Langenesis

Niger-Congo family

Swahili

800 CE – today Living

Swahili (800 CE – today) is a living Niger-Congo language. Lineage: Proto-Niger-Congo → Proto-Atlantic-Congo → Proto-Benue-Congo → Proto-Bantu → Swahili.

See Swahili on the interactive map
Speakers
200M (200,000,000)
ISO 639-3
swh
Glottocode
swah1253

Bantu language of the East African coast, with substantial Arabic-derived vocabulary from centuries of Indian Ocean trade. Lingua franca across East Africa; speaker count includes both L1 and L2. Northeast Coast Bantu (Sabaki, Guthrie G42); written in Arabic script (Ajami) from at least the 18th century.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Niger-Congoc. 10,000 BCE – 7,000 BCE
  2. Proto-Atlantic-Congoc. 7,000 BCE – 5,000 BCE
  3. Proto-Benue-Congoc. 5,000 BCE – 3,500 BCE
  4. Proto-Bantuc. 3,000 BCE – 1,000 BCE
  5. Swahili800 CE – today

Sister languages 21

Also descended from Proto-Bantu.

Sources