Should Swahili be an official language for Africa? 

Should Swahili be an official language for Africa? Give us your thoughts on this topic down below.

How is it an insult to culture if we already have European languages dominating? Support Kiswahili. #South African

Coming from a guy whose trying to learn different languages, Swahili was my first and favorite language to learn, easy to read, write, and speak (especially speak). I really hope more colleges in America can offer swahili classes and popularize the language.

Currently I am with two brothers from Africa, one Burundian and a Mozambican... We speak swahili in Tokyo and it's too satisfying. It gives you a feeling of connection to home. Let's promote swahili because it's African and widely spoken.

Southern Africa is on board supporting Kiswahili as a language to be implemented.long live Kiswahili Long live

I find it hilarious how the host seems to have such a problem with Swahili yet he is in a room filled with AFRICANS speaking ENGLISH....KISWAHILI KITUKUZWE!!

Watching these people argue about how language presents culture and a new language means cheating on their own culture while at the same time speaking French!!!

Nobody is asking you to drop your native language, the discussion is adopt one common language in addition to what you speak same way you adopt the nonsensical western language in school. This topic is not complicated. Im west African and i choose kiswahili to be introduced in all african schools. Drop all colonizers language french, etc. See how African think listen to what some of these people are saying yet they will be more than willing to impose a western language in their schools. Adopt one common African language and you are arguing

One says learning swahili takes away his pride. Really? You must have been smiling from ear to ear attending german and french classes but an African indigenous language is where you draw the line.

One language is the way and Swahili is the most accessible documented and most widely spoken native African language and should be the language of Africa. We could bolster Kiswahili by dropping European loan words with words from other African languages. However the objective is to move forward not go backwards so I have no problem with Swahili being the primary African language since it and Amharic are the most developed native languages that can be used to teach witch is important because many of us claim to love our native languages but can't count or even say half the colors on the color spectrum in our languages, or even read and write them for that matter this isn't about ego it's about survival. Progress equates to evolution and stagnicity equals death.

I’m African American and I want to learn what my people speak

I’m from South Sudan 🇸🇸 but I am trying to learn Swahili bc it’s a beautiful language. We don’t speak it in South Sudan but they are trying to adopt it as a language, so I might as well learn it.

I am from Gambia and I support one language for Africa, which is SWAHIL fIor the benefit of cohesion and the ability to trade with each other in an expeditious manner between African countries,, which would enhanced the ability for Africans to proceed in a expeditious manner to move and move goods and services between African countries.. Be vigilant, the struggle continues!

Since Swahili is one of the most widely spoken African languages on the continent it would make sense for Africans to learn Swahili so that Africans can communicate with each other easily. Africans in the Diaspora should also learn Swahili so they would also be able to communicate with continental Africans.

Yes one language please.... it’s not matter what Language as Long all Africans Can speak it... thats will bring Africans together.

I'm South African and I choose Kiswahili because it was easy for me to understand, and I learned it on my own. Kiswahili has a lot of words that it shares with other African languages. In my language Zulu, a Goat is Mbuzi, meat is Nyama which is the same in Kiswahili. So, from the North East Africa to the Southern region it will be easy to implement it!!!

I am currently studying Kiswahil... I am planning to relocate to Kenya. Kiswahil is spoken in the East African Community: Kenya🇰🇪 Tanzania🇹🇿 Uganda🇺🇬 Rwanda🇷🇼 Burundi🇧🇮 and South Sudan🇸🇸 Kiswahil is already one of the official languages of the African Union.

Ni nzuri inapendeza sana kwa waafrica wote kuongea kiswahili

"learning Swahili will be an insult to our pride as we come from different cultures." - Africans coming together to speak in English together Ok

Swahili can be an official language for Africa. I am from Sudan .

If we all learn Kiswahili, it will become a new language due to the many influences. I don't know why we start talking about pride when we oppose learning Kiswahili. Where was this pride when we were learning Wazungu languages?

I go for one language,As a symbol of unification, i appreciate the efforts and initiatives of some African countries starting to promote Kiswahili. I do not care which language takes the vote whether it is kiswahili or any other language from Africa i am ready to learn it, since i have A i have been praying for unitification, for me this is never a matter of discussion...my local language will always be my local language but i need that one African Language. No matter which it be.

This is a good suggestion. África needs its own language Swahili is the obvious candidate but how about regularize Swahili in terms of vocab and grammar to make it easier to learn?

