Swahili language – Kenya

Swahili, also known by its native name Kiswahili, is a Bantu language and the native language of the Swahili people. It is a lingua franca of the African Great Lakes region and other parts of East and Southern Africa, including Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, some parts of Malawi, Somalia, Zambia, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Comorian, spoken in the Comoros Islands, is sometimes considered a dialect of Swahili, although other authorities consider it a distinct language. Sheng is a mixture of Swahili and English commonly spoken in Kenya and parts of Uganda. Swahili has a 16-20% Arabic loanwords in the language, including the word swahili, from Arabic sawāḥilī ( a plural adjectival form of an Arabic word meaning ‘of the coast’). The Arabic loanwords date from the contacts of Arabian traders with the Bantu inhabitants of the east coast of Africa over many centuries. Under Arab trade influence, Swahili emerged as a lingua franca used by Arab traders and Bantu peoples of the East African Coast.

I AM is a project created by the Free Spirit Foundation. Through the ‘I AM’ project, we amplify the voice of nature in all the world languages. We also preserve the endangered languages and cultures by revealing their beauty. People across the globe translate, read and record the same message (the voice of nature : the forest, the ocean, the earth, the sky and the animals) in their native dialect.

Afsana Rahamatali started singing when she was 13 years old with the Inono Stars back in Kigali. The Inono regularly toured Rwanda and their concerts would usually attract thousands of people. Strong of her African experience, Afsana moved to Paris in the nineties to pursue her studies. While in the French capital, Afsana had the opportunity and immense privilege to work alongside renowned African artists as chorus-singer. Indeed, she collaborated with big names in African music such as Koffi Olomide, Nayanka Belle (Afsana starred in one of his video clips).