Why Is Swahili The Official Language Of Africa?
Many Africans find the Swahili language appealing because it is not a tribal tongue. There is no Swahili tribe. So the language has a neutral quality. Thus in Africa, where tribalism is a divisive factor, the use of Swahili serves to unite people. Many Africans know Swahili in addition to their tribal tongue. Also, many Europeans, Asians and others have learned it because of its wide usage. Even some American and European universities have begun to teach it. The language is spoken all over central and eastern Africa, in an area populated by some 50 million people. One can start in southwest Zaire, right on the Angola border, and use Swahili to talk with people of the Lunda tribe. Then going east, one can communicate with the Baluba, another large African tribe. Continuing east, a person will find that knowledge of Swahili permits him to speak with the Watusi in Ruanda, the Masai in Tanzania and other tribes in Kenya, Uganda and Burundi. Even as far north as Somalia, and over a thousand