The reason we should adopt Swahili: We have different ethnicities in East Africa more than 200 tribes but Swahili unifies us all. Its easier to communicate in East Africa through Swahili. It can have the same effects across Africa. It will unify all Africans. Swahili is already existent and established. It's easier to work with it. Lastly Swahili has more than 250 million speakers.

One language for Africa is a good idea that we should support and go for it.We are one nation if Africa.

It is my opinion as one of Swahili experts in Europe that this language is the only most developed language and would serve this purposeI the best. I am an author of Swahili text books "Swahili for Foreigners" and I taught Swahili in a German Institute for for more than 35 years.

Learning another language doesn't necessarily mean that you should let go of your own mother tongue. If most of these nation's put in as much effort to promote their own local languages we wouldn't be here speaking in English on a Pan-African platform. Amharic and Swahili speaking countries have put in the effort. It's only logical that they are put to the test in becoming a common language for interaction in Africa

Kiswahili is really a designed language to fit in Africa and other parts of the world because it comprises of words from all languages across Africa and all other world languages, fellow Africans let's wake up and embless and support this given gift from God, thanks

The fact that Africans speak so many languages is a strength and outsiders know it! The first time I met young school girls from South Africa and one said she spoke 9languages! It is probably common to Africans but to the world may be a threat. Think about it, you can still trade and travel and pick up on languages so easily. I am from America and black and we speak the language of the colonizers studied Spanish and Mandarin but not fluent in either. Honestly, I think the fact that everyone in the video speaks so many languages is just amazing that is the left brain fully developed. How do you pick up new languages so quickly? Is it immersion by moving to countries where you have to speak the language?

Let's come together. We are one people. Yes, to Swahili. From Burkina, ( ECOWAS)

I vote for Swahili because some country in Africa already speak that so that will be easy I'm from DRC kinshasa

Swahili is an original African Bantu language that easily carries over the existing cultures. You can keep your native tongue and learn Swahili for African Unity

I agree with the Nigerian guy. One language is not the key to Africa's unity. FIRST, WE HAVE TO RESPECT EACH OTHER AND REMOVE PREJUDICES WE HAVE AGAINST EACH OTHER. Mutual respect and a collective consciousness should define our unity.

Well 16 out of the 54 African States understand Swahili, and more are adopting it so ....... Its a no brainer Swahili wins anyday.

I dont care I am angolan I started learning swailli. I am bantu it may represents me too . also swailli is mor organised language to learn that I dont see in any other Angolan languages like umbumdu kimbundo etc. if you see all Europeans speaks English and make the business better for them

Africans should keep there own language and learn swahili as well!! Think about it in Europe each country has its own language and learn other European languages within the schools. BUT THEY WOULD NEVER EVER give up there own language.

I love you my African family❤️ from DRC Kinshasa

Swahili is the way to go

I speak English, my home language Sesotho and Zulu as well. I can't wait to learn Swahili😀😀😀.

I'm somali I speak Swahili/Kiswahili fluently as many somalis speak Swahili , and Swahili it's also spoken in South east part of Somalia , If Africa needs one language it should be kiswahili. Just drop the colonial tongue that you have adapted, creating new language it's the most difficult thing ever, language is nature.

Great work 👍🏾 brick by brick we build 👊🏿

We need this Africa 👏🏾

I support swahili the official language of Africans, it would unite us, and there's no need to drop our native languages, just learn a new one.

As a native Kiswahili speaker I am really biased when it comes to this topic. Kiswahili should unite us all. 🇰🇪🇰🇪

To be honest it's insane to say Africa should have one language. This is insane. Africa is a continent, and have unique culture, colour, body features. So why dream of one language? Even a small continent like Europe has many languages. So If Europe can understand each other through translation so why can't Africa? It's insane! Who even thought of this? Of course we can make popular languages on the continent as official Like Arabic, Swahili, Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Zulu, Fula, Amharic, Xhosa, Twi. We should check languages that has much speakers and make it as official in African Union.

I'm from England my parents born and raised in Kenya mombasa speaking fluent swahili, but I honestly think swahili is the best bet, when it comes to languages, swahili is the easiest to speak and learn, I a pure brit but my first language I picked up was swahili 🤷‍♀️ swahili is world recognised, the UK has options to translate in swahili, which is huge because we only learn European languages

If u learned german, then how is it hard to learn swahili? We should go with the widely spoken language to make it easier

I request Swahili language because It expand rapidily

Swahili is soft on the mouth. No much intonations and consonants.

