Abstract
Swahili is a Bantu language, more specifically a member of the Sabaki subgroup of North East Coast Bantu. Swahili was first written in Arabic script, in which there are manuscripts dating back to the early 18th century. A Roman alphabet which is now standard was introduced during the colonial period, although some Swahili-speaking Muslims continue to use Arabic script, especially in private correspondence. The cultural importance of Islam is reflected in the large number of loanwords from Arabic. Swahili is the national language in Tanzania and Kenya and largely spoken in the nearby countries. It has also an important role as a donor language in East Africa and Central Africa, not only to other Bantu idioms, but also to other languages belonging to different linguistic families.
References
Baldi Sergio. 2008. Dictionnaire des emprunts arabes dans les langues de l'Afrique de l'Ouest et en swahili. Paris: Karthala.
Awde Nicholas. 2000. Swahili-English; English-Swahili Dictionary (Hippocrene Practical Dictionary). New York: Hippocrene Books.
Bakhressa Salim K. 1992. Kamusi ya Maana na Matumizi [(Swahili) Dictionary of definition and usage]. Nairobi-Dar es Salaam-Kampala: Oxford University Press.
Barlow A. Ruffell, Benson T.G. 1975. English-Kikuyu Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Benson T.G. 1964. Kikuyu-English Dictionay. Oxford. At The Clarendon Press.
Blackings Mairi John. 2000. Ma'di English - English Ma'di Dictionay (Languages of the World/Dictionaries 25). Muenchen: Lincom Europa.
Boucneau Jacques. 1987. A Tentative Linguistic Bibliography of Swahili 1964-1984: Basics, Phonology & Morphophonology, Morphology, Syntax, Lexicography (Working Papers in Kiswahili No. 2). Rijksuniversiteit te Gent. Seminarie voor Swahili en de Taalproblematiek van de Ontwikkelingsgebieden; cf. Sergio Baldi, AION 1991, 51, 2: 185-213.
Crazzolara Josef Pascal. 19552. A Study of the Acooli Language. Grammar and Vocabulary. London: Oxford University Press for the International Institute of African Languages & Cultures.
Crazzolara Josef Pascal. 1978. A Study of the Pokot (Suk) Language. Grammar and Vocabulary. Bologna: Editrice Missionaria Italiana.
Dale Desmond. 1987. A Basic English-Shona Dictionary. Gweru (Zimbabwe): Mambo Press.
Dozy Reinhart. 1881. Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes. T. 1-2. Leyde: Brill.
Felberg Knut. 1996. Nyakyusa-English-Swahili and English-Nyakyusa Dictionary. Dar es Salaam: Mkuti na Nyota Publishers Limited.
Finlayson Rosalie (ed.). 1999. African Mosaic (Festschrift for J.A. Mosaic). Pretoria: Unisa Press, University of South Africa.
Freytag Georg Wilhelm. 1830-1835. Lexicon arabico-latinum. Halis Saxonum. C.A. Schwetschke et Filium.
Ghaleb Edouard. 1966. Dictionnaire des sciences de la nature. T. 1-3. Beyrouth: Édition de l'imprimerie catholique.
Gorman T.P. (ed.). 1972. A Glossary in English, Kiswahili, Kikuyu and Dholuo. London: Cassell & Company.
Hannan M. 1968. Standard Shona Dictionary. London: MacMillan & Co.
Institute of Kiswahili Research. 1996. Tuki English-Swahili Dictionary. Kamusi ya Kiingereza-Kiswahili. Dar es Salaam: University of Dar es Salaam.
Johnson Frederick. 1939. A Standard Swahili-English Dictionary. London-Oxford: O.U.P.
Kazimirski A. de Biberstein. 1860. Dictionnaire arabe-français. T. 1-2. Paris: Maisonneuve et Cie.
Kitching A.L. 1915. A Handbook of the Ateso Language. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
Knappert Jan. 1972-1973. "The Study of Loan Words in African Languages." Afrika und Übersee 56(4): 283-308.
Knappert Jan. 1999. "Loanwords in African Languages." In: Finlayson 1999: 203-220.
Mioni Alberto. 1967. "La bibliographie de la langue swahili. Remarques et supplément à la Swahili Bibliography de M. Van Spaandonck". Cahiers d'Études Africaines 27(7), 485-532.
Muniko S.M., Muita oMagige B., Ruel M.J. (eds.). 1996. Kuria-English Dictionary (Monographs from the International African Institute). Hamburg: Lit Verlag.
Muratori C. 1948. English Bari-Lotuxo-Acoli Vocabulary. Okaru: Catholic Mission Printing Press.
Murphy John D. 1972. Luganda-English dictionary (Publications in the languages of Africa, 2). Washington D.C.: Consortium Press, The Catholic University of America Press.
Nicolas Francis. 1953. La Langue berbère de Mauritanie (Mémoires de l'Institut français d'Afrique noire, n○ 33). Dakar: Ifan.
Odonga Alexander. 2005. Lwo-English Dictionary. Kampala: Fountain Publishers.
Rechenbach Charles W. 1967. Swahili-English Dictionary. Washington: The Catholic University of America Press.
Sacleux Charles. 1939. Dictionnaire swahili-français. Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie.
Snoxall R.A. (ed.). 1967. Luganda-English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Spaandonck Marcel van. 1965. Practical and Systematical Swahili Bibliography: Linguistics 1850-1963. Leiden: Brill.
Wehr Hans. 1966. A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic. Ed. by J. Milton Cowan. Wiesbaden-London: Otto Harrassowitz.
License
Copyright (c) 2011 Sergio Baldi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.