WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Today, Swahili is the lingua franca of East Africa. The Swahili language is part of the Bantu language family (the group of languages spoken in much of central and southern Africa) but has had considerable Arabic influences.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Swahili city-states stretched along the East African coast from Somali to Mozambique. These Swahili states were bound by a common language and culture. Islam is seen as a product of Arab and Persian traders who came to trade and settled to create distinct communities.

Detailed explanation-3: -With its origin in East Africa, Swahili speakers spread over more than 14 countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South Sudan, Somalia, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Comoros, and as far as Oman and Yemen in the Middle East.

Detailed explanation-4: -Historians of Africa trace the origins of the Swahili city-states to the Bantu expansions, explaining that by the first century CE, Bantu farmers had built communities along the East African coast. They traded with southern Arabia, southeast Asia, and occasionally Greece and Rome.

Detailed explanation-5: -The language dates from the contacts of Arabian traders with the inhabitants of the east coast of Africa over many centuries. Under Arab influence, Swahili originated as a lingua franca used by several closely related Bantu-speaking tribal groups.