamboni, Dar es Salaam

Domestic expenditure on research in Southern Africa as a percentage of GDP, 2012 or closest year. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 (2015), Figure 20.3

A Tanzanian woman cooks Pilau rice dish wearing traditional Kanga.

Farmers using a rice harvester to harvest rice in Igunga District, Tanzania

Example of a World Food Programme parcel

Researchers (HC) in Southern Africa per million inhabitants, 2013 or closest year

Scientific publications per million inhabitants in SADC countries in 2014. Source: UNESCO Science Report (2015), data from Thomson Reuters' Web of Science, Science Citation Index Expanded

A carved door with Arabic calligraphy in Zanzibar

Nkrumah Hall at the University of Dar es Salaam

Judith Wambura (Lady Jaydee) is a popular Bongo Flava recording singer.

St Joseph's Catholic cathedral, Zanzibar

The country does not have a de jure official language, although the national language is Swahili.

Burundi

Flag of the Kingdom of Burundi (1962–1966).

Independence Square and monument in Bujumbura.

Belligerents of the Second Congo War. Burundi backed the rebels.

View of the capital city Bujumbura in 2006.

Pierre Nkurunziza, President of Burundi in 2005–2020.

Hippos at Kibira National Park in the Northwest of Burundi

A proportional representation of Burundi exports, 2019

Historical development of GDP per capita

Graphical depiction of Burundi's product exports in 28 colour-coded categories in 2009.

Bujumbura International Airport terminal in Bujumbura

Bicycles are a popular means of transport in Burundi

Carolus Magnus School in Burundi. The school benefits from the campaign "Your Day for Africa" by Aktion Tagwerk.

Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi (Repuburika y’Uburundi, ; Swahili: Jamuhuri ya Burundi; French: République du Burundi, or ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley where the African Great Lakes region and East Africa converge.

Arabic

Semitic language that first emerged in the 1st to 4th centuries CE.

The Namara inscription, a sample of Nabataean script, considered a direct precursor of Arabic script.

Arabic from the Quran in the old Hijazi dialect (Hijazi script, 7th century AD)

The Qur'an has served and continues to serve as a fundamental reference for Arabic. (Maghrebi Kufic script, Blue Qur'an, 9th-10th century)

Coverage in Al-Ahram in 1934 of the inauguration of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo, an organization of major importance to the modernization of Arabic.

Taha Hussein and Gamal Abdel Nasser were both staunch defenders of Standard Arabic.

Flag of the Arab League, used in some cases for the Arabic language

Flag used in some cases for the Arabic language (Flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz 1916–1925).The flag contains the four Pan-Arab colors: black, white, green and red.

Arabic calligraphy written by a Malay Muslim in Malaysia. The calligrapher is making a rough draft.

Some of the most influenced languages are Persian, Turkish, Hindustani (Hindi and Urdu), Kashmiri, Kurdish, Bosnian, Kazakh, Bengali, Malay (Indonesian and Malaysian), Maldivian, Pashto, Punjabi, Albanian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Sicilian, Spanish, Greek, Bulgarian, Tagalog, Sindhi, Odia Hebrew and Hausa and some languages in parts of Africa (e.g. Swahili, Somali).

East African Community

Intergovernmental organisation composed of seven countries in the African Great Lakes region in East Africa: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republics of Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Uganda.

From left to right: President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, and President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania during the eighth EAC summit in Arusha, November 2006.

EAC heads in 2009. From left to right: Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Mwai Kibaki (Kenya), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania), Pierre Nkurunziza (Burundi).

Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the 2006 EAC summit. Rwanda joined the EAC on 1 July 2007.

Three EAC countries border Lake Victoria.

Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest peak, located in Tanzania.

{{flagicon|Democratic Republic of the Congo}} Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kiswahili, English and French are designated as the official languages of the EAC, with Swahili designated for development as the lingua franca of the community.

Mombasa

Coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean.

Mombasa was under Portuguese rule from 1593 to 1698 and again from 1728 to 1729. Portuguese presence in Kenya lasted from 1498 until 1730.

C. 1953 – A newly constructed East African Railways 60 class Garratt locomotive being unloaded at Mombasa, Kenya. The locomotive is seen here fitted with numberplate 5608, but it was renumbered 6002 at about the time it entered service.

Seafront of Nyali Beach, north coast (from the Voyager Resort).

Among the many sellers and vendors along Mombasa's beaches, this man walked up and down all day hoping for tourists looking for camel rides.

The Market Hall in Mombasa, Kenya, where especially spices are sold.

Holy Ghost Cathedral, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mombasa

Lord Shiva Temple in Mombasa, Hindu Union of Mombasa

In 1502, the sultanate became independent from Kilwa Kisiwani and was renamed as Mvita (in Swahili) or Manbasa (Arabic).