Swahili Still In Effect!!

SWAHILI IS GROWING EVERYDAY….EVEN AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY!!!

THE IVORY TOWER OF BABEL
Language focus leaves Europe

By Kate Benner
Monday, February 19, 2007
Princetonian Staff Writer

“In the fall of 2002, when the University first offered SWA 101: Elementary Swahili I, four students enrolled in the class.

By last fall, 20 students were in Elementary Swahili and five were in Swahili 200. Students have continued on beyond the requirement level, necessitating the hiring of an additional professor. The program also added four 200-level classes on literature and culture.

Mahiri Mwita, a lecturer in Swahili, said students "want to apply their Swahili to their major." Most of the students studying Swahili are taking it in African study abroad programs, and fewer than a quarter are using the language to fulfill requirements.

Some want to pursue healthcare professions and then work in Africa, while others plan to study policy or literature.

Mwita said that the program has attracted "the kind of students who are not just doing Swahili for the language requirement but are looking to investigate the culture."