Explainer: Kiswahili — the language that unites Africa? - video Dailymotion

Turning Kiswahili, which is widely spoken in East Africa, into Africa's common language is proving challenging.

Transcript

00:00Sikunjema ya Kiswahili. You don't understand that?

00:06You should because today is Kiswahili language day. Kiswahili is Africa's most popular language

00:13spoken by over 200 million people in these countries as well as in Oman and Yemen. It

00:20serves as a bridge between Africa and the Arab world. To celebrate the significance of this

00:25Bantu language, July 7 has been declared Kiswahili language day. For UNESCO to choose

00:347th of July to celebrate Kiswahili, it is giving it a lot of respect and appreciating

00:45its culture and its nature of uniting the East African region.

00:54The African Union designated Kiswahili as one of its official languages. However,

00:59the initiative to establish it as a common language across the continent

01:03has met with many obstacles. We have different languages spoken in many different regions

01:13and also the political will has not favoured it in the African region. Even if you don't know

01:22any Kiswahili expressions, I'm sure you've heard Hakuna Matata, a colloquial way of saying

01:28no problem. This phrase has gained global recognition thanks to its inclusion in the

01:33movie The Lion King. Here at DW, we've been broadcasting in Kiswahili since 1963

01:40and we are proud of what we have achieved since then.

01:52If you don't speak Kiswahili, you won't be able to see Kifani, Kiswahili, Tuki Enzi, Tuki Thamiri, our language.