Facebook launches in Swahili language

  1. Posted on Monday 15 June 2009 - 15:30
    KingsleyKobo
    Image of KingsleyKobo
    Kingsley Kobo, AfricaNews reporter in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
    Social networking website Facebook has launched a Swahili version, which is aimed at reaching more than 110 million speakers of the language. A group of Swahili scholars launched this new website with the permission of the California-based internet firm. Facebook now exist in some 50 languages.
    facebook
    Interest in Facebook has grown over the past five years in East and Central Africa, where most Swahili-speakers live. Symon Wanda, one of the project initiators, told the BBC Network Africa programme they wanted to launch a Swahili version to safeguard the future of the language.

    "The youth, the future generation, if you look at the biggest percentage of users on Facebook, they are the youth. They can easily navigate through when it's maybe a language they understand, which makes it easier to use the Swahili than to use the English," he said.

    BBC's Ruth Nesoba, in Nairobi, said the Swahili site has already been on trial for some time and word has spread quickly. According to the project team monitoring the take-up, more than 60% of Facebook users in East Africa are already using the Swahili version.

    The bulk of Swahili-speakers live in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique and the Indian Ocean islands.

    Analysts say a Hausa version could be launched next in West Africa and Zulu for southern Africa. Facebook already exists in Afrikaans.

Latest News

  1. AU elections rescheduled for June in Malawi01/02Following a deadlock during Monday's African Union elections, with a tie between former wife to South African president Jacob Zuma, Home Affairs …
  2. Senegal in turmoil as protest intensifies01/02Hundreds of anti-government protesters Tuesday gathered in the central Dakar, Senegal to show their dissatisfaction over the incumbent president Abdou…
  3. Zimbabwe’s inflation still favourable -…01/02Zimbabwe's annual headline inflation still compared favourably with economies in the region, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono said o…
  4. Senegalese opposition to intensify protests31/01Opposition and civil society groups in Senegal have vowed to increase their fight against incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade's presidential bid.
  5. Malawi: Rights coalition condemn stripping of…30/01The 39 members of the Solidarity for African Women's Rights Coalition based in 18 African countries have vehemently condemned the stripping of wo…
  6. Kenya to deworm five million children annually30/01Kenya launched the second phase of its national deworming programme at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2012, aiming to treat 5 million childre…
  7. Benin’s Yayi Boni is AU’s new…30/01President Yayi Boni of Benin Republic has been elected chairperson of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa
  8. Clashes in Senegal as Wade seek third term30/01Clashes have erupted in Senegal's capital Dakar and several other city cities ; after the Constitutional Council said President Abdoulaye Wade co…
  9. Africa Union’s top posts tightly…27/01All eyes are on the 18th African Union (AU) Summit that is currently underway in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia until the 30th of January 2012.
  10. Gambia's leader pulls out of AU presidenc…27/01Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has pulled out of the race for the presidency of the African Union's Assembly.
  11. NIGERIA: Chadians among Kano attackers26/01Nigerian police said people speaking a Chadian language were among the attackers who waged bombing and shooting sprees in Kano last Friday, killing a …
  12. Kenya’s finance minister resigns26/01Kenyan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Uhuru Kenyatta has resigned on Thursday together with the Secretary to the Cabinet and head of t…
  13. Malawi losing $28m in fisheries resources26/01Malawi is losing $28 million (about MK4.6 billion) worth of fisheries resources each year due to unsustainable fishing in natural bodies.
  14. Nigeria’s president appoints new police…26/01Nigeria's president Goodluck Jonathan has appointed the assistant inspector general of police Mohammed Dikko Abubakar as acting inspector general…
  15. UN Envoy relocates to Somalia after 17yrs25/01The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Somalia, Ambassador Augustine P. Mahiga has moved the office of the SRSG back to Mogadi…
News archive