Learning Kiswahili? Challenge accepted!

When I made the decision to move to Kenya, one thing was clear from the start: I wanted to learn the local language, Kiswahili. I thought, "This will be a piece of cake!" Well… maybe not.

Kiswahili belongs to the Bantu language family, spoken across Central and Southern Africa, and is widely used in East Africa – in countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Kenya and Tanzania, Kiswahili is even an official language. The language is called Kiswahili, while the people are referred to as Swahili. With over 100 million speakers, Kiswahili is the most widely spoken language in Africa.

Fun fact: there’s a huge Kiswahili Institute in Bonn, Germany! Thanks to a German linguist, the language was actually put into writing. Like many languages around the world, Kiswahili was originally passed down orally without a written form. The Maasai language "Maa," for example, is still transmitted solely through speech.

Thanks to the German transcription, Kiswahili is quite easy for native German speakers to pronounce – you read what you see and write what you hear. In short: the perfect language for me! 😉

During my stays in Tanzania, I picked up word after word and was soon able to answer simple, typical questions like “What’s your name?” or “Where are you from?” My biggest struggle was greetings – because there are so many! And depending on who you’re talking to, you need to consider the person’s age and the appropriate level of respect.

Then I arrived in Kenya! What can I say – Kenya has two official languages: English and Kiswahili. Me, overly motivated as always, held on to my Kiswahili dream and tried to use the language whenever possible. Hihi – unfortunately, I can’t hide the color of my skin, and I was automatically addressed in English. And whenever I answered in Kiswahili, people often didn’t understand me – or simply weren’t used to a Muzungu speaking Kiswahili. That was especially the case in Kisumu.

In many parts of Kenya – and even more so in Tanzania – nearly every third Wazungu speaks Kiswahili, and people are much more patient with learners. I took online classes, and my partner regularly spoke Kiswahili with me, but I didn’t make much progress – probably because I knew I could always fall back on English and still be understood.

Now we live on the coast, where the Swahili culture is deeply rooted and the language is spoken much more intensely. The perfect opportunity for me to finally learn this beautiful language! Here, people are genuinely surprised when I open my mouth and Kiswahili phrases come out.

But now comes the next challenge: Kenya is just like Austria – every “province” seems to speak its own version of Kiswahili. And as if that weren’t enough, so many people here also speak German!

For the past three weeks, I’ve been attending a language school in Mombasa – and of course, it’s a school focused on teaching German! Believe me, that wasn’t planned at all!

So where do I stand now? I understand almost everything and can follow along in conversations. But the moment someone addresses me directly, I freeze up like an icicle and forget everything I’ve ever learned. 😅

But I’m not giving up! One year from now, I’ll be sitting here, writing this article in Kiswahili – promise! Until then, it’s all about practice, practice, and more practice!