A giraffe, also known as "thutlwa" in Setswana, or "twiga" in Swahili!
If you are planning a safari and you’re interested in learning some African languages, then you’ll be pleased to know that you’ve already made a start, as the word ‘safari’ is Swahili for ‘journey’!
And what a journey it will be. Africa is a diverse continent of arid deserts, lush forests, and ancient cultures. It covers over 20% of the world’s total land mass and is the second most populous continent on Earth. Many of the ethnic groups are nomadic, and the mix of languages crosses national borders. UNESCO has estimated that there are more than 2,000 languages spoken in Africa.
Most people are unlikely to have the time to learn all of the languages or to cover all of Africa in one trip, so if you know where you’re going, here are the languages to help you on your way:
Southern Africa
For South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, consider learning a few polite words of Setswana. Setswana is a Bantu language, spoken by around four million people. There are hundreds of Bantu languages in sub-Saharan Africa. What can make Bantu languages tricky to learn is that the beginnings (not the endings) of verbs and other words change depending on tense and context.
Eastern Africa
If you are travelling in and around the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, and Tanzania, you will find eleven million speakers of Swahili (otherwise known as Kiswahili, literally ‘language of the Swahili people’), which is the most widely spoken Bantu language. Here’s a taste of Swahili, with some clues about what you might see on your safari:
English to Swahili
Hello-Habari
Please-Tafadhali
Thank you (very much)-Asante (sana)
Water-Maji
Lion-Simba
Giraffe-Twiga
Hippopotamus-Kiboko
Ethiopia
The official language of Ethiopia is Amharic, which is the second most widely spoken semitic language in the world. It is both an administrative and a sacred language. It gave us the word ‘Rastafarian’, which comes from the Amharic word ‘Ras’, meaning ‘head’, and ‘Tafari’, being the given name of the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. Knowing a little Amharic could help you win friends as far away as Jamaica.
North Africa and the Middle East
If you’re travelling in countries such as Egypt, Jordan, and Morocco, then some knowledge of Arabic will get you a long way. Arabic is the most widely spoken semitic language in the world. It is an ancient spoken and written language, and is the language of the Qur’an and of many scholarly works. Many Arabic words have been imported into European languages.
Which leads us back on a short trip over the Mediterranean so you can start learning some European languages. St Georges Spanish courses will get you through Spain and much of South America. And French courses will be particularly interesting if you want to add to the French vocabulary you will already have learned in North Africa.
Tags: African languages, African names
