When people decide to learn an African language, they often face a problem before the learning even begins. They do not know where to start. Africa is home to more than two thousand languages. Some are spoken by a few thousand people. Others are spoken by tens of millions. For a beginner, the choice can […]
Tymur LevitinEnglish speakers often assume that Swahili grammar must be difficult. After all, it is an African language, it sounds unfamiliar, and many learners have never encountered it before. Then they discover something surprising. In one important area, Swahili is often more logical than English. That area is the verb system. Many students spend years learning […]
Tymur LevitinThere are languages that are difficult because they have too many exceptions. There are languages that are difficult because the writing system feels unfamiliar. And there are languages that seem difficult only because people are not used to hearing about them. Swahili belongs mostly to the third category. For many English speakers, Swahili sounds exotic, […]
Tymur Levitin
