Wikipedia: History of Swahili language

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While structurally and grammtically it is a member of the Bantu family of languages, its vocabulary reflects its origins as a language of traders. 20% or more of the vocabulary is directly adopted from Arabic (eg. kitabu for book) and as such is not a Semitic (i.e. Afro-Asiatic) language. A lesser percentage of the vocabulary is adopted from English, reflecting the colonial influence.

While structurally and grammatically it is a member of the Bantu family of languages, its vocabulary reflects in part its origins as a language of traders. 20% or more of the vocabulary is directly adopted from Arabic (eg. kitabu for book). It is not a Semitic (i.e. Afro-Asiatic) language. A lesser percentage of the vocabulary is adopted from English, reflecting the colonial influence.

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	Revision 10 . . (edit) November 5, 2001 6:19 am by ManningBartlett [editorial stuff]