Although one of the official languages of the East African Community (EAC) is English, Swahili is spoken throughout the African Great Lakes region and is also an official language.

Swahili is a Bantu language with some vocabulary derived (about 15%) from Arabic, a result of trading between Arabs and locals on the coast. The remaining is mainly derived from Coastal Bantu languages. At first the Swahili language used the Arabic script, but it now uses the Latin script as a result of colonization.

In the EAC, there are two countries whose official language is French: Rwanda and Burundi. Numerous local languages are spoken: for example, there are 56 local languages spoken in Uganda and 42 local languages in Kenya. Kinyarwanda is spoken in Rwanda as well as Uganda. There are also some native speakers of Arabic on the Zanzibar Island of Tanzania. In Kenya and Uganda, the medium of instruction in all schools is English. It is rare to find people who speak fewer than two languages in the East African Community!

Swahili or Kiswahili

The Swahili language or Kiswahili is a Bantu language and the mother tongue of the Swahili people. It is spoken by various communities inhabiting the African Great Lakes region and other parts of Southeast Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The closely related Comorian language, spoken in the Comoros Islands, is sometimes considered a Swahili dialect.

Some useful Swahili Phrases:

Jambo - “Hello!” A friendly “Jambo” goes a long way.

Habari - Also “Hello / Good Morning.” Use this one when speaking with older people.

Nzuri - “Beautiful / Good / Nice / I am fine.”

Asante - “Thank you!” You will use this word the most in your conversations.

Sana (very) Used as in Asante sana - Thank you VERY much.

Pole - “I am sorry for your misfortune.” This applies to everything from getting chalk dust on your clothes, to tripping, dropping an item or sneezing.

Pole pole - “Slowly, slowly.” Everything is pole pole in Africa.

Chakula - “FOOD!” If you hear this word, walk towards the place you heard it.

Ndyio / Hapana - “Yes / No” respectively. Some phrasebooks will tell you that hapana is rude. It is not. As long as you don’t say it forcefully, you are fine. I haven’t heard another word for ‘no’ since I have been here.

Hatari - “DANGER!!!!!” This could be a snake in the road or a warning about an endemic in the area. Take note and proceed with caution.

Want to learn more? http://wikitravel.org/en/Swahili_phrasebook