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A [[Bantu]] language widely spoken in [[East Africa]]. Swahili is spoken as a first language by about 5 million people, and also serves as a [[lingua franca]] across [[Africa]], where it is spoken by over 30 million people as a second language<ref> http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/september/swahili.html</ref>.

'''Swahili''' is a [[Bantu]] language widely spoken in [[East Africa]]. Swahili is spoken as a first language by about 5 million people, and also serves as a [[lingua franca]] across [[Africa]], where it is spoken by over 30 million people as a second language<ref> http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/september/swahili.html</ref>.

Swahili arose as a complex hybrid of Bantu language and Arabic, and spread thanks to intense trade, including in slaves, between the Arab peninsula and eastern Africa.

Swahili arose as a complex hybrid of Bantu language and Arabic, and spread thanks to intense trade, including in slaves, between the Arab peninsula and eastern Africa.