Swahili is now a regional language in Southern Africa

Why are we very praud of speaking our enemies language than our own swahili is ours let's speak it period

Yes Sir. Swahili should be the official African language. I speak 5 languages but Swahili always win. It is easy to pronounce, it has a large population and it is sufficient by itself

As a Zimbabwean we are ok with our languages Shona and Ndebele. Shona is actually the largest mother tongue Bantu language with 14 million speakers. And its well established. We read and write in Shona. A lot of my Kenyan friends said a lot of mother tongues in Kenya are being neglected due to Swahili especially with the younger generations. Since mother tongues arent taught at school. So if you introduce Swahili to other countries it may deteriorate the local mother tongue languages.

Kiswahili, a lexiconal synthesis of about 10 Bantu tongues, has become a common language throughout East & Central Africa with numerous speakers in West-Central & Southern Africa. It is fast becoming a language of business, research, and scholarship. The roots of it are sourced in the language of the Mijikenda (Mee-jee-kane-dah), a Bantu people, comprised of nine (9) linguistically-linked sub-ethnicities, who are clustered along a 1000-mile East African coastal strip extending from the bottom of Somalia down to the bottom of Tanzania. Mijikenda is translated as ‘the nine communities’, with reference to the Bantu terms miji (towns/villages) and kenda (nine). There are more than 600 African languages that are categorized as Bantu, e.g., Isizulu, Kiswahili, Kikamba, Lingala, Siswati, etc.; they all use some form of ‘ntu’ to denote a person; hence, Bantu means people, given the plural prefix ‘ba’. Kiswahili is the most widely spoken indigenous African language by both population (>100 mil.) and geography (11 sub-Saharan countries). I appeared as a guest on DARC (Diaspora Afrikan Renaissance Channel), hosted by Igho Otubu, to discuss the pan-African context of Kiswahili. The referenced show is entitled 'Malema calls for adoption of Swahili as Africa's common language' and can be viewed via RU-vid; see link below. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0VLHlqPwu0s.html For further engagement, my e-mail is as follows: ufundi320@yahoo.com . Asante sana (many thanks) for allowing me this opportunity to engage the audience and subscribers of this channel (DW Africa).

Maybe West, North, South, and East Africa could each have their own respective regional language.

Good conversation 👍🇬🇭

I LOVE the idea!! I have thought of it. I think I would recommend long study of the entire Niger-Congo language structure and try to create something new. I say Swahili + Igbo + Yoruba + Hausa + Twi.... (all languages with highest number of current speakers)

I am down for Kiswahili as a Ghanaian - it is already super popular - it doesn't mean that we do not speak our own languages - we should still keep our ones but it creates a better interface when moving across the whole land

Thing is, Swahili is the most widely spoken language in Africa and the widely spreading language. It's fast growing and eventually will be come the lingua franca of Africa

One language in Africa is possible. Swahili is the solution. But patient is required

Africa is not a country, but a continent with a large number of countries of a very wide variety of cultures and languages.

Why does Africa need an official language and why should Africa speak one language? That would kill the diversity on the continent.

There are swahili words which look like. Kiswahili is a language from different african languages! Sielewi kwanini hwa wanageria ni kama wanataka iwe kiyoruba au???

Congratulation African patriots for having ideas towards having one Africa and one language. I support swahili as more countries have adopted it, and it Can be easily improved to capture several bantu languages.

Unification of Africa is necessary therefore, a common language is the best way(Swahili) . if not we will have to wait for a long period before unification. what we literary should discuss is the period in which we would like to attain our unification given that a new language will take time to understand unless it is easy to learn. LOVE YOU AFRICA.

No, I believe the whole of East Africa should be Swahili. South Africa has its own and so should West Africa.

One Africa, one language. Full stop. Swahili is very well placed to be the only and sole language for the entire Africa. (Asanteni sana). Burkina Faso ( ECOWAS)

Let the language pick itself.. as we go on connecting we will need to communicate.. the best, easiest to learn, and one that is as close as possible to every African culture will triumph over the rest.. let the language for Africa grow naturally, no artificial enforcement.. a good example is swahili that cuts across many, many African tribes.. most who speak swahili do so as a second language after their own mother tongues.

