By preserving the ancient language of Swahili, East Africans?

Question

worsened the problem of national unity

antagonized the colonial rulers

have preserved their cultural heritage

unified Africa by having everyone speak the same language

I asked this question already but I had too answers that said none of the above, but in my workbook it has these 4 multiple choice? SO it has to be one of them

Answer 1

Isn't the answer in the textbook in the chapter relating to the question? A gut reaction is preserve cultural heritage, but would it not have been quicker to read the text than type out the question twice on here?

Good luck

Answer 2

In reality Swahili is not an "ancient" language. It is not even an original African language

Swahili is a mixture of Bantu and basic Arabic. It was the language used by the arab slave traders in order to communicate with their servants and military slaves (same system as with turkish Janissaries).

Swahili is spoken in all the areas where the arab slave raiders penetrated. And ONLY in those areas. It is "purest" in Zanzibar- which was the main slave trading market on the East coast of Africa

Swahili is NOT spoken in all of Africa. There are many tribes and cultures in Africa and even in each of the countries. However during the colonial/ post colonial period Swahili was presented in propaganda as a "native" language (as opposed to the "oppressor" languages)

reality is simpler- eg in Tanzania there are over 40 really "native" languages. It is impossible to teach them all and it is also impossible to run a country via interpreters. So Swahili is taught to everyone (and it's real history is hidden) alongside English. Swahili is far simpler to learn (and so sufficient for daily administration) and English is used for education/ university purposes (if only due to the fact of easy available textbooks)

of course the "politically correct" answer is "preserve cultural heritage".

but the reality is none of the above- unless being enslaved by arab invaders counts as "cultural heritage"

Answer 3

have preserved their cultural heritage.

Now go back and read your textbook!

Answer 4

I think it is "All Of The Above".

The Swahili language is not extinct so the preservation must have worsened national unity by antagonizing the colonial rulers who were oposed to this. Meanwhile their cultural heritage was preserved because their language could describe their heritage. This helped unify the country with all speaking Swahili except for the conquering Englishmen.