Language code: sw
Technical information about ISO 639 language code sw
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The table below provides technical details for the Swahili language, designated by the sw code from the ISO 639-1 standard.
| Code |
|
| Standard | |
| Name | Official Swahili Native Kiswahili |
| Family | Bantu |
| Text direction | Left-to-Right |
| Language varieties | Zanzibar Swahili (Kiunguja)Pemba Swahili (Kipemba)Mombasa Swahili (Kimvita)Lamu Swahili (Kiamu/Amu)Congo Swahili (Kingwana)Bajuni Swahili (Kibajuni) |
| Related languages | ComorianMijikendaPokomoElwanaMwani |
| Key facts | Contains a large proportion of Arabic loanwordsHistorically used an Arabic-based Ajami script before Latin became standardFunctions as a major lingua franca for more than 100 million peopleEarliest recorded poem is the 1728 epic Utendi wa TambukaUnlike many Bantu tongues, Swahili is non-tonal. |
| Sample phrase | Hujambo, unaendeleaje? |
| Character encodings | |
| Supported in Localizely |
Swahili belongs to the Niger-Congo language family, specifically to the Bantu subgroup. It is one of the official languages in Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda. It is also used by Swahili minority communities in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, and Zambia. Swahili is written using both Latin and Arabic scripts. It is estimated that there are between 80 and 100 million speakers worldwide.
Language presence globally
*The graph shows a rough estimate of Swahili speakers in countries where it is an official or minority language.
Related locale codes
sw-CD – Swahili (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
sw-KE – Swahili (Kenya)
sw-TZ – Swahili (Tanzania)
sw-UG – Swahili (Uganda)
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Documentation
- What is Localizely?
- Getting started
- Localization workflow
- Translation editor
- Flutter Over-the-Air updates
- Flutter In-Context Editing
- Project branching
- Professional translation services
- Machine Translation
- AI Translation
- Translation Memory
- Glossary
- Reports and Statistics
- Figma integration
- AWS S3 integration
- GitHub integration
- GitLab integration
- Bitbucket integration
- CLI
- Configuration file
- Supported file formats
- Language & Country Codes
- Referral Program
- FAQ
Resources
- What is Localizely?
- Getting started
- Localization workflow
- Translation editor
- Flutter Over-the-Air updates
- Flutter In-Context Editing
- Project branching
- Professional translation services
- Machine Translation
- AI Translation
- Translation Memory
- Glossary
- Reports and statistics
- Figma integration
- AWS S3 integration
- GitHub integration
- GitLab integration
- Bitbucket integration
- CLI
- Configuration file
- Supported file formats
- Language & Country Codes
- Referral Program
- I18N Questions
- FAQ