Yes, we called for it since very long time.

Swahili is a secondary language out of Africa . It has a natural way of spreading itself through trade and social interaction. Adding some official push would make it to be adopted throughout Afrca including Arab north as its easily adoptable in Arab world. It is easy to learn as it evolved out of African languages.

Should be divided regionally. North Afrika is pretty much dominated by Eurasians & Arabs so they can continue speaking Arabic. West Afrika can speak a set language from one of the larger tribes. Central Afrika can do the same. East Afrika already speaks Kiswahili, and South Afrika can speak Zulu or Xhosa.

As We evolve so will Our mutual means of communication and develop into the base language without destroying other languages. This is just a necessary step towards achieving Our own economic, social and security integrity.....

Which is easy creating and learning a new language or adapting already existing an widely spoken one??

Just as there is a huge task to get African governments to end corruption, it's an even greater challenge to get the majority populous on the continent to make sacrifices for the greater good of the whole of Africa. With culture comes bias and often times being closed-minded to evolution. I question why so many are against the 1-Africa concept. What exists now only benefits a small percentage. Quality of life is drastically reduced for so many, yet behaviours are not changing. If it's normal that the average African can speak multiple languages as elaborated in this video then why can't this same group of people learn another language that unifies the continent? Currently, Swahili is the most spoken language on the continent. It makes sense.

i think we should be proud of what we have,our culture.Languages contribute a lot towards culture,so we should really preserve that.I dont think Africa's way of unification is through language since there is no language barrier already.Should instead focus on economy and promoting trade

I think having a lingua franca in Africa would be of great benefit to the continent. Not only would it increase relations among every country but it would empower the African people through a sense of identity. The challenge of course comes down when picking the language itself; some people will naturally feel that it does not represent them or their culture, but I think that is a compromise that must be made for the greater good. Ideally, a language from African origin should be picked before of anything else, in my opinion.

Kiswahili is a favourite language that may bind us especially when we are spearheading to One African Free Trade Area. Because historically cropped up as a language of business in East Coast Africa

Hey guys, I really enjoyed this video! Thank you very much! I am an European, not African but I would like to tell you my vision of having one common language. For sure as you mentioned it will be really hard to pick only one from all African languages as a main official language. This will lead to many conflicts in each part of the continent, except if it's not done through violence and repressions, which of course is unthinkable and unacceptable. I, as a Bulgarian, am proud for speaking the language my fathers were speaking since the creation of my country and even long before that. Of course changed in some ways in time, but still my ancestors tongue. Language, culture, traditions these are things that show up who we are, where we come from and all these are things that make us unique and interesting for the rest of the world! Also, creating a new language-a sum of particles of other African languages is gonna be a big mess and this way you also will not conserve the origins...As you said, you already have enough to study-just to say-many of people grown somewhere in Europe speak only their mother tongue, while I am impressed-you are so rich in languages :) But for sure it would be nicer and much better if you could understand and speak more other native African languages instead of those brought from outside the continent. But in this case, we couldn't be able to understand each-other. As nowadays English seems to has taken the role of Esperanto around the globe. For example, I am against all these colonizations done in time and ruining much of what is has been...And sorry for reminding this, but you can easily see what happens to people not knowing, not remembering their roots..Due to the slavery many of your brothers and sisters were kidnapped and brought to different countries all over the world...today to say 10 generations later/but in fact even 3-4 are really enough/, they identify themselves as Americans, as British, as French, as Dutch...and they are used in wars against their families by blood. Same is with Asian people grown in the U.S. that were involved in wars against their own nations...What I am trying to say is that we-all the people living on Earth are brothers and sisters. We are connected in many ways-we all have the same feelings, the same fears, the same struggles, the same things bring smiles on our faces, melt our hearths and make us feel butterflies in our stomachs, but language and traditions are the ones that show the differences according to land, weather conditions, surviving habits, believes, etc.that lead to creation different cultures and traditions. This is the diversity on Earth! It is like to want all the plants on Earth to be only tomatoes; but even tomatoes will change-will grow different ways, will have different taste, because of all the factors like land, soil, high or low plantation, sun, rains, cold, snow..For example the European Union is trying to make such a thing with Europeans-to make us celebrate same holidays, forbidding some ethnic /as they say pagan/ rituals, traditions left to us from our ancestors. This is like to tell a family to name their child after some writer for example instead after his grandmother or grandfather /we have this tradition to be named after our ancestors/. If we do this, we show that we don't respect anything of what they've done through the centuries to keep themselves as a nation or a tribe and for us-to be able to be born...we can not cut our roots like this! We are not allowed to in the name of our fathers and mothers that have fought to survive in ages of darkness and wars. As you mentioned there was Esperanto created for Europeans, but it didn't succeed...we find it only in books as an idea from the past. Yea, the Bible says that in Babylon we have all spoken the same language but we started thinking we are Gods and this is how we were punished by Him-not to understand each-other. Do you find anything has changed since then? Are we not pretending we are Gods even today? Are we not thinking that our lives are granted? Do we not hurt other creatures, the Earth, even the Space? We hurt each-other every single day-with the words we say, with the things we do or not...we still haven't changed...so, the time for a common language has probably not come yet :) This is my opinion as a person seeing things from aside...I am not involved in this, so I don't think I am taking anyone's side, just personal vision of things :) P.S. Why instead of creating one common language, don't have a discussion about creating alphabets for all the languages in Africa that don't have one? It 's gonna be a hard job, but also this way it will be easier for foreigners to touch themselves to this huge diversity :) This way non of the languages will dominate over the rest...and I think more people will be happy of the fact ;) Besties, Terry

