Kiswahili Sanifu
The Tanzania-based literary and educational standard of Swahili. Modelled on the Zanzibari Kiunguja variety; Tanzania's national language and a continental lingua franca.
Sheng
The youth vernacular of urban Kenya, especially Nairobi. A code-mixed register drawing on Swahili, English, and various Kenyan languages.
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Sheng?
Sheng is a dialect of the Swahili language.
Where is Sheng spoken?
Sheng is primarily spoken in Kenya.
Which region is Sheng associated with?
Sheng is part of the East & Southern Africa region on DialectAtlas.
What are the other dialects of Swahili?
Swahili also includes Standard Swahili, Kimvita, Congo Swahili. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Other Swahili dialects
See on the atlas →Mombasa Swahili
The historical Swahili variety of Mombasa and the Kenyan coast. The classical literary Swahili of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Kingwana
The Swahili used as a lingua franca across eastern DR Congo. A simplified contact variety, structurally divergent from the East African standard.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →56 km away
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A click-language isolate spoken by the Hadza hunter-gatherers around Lake Eyasi in northern Tanzania. Fewer than 1,000 speakers; no demonstrated genetic relationship to any other language.
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The historical Swahili variety of Mombasa and the Kenyan coast. The classical literary Swahili of the 18th and 19th centuries.