Penn Language Center

This course taught in Kiswahili will focus on reading/writing skills and speaking/listening skills as well as structural and cultural information. The course will be structured around three thematic units: History, Politics, and Education. The course will provide resources for the Swahili speaking world: Who are first language speakers and the varieties they speak? How did Swahili spread from the coast to other Swahili speaking areas as far inland as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo. Swahili is a lingua franca and its importance in the spread of religion and in trade movements. Influence of other languages on Swahili and influence of Swahili on local languages will be discussed. Political and educational systems will be discussed as well.