The Contribution of Persian Language to Kiswahili Phonology and Lexicon
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Date
2005
Authors
Osore, Miriam
Ngugi, Pamela
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
2001
Abstract
he favourable climatic and sociological conditions along the East African Coast made it possible for the inhabitants of non-African countries to open up relations with the indigenous peoples of the East African Coast. Such relations existed from the remotest times and that they have continued during the passage of centuries up to the present day. Individuals and groups of people from Persia immigrated to the East African Coast almost 900 years ago. They settled temporarily as well as permanently. Owing to the trade along the coast, the necessity arose for oral understanding between the people of the coastal districts and the various immigrants. Because of these, Kiswahili lan- guage which was being spoken at the coast, both as a first language and a language of general communication has assimilated many lexical items from various languages that were spoken by different groups of sailors and visitors. This process of absorp- tion came naturally as Swaluli civilization acquired foreign concepts and influences without in any way affecting the Bantu base of the Kiswahili language. It is in this understanding that this paper addresses the contribution of the Shirazi to the development ofKiswahili language. It demonstrates that borrowing is an active and creative process that has led to the enrichment of Kiswahili language and has not as many people would have us believe, turned it into a hybrid language. Borrowing is determined by linguistic and sociolinguistic factors. The paper examines briefly the history of Waswahili and the Persian migration to the East African Coast with a view of showing how the two languages came into contact. It then goes on to show how this affected the way oflife of the Waswahili as well as Kiswahili language especially its phonology and lexicon.
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Citation
Miriam Osore & Pamela Ngugi (2005): “The Contribution of Persian Language to Kiswahili Phonology and Lexicon” in Historical Role of Persians (Shirazis) in the East African Coast (2001), published by Cultural Council of the Embassy of I. R. Iran, Nairobi, pp 101-118. ISBN 9966-9718-0-7.