WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -It was originally written in Arabic script. The earliest known documents written in Swahili are letters written in Kilwa, Tanzania, in 1711 in the Arabic script that were sent to the Portuguese of Mozambique and their local allies.

Detailed explanation-2: -Etymology. Zanj in Arabic means the “country of the blacks". Other transliterations include Zenj, Zinj, and Zang.

Detailed explanation-3: -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.

Detailed explanation-4: -While “Swahili” can refer to the people, the culture, and the language, it is the commonly accepted way of referring to the language when speaking (or writing) English. When speaking the language, the language is called Kiswahili.