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swahili

English translation: name of an East African language

12:31 Mar 12, 2004
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO]
Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc. / social studies grammer
English term or phrase: swahili
This is an Arabic word, what does it litterally mean in english
Dawn Haye
Selected answer:name of an East African language
Explanation:
This is not an Arabic word: it is the name of a language spoken in eastern Africa.
Swahili used to be written in Arabic script (much as Ottoman Turkish and Bosnian were whereas as modern Turkish and Bosnian are now in latin script) as many speakers of the language (even today) are of the Islamic faith and the language also incorporated many words of Arabic origin, however the languages are not of the same origin. Arabic is a semetic language (related to Hebrew and Aramaic) and Swahili is related to southern African languages.

I find your question slightly strange but I hope this helps!

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Note added at 3 hrs 39 mins (2004-03-12 16:11:02 GMT)
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A couple of addenda:
I checked it up in my 1980s copy of the OED. Swahili is as armaat and Colin state it to be in origin (i.e. Arabic)and its Arabic meaning. The word entered the English language in 1814, but today it means (and has always meant) in English the name of this language (and more loosely, people). It is actually a major East African language and is no longer only spoken by \"coastal\" people. It is indeed a lingua franca for many.

Apparently, the language is still written in Arabic script by some but can also be written in Latin script (as it is in taught at the university I attended).
Selected response from:

Aisha Maniar
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
5 +8name of an East African language
Aisha Maniar
5 +7"language of the shores or coasts"
Colin Brayton
5 +2a language or a speaker of that language
Melanie Nassar


  

Answers


24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
a language or a speaker of that language


Explanation:
Should be Swahili.
In Arabic it means "people of the coast region"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 28 mins (2004-03-12 13:00:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The word \"Swahili\" comes from Arabic, but the language is a Bantu language which borrowed some words from Arabic.


Melanie Nassar
United States
Local time: 00:05
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nado2002
6 hrs
agree  Randa Farhat: all answers are correct, it is the name of the language "Swahili", the word itself means "Coastal"
5 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +7
"language of the shores or coasts"


Explanation:
The name of the East African language comes from the Arabic "sahil, sawahil," meaning "the shores," referring to the fact that it was originally used for communication in coastal areas between natives and Arab traders.

Colin Brayton
Local time: 17:05
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nado2002
4 hrs
agree  Shog Imas
9 hrs
agree  Fuad Yahya
14 hrs
agree  Daud Tukan (X): Yes,i do agree to this
16 hrs
agree  Adam Zakrzewski
1 day 23 hrs
agree  Mohammed Mousa
7 days
agree  AhmedAMS
56 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +8
name of an East African language


Explanation:
This is not an Arabic word: it is the name of a language spoken in eastern Africa.
Swahili used to be written in Arabic script (much as Ottoman Turkish and Bosnian were whereas as modern Turkish and Bosnian are now in latin script) as many speakers of the language (even today) are of the Islamic faith and the language also incorporated many words of Arabic origin, however the languages are not of the same origin. Arabic is a semetic language (related to Hebrew and Aramaic) and Swahili is related to southern African languages.

I find your question slightly strange but I hope this helps!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs 39 mins (2004-03-12 16:11:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A couple of addenda:
I checked it up in my 1980s copy of the OED. Swahili is as armaat and Colin state it to be in origin (i.e. Arabic)and its Arabic meaning. The word entered the English language in 1814, but today it means (and has always meant) in English the name of this language (and more loosely, people). It is actually a major East African language and is no longer only spoken by \"coastal\" people. It is indeed a lingua franca for many.

Apparently, the language is still written in Arabic script by some but can also be written in Latin script (as it is in taught at the university I attended).


    Reference: http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/languages.htm#Swahili
    Reference: http://www.waswahilitrust.plus.com/pages/original-script.htm
Aisha Maniar
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Graded automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Awad Balaish: Yes, and this lanuage gained new vocabulary and expresions from Arabic and English during the colonnial period in which the Arab from Oman and Hadramoot had been successful merchants and Rulers as well .
27 mins
  -> thank you for the additional information
agree  Sami Khamou
52 mins
  -> thank you
agree  Musab Hayatli
6 hrs
agree  Nado2002
6 hrs
agree  Talal Owaidah
21 hrs
agree  sarsam
1 day 12 hrs
agree  Alaa AHMED
3 days 19 hrs
agree  AhmedAMS
56 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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