DW Africa . I always come back to this video. This language conversation is interesting. The languages to be chosen must be African. I read some where swahili is 70% African it lost alot of words. Sesotho is 98% and other African languages are in their 90s% lets choose from those other languages.

Maybe for the Easterners.

Finally I find like-minded people here. One common language Africa is the way to go(you are still allowed to speak as many tribal languages as you can). Political unity might never happen. If there is a movement going on, I will gladly participate.

One language is never the way it will erase multiple cultures.

It would make much more sense to make Swahili the official language for Africa but that doesn't mean anyone should do away with their traditional language.....Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are some of the most united countries in Africa and this is all because of the language, Politics aside.

Its very strange how we Africans don't get this....it is not that you only have to speak kiswahili and drop other language's.... We just have to keep our vernaculars ....but let's design a means of communicating between us....Kiswahili also still uses many words from other African languages and can still receive many words from other language's

Some of the debaters have problem adapting an existing African language, meanwhile, they are proudly speaking English, a foreign language. So much for unity.

With complicated n unstable democracy there in Africa, Africa can never be the same. only hope to provide access roads, businesses n visa free then we can start talking on speaking one language.

I really afraid😖 for Africa, richness come form language, language die cultural emotion die.

As a Ghanaian I wholeheartedly choose kiswahili cos of my favorite singer mbosso who inspired me to learn

One thing is that, if we are able to take one language in our various countries to be our official language through that we can extend it to africa as a whole because the concept will be already there. Even in our countries one tribe is feeling superior over an other how much more Africa as a continent .

What pride are you talking about when most Africans speak English and French which’s a foreign language .... please wake up my brothers and sisters...

Jambo rafiki habari kani ?

Yes my brothers I will to learn the language

what's da origin of kiSwahili?

Swahili as the #1 language

I think for the unification of the of the continent of Africa, yes 1 language is the Key to accomplish this task. I think the language should be an African language, I think the language should be already proven to to work as a unified means of communication, in order for other countries to be onboard and agree. Right now East Africa is leading with Kiswahili being the language of choice. This language is even being taught in school in Europe, Asia and Americas.

Let us all update ourselves on what is happening in the world of the Swahili language itself. We might find that there is no reason to debate the matter. It is a foregone conclusion. People all over the world are learning and speaking Swahili and African counties are adopting it while we are trying to debate on whether or not to. I am from Botswana and I encourage the adoption of Swahili as the African Lingua franca. It is fast becoming so anyway.

Esparanto may have failed but the whole of Europe now speak English.

Imposing a language on another person is a new form of colonialism.

Everyone saying Kiswahili can be taught alongside native languages can't seem to understand that widespread usage of one language is a major factor in language death. There are some languages in Africa already dying out because their speakers are switching to the local lingua franca. Either people continue speaking their native tongues freely or their languages die out. You can't have it both ways.

As an asian i recommend korean alphabet for africa with some modifications but i am not sure it works in africa. Anyway even if they cant have common one language its good effort to reduce to fewer and fewer. Diversity is a nightmare for foreign learners.