[rayfisher]

How many tribes does tz have,and how come majority of tzdians have met speak admirable swahili?Is swahili popular only in some parts or in most parts.

[Kenyan chic]

Originally Posted by rayfisher

How many tribes does tz have,and how come majority of tzdians have met speak admirable swahili?Is swahili popular only in some parts or in most parts.

They have many different tribes just like we do. Their swa is like that for various reasons, main one being the fact that Swahili is their official national language. That means that its used in offices, schools etc.

Therefore, their swa is not "popular" in any part than the other (coz its universal). And some of their tribes include Maasai, Luo, Kuria, Chagga, Sukuma, Nyamwezi etc, etc.

I think the Chagga's are their equivalent of our Kyuks.

[youngben]

Originally Posted by rayfisher

How many tribes does tz have,and how come majority of tzdians have met speak admirable swahili?Is swahili popular only in some parts or in most parts.

In TZ, swa is the universal language and is spoken everywhere, and I mean every where, its has been the official learning language, imagine physo and chem in swa (effervescnce) or maths (binomial expansion) manze thats heavy

[Sugarplum]

Actually in TZ as far as school goes, it used to be that all you spoke was swa until you get to Secondary school then you'd learn in English. But nowadays, thanks to globalization, folks there are speaking a lot more English. Just came from there a couple of months ago visiting my family there and was surprised by all the changes there have been. Tanzanian people (living in Tanzania) are some of the most peaceful people in Africa.

My grandma living in the village speaks and writes swa very fluently. I love and miss you "Bibi". I'll be home for Christmas.

And now, a shout-out to all the folks at "Best-Bite" hapo Dar, thx for the good time. I'll be back.

[naomba mandazi]

I'm originally from the United States and recently stayed for 28 days in Tanzania. Indeed, a very friendly people everywhere we went...which included very rural areas, Dar es Salaam, and the touristy places such as Moshi and Arusha. Even Kenya Airlines was far more friendlier than any other airline we travelled there and back. My husband and i want to go back very much. Even learning swahili as best we can until we can get there....any one know of a good resource for learning swahili? Right now we have an "at-home" kit by the company "Teach Yourself". Anyway, we learned that Swahili is the national language of Tanzania, although many people speak other languages, tribal languages etc. English is taught in the primary schools and more predominantly in the secondary schools and is used in business and politics. Over 107 different tribes in Tanzania alone. What a wonderful place. I described one area in paticular to my family/friends as "a little Eden" it was so peaceful and food was fairly plentiful, naturally.

[HUH?]

yah TZ is the place to be. Bongo ni kwetu!! i have a Tanzanian dad and Kenyan mom so you can say i've had the best (and worst) of both worlds. if you think Arusha and Moshi are country then you should check out Bukoba (my paternal homeland). some of the best coffee comes from the Mwanza region, not to mention the beautiful lake Victoria nearby.

what the other posters have said about kiswahili and English in TZ is very accurate. i remember reading a pathology text book translated into kiswahili and i must have spent about an hour on one page lol.... the book belonged to a physician uncle of mine who went thru Mwalimu Nyerere's infamous ujamaa era. i think the book is a relic....i'd put it in a museum just for sh!ts and giggles.

[al-zalzalah]

Originally Posted by rayfisher

How many tribes does tz have,and how come majority of tzdians have met speak admirable swahili?Is swahili popular only in some parts or in most parts.

for me the most beautiful swa i've ever heard is kiamu ! of course i am a thoroughly biased kenyan. what did you expect?

tanzanian kiswahili is cool. i penda vile they koroga. sounds so effortless. after spending enough time with wabongo, nimenotice kwamba hata nao wanayo considerable mothertongue influence in their kiswahili. wala siongei juu ya shrubiosis! i mean grammarwise.

tanzania has akina nyerere to thank for the nationwide kiswahili project. we jamhurians didn't quite have a nyerere, which is why our nationhood is less cohesive and we stumble through swa.

[Wantai]

TZ people I find are not as tribalistic as Kenyans. Kama we ni mbongo,we ni wao, But Kenyans...very tribalistic in every sense.

"so which tribe do you belong to?" being their favourite question in line after common salamu.

[Geeque]

Originally Posted by rayfisher

How many tribes does tz have,and how come majority of tzdians have met speak admirable swahili?Is swahili popular only in some parts or in most parts.

There are more than 130 tribes in Tanzania and Swahili language is spoken almost everywhere arround the country. There are various swahili dialects amongst Tanzanians that are mostly being influenced by ones geographical region or tribal language.