Learn Swahili

Language Facts:

Speakers: 20 million native speakers, ~80 million total speakers
Family: Niger-Congo -> Bantu
Status: Official language in Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, as well as an official language of the African Union

Script: Latin , Arabic-Ajami

Overview: As far as African languages go, Swahili will be one of the easiest for a foreigner to learn. There’s more resources for Swahili than any other African languages, and the pronunciation and (relatively) straightforward grammar will be easy to grasp.

Learn Swahili:

Books:

Colloquial Swahili : Complete Course for Beginners – large comprehensive beginner book focused on the naturally spoken language.

Swahili: A Foundation for Speaking , Reading, and Writing – good textbook for self-study

Youtube:

Online:

LingQ– has a beta course in Swahili. Great for reading and vocabulary

Duolingo – Has a course in Swahili

Ling – app course similar to Duolingo

Podcasts:

SwahiliPod101 – both free and paid podcast-based lessons for Swahili. Fun and entertaining, it’s a really good place to start with Swahili.

Courses:

Pimsleur – classic audio-only course now available in subscription format.