Title: Agricultural Lexicon in Swahili

Presenter: Torey I. Lawrence

ABSTRACT

Agriculture is the science and process of crop production, soil cultivation and the raising of livestock. Agriculture plays an important role and is critical to many Swahili-speaking country’s economic growth. Agriculture accounts for a major part of employment and export earnings for many Swahili-speaking nations. Swahili is spoken by an estimated 50 million people and is one of the most widely understood languages in Africa.

The purpose of the presentation is to 1) Provide a list of Swahili speaking countries (with an emphasis on countries where Swahili is the official language), 2) Give some background information on agriculture and its importance to each country’s gross domestic product (what part of GDP is agriculture in the Swahili-speaking nations presented), as well as give some insight as to what crops Swahili-speaking nations efficiently produce and how they are marketed, and 3) Provide a list of some agricultural terms used in Swahili. (The list of these agricultural terms will include food and cash crops, farm tools and equipment, farm animals, farm implements and types of seasons.

It is worth noting that due to technological development, Swahili has relied on word borrowing from many languages such as English.

Swahili language and Swahili Speaking Countries

Swahili is spoken by an estimated 50 million people and, after Arabic, is considered one of the most widely understood languages in Africa. In spite of its large number of speakers and the huge area in which the language is spoken, Swahili has less than five million native speakers. Swahili is the official language of Tanzania and Kenya and is used extensively in Uganda and the eastern provinces of Zaire. Other countries where Swahili is spoken include: Burundi, Rwanda, Zaire, Comorro, Oman, Congo, Madagascar, United Arab Emirates, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and the Central African Republic.

Swahili History

Swahili spread through eastern Africa beginning in the nineteenth century when Arab/ Swahili trade expanded along the East African coast, on Zanzibar, and in trading centers. Swahili dialect of Zanzibar spread inland and eventually became the basis for standard Swahili in colonial and post independence East Africa.

Swahili is one of the few African languages that has a pre-colonial written tradition. The oldest surviving documents written in Swahili date from the early 1700’s. They are written in an Arabic script, which reflects the influence of Islamic culture on Swahili society. Most of these documents are Swahili epic poetry, recording on paper an oral tradition of work intended for chanting and singing. Classical poetry still plays a major role in Swahili culture. It is recited on special occasions and regularly quoted. Newspapers often devote space to poetry that has been submitted by their readers.

Swahili Role in Society

Although English is still an important language in post independence East Africa, Swahili plays a vital role in the daily commercial, political, cultural, and social life of the region at every level of society. This is especially true in Tanzania, where the language is used throughout the country on farms, in government offices, courts, schools and the mass media. In some cases it has replaced English as the language of choice among the educated. In Kenya, Swahili and English are virtually equal in status. In Uganda, the popularity of Swahili as a national or official language often reflects the attitude of the current political leaders in control.

Swahili Language Variation

A large number of dialects are distinguished among Swahili speakers and scholars. They are almost without exception all mutually intelligible, differing primarily in certain phonological and lexical features. The dialect of Swahili referred to as standard Swahili was established in 1930 by the Inter-territorial Language Committee and was based on the coastal dialect of Zanzibar. The standard language spoken in Tanzania is often referred to as Kisanifu.

Agriculture and It’s importance to Swahili speaking Countries

Agriculture in Tanzania

Agriculture is the backbone of the Tanzanian economy. The agriculture sector accounts for and average of 50 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) and constitutes for approximately 85 percent of export earnings, and employs 80 percent of the work force.

Tanzania’s climatic growing conditions are favorable for the production of a wide range of fruits and vegetables. The most important fruits include pineapples, passion fruits, citrus fruits, mangoes, peaches, pears and bananas. Some of the vegetables include tomatoes, spinach cabbages, and okra. The external market of fruits and vegetables presents good opportunities in the neighboring countries, the Middle East and Europe. Major staples (corn, rice, wheat), drought resistant crops (sorghum, millet and cassava) and other sub-staples such as Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes and plantains are also produced. Some of the major cash crops include: Coffee (Tanzania’s largest export crop), Cotton (Tanzania’s second largest export crop), Cashews (Tanzania’s third largest export crop), Palm Oil, Sisal, Tea and Tobacco.

The livestock sub-sector is an integral part of Tanzania’s economy. In 2000, the livestock sub-sector contributed approximately 18 percent of the national GDP, and contributes approximately 30 percent to the agricultural GDP. The livestock sub-sector provides food, which is consumed in the form of meat, milk and eggs.

Agriculture in Kenya

Kenya’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture. Approximately 75 percent of Kenyans make their living from farming, producing both for local consumption and for export. Agriculture accounts for an average of 30 percent of Kenya’s GDP and brings in over 6 percent of foreign exchange earnings. Agriculture also provides raw materials for Kenya’s agro-industries, which account for about 70 percent of all its industrial production. Over 50 percent of export revenue comes from tea, coffee, sisal, sugar cane, wheat and cotton.

