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Tamil and Swahili


Swahili and Tamil


Countries

Countries
Malaysia, Mauritius, Puducherry, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu  
African Union, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East African Community, Kenya  

Total No. Of Countries
6  
9
4  
11

National Language
Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu  
Burundi, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania  

Second Language
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, kerala, Puducherry  
Not spoken in any of the countries  

Speaking Continents
Asia  
Africa  

Minority Language
Canada, Malaysia, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles  
Not spoken in any of the countries  

Regulated By
Official language Commission of Government of Tamil Nadu, Thanjavur Tamil University  
Chama cha Kiswahili cha Taifa (Kenya)  

Interesting Facts
  • Tamil is the oldest language in the world. Tamil was spoken in South India more than 5000 years ago.
  • The first legally recognized Classical Language of India is Tamil.
    •   
  • Swahili language has borrowed many words from Arabic language.
  • The oldest written scripts in swahili language were found in 18th century.
    •   

Similar To
Malayalam  
Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi Languages  

Derived From
-  
Arabic Language  

Alphabets

Alphabets in
Tamil-Alphabets.jpg#200  
Swahili-Alphabets.jpg#200  

Alphabets
247  
99+
24  
6

Phonology
  
  

How Many Vowels
12  
9
5  
2

How Many Consonants
18  
8
21  
11

Scripts
Tamil  
Latin  

Writing Direction
Left-To-Right, Horizontal  
-  

Hard to Learn
  
  

Language Levels
3  
2
3  
2

Time Taken to Learn
44 weeks  
17
36 weeks  
13

Greetings

Hello
வணக்கம் (Vanakkam)  
Habari  

Thank You
நன்றி (Naṉṟi)  
Asante  

How Are You?
நீங்கள் எப்படி இருக்கிறீர்கள்? (Nīṅkaḷ eppaṭi irukkiṟīrkaḷ?)  
Habari gani?  

Good Night
நல்ல இரவு (Good night) / irravu vanakkam (Good night)  
Usiku mwema  

Good Evening
நல்ல மாலை (Nalla mālai)/ மாலை (irravu vanakkam)  
Habari za jioni  

Good Afternoon
பிற்பகல் வணக்கம் (perpagal vanakkam)  
nzuri Alasiri  

Good Morning
காலை வணக்கம் (Kaalai Vanakkam)  
Habari za asubuhi  

Please
தயவு (Tayavu)  
tafadhali  

Sorry
மன்னிக்கவும் (Maṉṉikkavum)  
pole  

Bye
சென்று வருகிறேன் (Sendru Varukiren)  
bye  

I Love You
நான் உன்னை காதலிக்கிறேன் (Naan Unnai Kadalikiren)  
nakupenda  

Excuse Me
என்னை மன்னியுங்கள் (Eṉṉai maṉṉiyuṅkaḷ)  
Samahani  

Dialects

Dialect 1
Kongu  
Kiunguja  

Where They Speak
Kongu  
Zanzibar island  

How Many People Speak
77,000,000.00  
10
75,000,000.00  
12

Dialect 2
Madurai Tamil  
Kimrima  

Where They Speak
Madurai, South Tamil Nadu  
Dar es Salaam  

How Many People Speak
77,000,000.00  
8
75,000,000.00  
10

Dialect 3
Tirunelveli Tamil  
Kimgao  

Where They Speak
South Tamil Nadu, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli  
Kilwa  

How Many People Speak
77,000,000.00  
7
75,000,000.00  
9

Total No. Of Dialects
10  
10
12  
12

How Many People Speak

How Many People Speak?
78.00 million  
21
150.00 million  
13

Speaking Population
1.06 %  
20
0.42 %  
34

Native Speakers
70.00 million  
15
15.00 million  
40

Second Language Speakers
8.00 million  
99+
75.00 million  
14

Native Name
தமிழ்  
Kiswahili  

Alternative Names
Damulian, Tamal, Tamalsan, Tambul, Tamili  
Kisuaheli, Kiswahili  

French Name
tamoul  
swahili  

German Name
Tamil  
Swahili  

Pronunciation
[t̪ɐmɨɻ]  
[swaˈhili]  

Ethnicity
Tamil people or Tamilans  
Swahili people or Waswahili  

History

Origin
300 BC  
6th century  

Language Family
Dravidian Family  
Niger-Congo Family  

Subgroup
-  
Benue-Congo  

Branch
-  
Bantu  

Language Forms
  
  

Early Forms
Old Tamil and Middle Tamil  
No early forms  

Standard Forms
Modern Tamil  
Swahili  

Language Position
18  
16
21  
19

Signed Forms
Signed Tamil  
Swahili Sign Language  

Scope
Individual  
Individual, Macrolanguage  

Code

ISO 639 1
ta  
sw  

ISO 639 2
  
  

ISO 639 2/T
tam  
swa  

ISO 639 2/B
tam  
swa  

ISO 639 3
tam  
swa  

ISO 639 6
tam  
swa  

Glottocode
tami1289, oldt1248  
swah1254  

Linguasphere
tami1289  
99-AUS-m  

Types of Language
  
  

Language Type
Living  
Living  

Language Linguistic Typology
Subject-Object-Verb  
-  

Language Morphological Typology
-  
-  

Summary >>
<< Code

All Tamil and Swahili Dialects

Most languages have dialects where each dialect differ from other dialect with respect to grammar and vocabulary. Here you will get to know all Tamil and Swahili dialects. Various dialects of Tamil and Swahili language differ in their pronunciations and words. Dialects of Tamil are spoken in different Tamil Speaking Countries whereas Swahili Dialects are spoken in different Swahili speaking countries. Also the number of people speaking Tamil vs Swahili Dialects varies from few thousands to many millions. Some of the Tamil dialects include: Kongu, Madurai Tamil. Swahili dialects include: Kiunguja , Kimrima. Also learn about dialects in South American Languages and North American Languages.

Compare Most Spoken Languages

Tamil and Swahili Speaking population

Tamil and Swahili speaking population is one of the factors based on which Tamil and Swahili languages can be compared. The total count of Tamil and Swahili Speaking population in percentage is also given. The percentage of people speaking Tamil language is 1.06 % whereas the percentage of people speaking Swahili language is 0.42 %. When we compare the speaking population of any two languages we get to know which of two languages is more popular. Find more details about how many people speak Tamil and Swahili on Tamil vs Swahili where you will get native speakers, speaking population in percentage and native names.

Tamil and Swahili Language Codes

Tamil and Swahili language codes are used in those applications where using language names are tedious. Tamil and Swahili Language Codes include all the international language codes, glottocodes and linguasphere.

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