| Congo Swahili | |
| States: | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Speakers Label: | Speakers |
| Familycolor: | Niger-Congo |
| Fam1: | Niger–Congo |
| Fam2: | Atlantic–Congo |
| Fam3: | Volta-Congo |
| Fam4: | Benue–Congo |
| Fam5: | Bantoid |
| Fam6: | Southern Bantoid |
| Fam7: | Bantu |
| Fam8: | Northeast Bantu |
| Fam9: | Northeast Coast Bantu |
| Fam10: | Sabaki |
| Fam11: | Swahili language |
| Dia1: | Katanga Swahili |
| Dia2: | Kivu Swahili |
| Dia3: | Lualaba Swahili |
| Dia4: | Ituri Kingwana Swahili |
| Script: |
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| Map: | Map - DR Congo, major languages.svg |
| Mapcaption: | The area where Congo Swahili is spoken is highlighted in light yellow. |
| Iso3: | swc |
| Glotto: | cong1236 |
Congo Swahili, formerly sometimes known as Zaïre Swahili, are the varieties of the Swahili language spoken in the Democratic Republic of The Congo.[1] [2]
Congo Swahili differs greatly from Standard Swahili.[3] There is a common saying among Swahili speakers that goes: "Swahili was born in Zanzibar, grew up in Tanzania, fell sick in Kenya, died in Uganda and was buried in Congo",[4] which highlights how speakers of other dialects often find Congo Swahili incomprehensible. One of the main reasons for the differences is that, unlike Standard Swahili, Congo Swahili is strongly influenced by French, rather than Arabic.[5] It has also borrowed words from the local languages spoken in the DRC, which are not found in other varieties of Swahili.
These are some of the grammatical innovations of Congo Swahili that do not exist in Standard Swahili:
The Katanga dialect is particularly noted for being extremely divergent and mutually unintelligible with other Swahili dialects[6] [7] and some consider it a creole language.
The Jehovah's Witnesses (Mashahidi wa Yehova) regularly publish religious articles, videos and booklets in Congo Swahili.[8] Translations of the Bible into Congo Swahili have also been published: the first partial translation of the New Testament was published in the Ituri Kingwana dialect in 1921, followed by a full translation in 1937.[9]