Farmers in Kenya are involved in both small and large scale farming of food and cash crops. Some of the food crops include wheat, barley, Irish potatoes, peas, beans, corn, fruits and vegetables. Cash crops include tea, coffee, cotton and sisal. Tea has emerged as Kenya’s most important cash crop a decade-long competition with coffee. Kenya now produces more tea than any country in the world except India and China. Coffee also continues to be an important export for Kenya, even though it’s ability to export coffee was long limited by an export quota system. Kenya ranks second in the world in the production of sisal.

Beef and dairy cattle are also very important to Kenya’s agricultural economy. Kenya has one of the most developed dairy industries in Sub-Saharan Africa, with an annual milk production of approximately 2 billion liters. The local Kenyan government has encouraged farmers to engage in commercial livestock farming.

Crops produced provide self-employment to most farmers on their own farms and also creates employment for casual laborers.

Agriculture in Uganda

Agriculture is the most important sector of Uganda’s economy. In the late 1980’s, agriculture contributed about two-thirds of the country’s GDP, 95 percent of export revenues, and 40 percent of government revenues. Currently agriculture accounts for approximately 43 percent of Uganda’s GDP and employs over 80 percent of its work force. Agricultural output is generated by approximately 2.5 million small-scale producers on farms with an average of 2.5 hectares of land. Uganda’s favorable soil conditions and climate have contributed to the country’s agricultural success.

Uganda’s main food crops have been plantains, cassava, sweet potatoes, millet, sorghum, corn, beans, and groundnuts. Major cash crops include coffee, cotton, tea and tobacco. Livestock has also been an important sub-sector in Uganda’s economy. The country’s natural environment provides good grazing for cattle, sheep, and goats.

The Uganda Development Bank and several other institutions supply credit to local farmers, although small farmers can also receive credit directly from the government through agricultural cooperatives. These cooperatives, along with marketing boards and private companies, handle most of the marketing activity and deal directly with producers.

Agricultural Terms in Swahili

Below is a list of a few agricultural terms in Swahili. The list includes food and cash crops, farm tools and equipment, farm animals, farm implements and types of seasons.

General Words:

Agriculture makulima (n.)

Malimo (n.)

Agricultural worker mlimaji (n.)

Agriculture methods ulimaji (n.)

Agroforestry kilimo mseto (n.)

Farmer mlimaji (n.)

Farming ukulima (n.)

Crop gole (n.)

zoa (n.)

Food and Cash Crops:

Corn mahindi (n.)

hindi (n.)

Coffee kahawa (n.)

Tea chai (n.)

Cotton gora (n.)
jora (n.)

Tobacco tumbako (n.)

Tobacco leaf biri (n.)

Cassava muhogo (n.)

Cassava plant hogo (n.)

Wheat ngano (n.)

Sugar sukari (n.)

Sugarcane mua (n.)

Meat mnofu (n.)

Milk mawele (n.)

Poultry kuku (n.)

Fruit mamba (n.)

tunda (n.)

Vegetable mboga (n.)

Egg Yai (n.)

Yayi (n.)

Pork nguruwe (n.)

Clove karafuu (n.)

Barley shayiri (n.)

Farm Tools and Equipment:

Shovel kolego (n.)

Hoe (used for weeding) upamba (n.)

Tractor terekta (n.)

Hose bomba (n.)

Sickle mundu (n.)

Rake uma (n.)

Basket chafu (n.)

Plow jembe (n.)

Wheel Barrow likwama (n.)

Fertilizer samadi (n.)

Sack (woven sack) peto (n.)

Bucket ndoo (n.)

Knife kiso (n.)

Large knife buchari (n.)

File (wood file) tungu (n.)

Barn banda (n.)

Farm Animals:

Goat mbuzi (n.)

Billy Goat denge (n.)

Cow gombe (n.)

Fish nswi (n.)

Sheep kondoo (n.)

Lamb kikondoo

Pig hanziri (n.)

Nguruwe (n.)

Horse farasi (n.)

Chicken kuku (n.)

Farm Implements:

Milk (milking cows) kama (v.)

Fishing (catch fish) vua (v.)

Bear fruit vyaa (v.)

Rake palia (v.)

Crop lenga (v.)

Plow lima (v.)

Fertilize rutubisha (v.)

Harvest chuma (v.)

Plant (to plant) panda (v.)

Spray fukiza (v.)

Weeding mapalio (v.)

Cut (with a knife) chikicha (v.)

Types of Seasons:

Seasons (of the year) pembe ya mwaka (n.)

Hot season (Dec.- March) kaskazi (n.)

Cool Season mrao (n.)

Dry Season kiangazi (n.)

Rainy Season majira (n.)

Harvest kivuno (n.)