The Origins of the Slave Trade

scaruffi.com ^ | Piero Scaruffi

[Capt. Tom]

I remember reading that Swahili was not an indigenous African language but a contrivance of Arabs as a universal language to communicate with the disparate tribes they were commiting to slavery

Swahili (also known as "Kiswahili" -- "ki" is a prefix that means "language") is a complex language spoken in East Africa. The language has ancient roots in the Bantu language family that extends across Central Africa.

Swahili grammar is based on a complicated Bantu structure that learners often find difficult to master. Many words have entered Swahili from Arabic, the result of centuries of interaction between peoples along the coast.