University African American students are using their Swahili elective course to not only learn a foreign language, but to learn about their African culture.
Students enrolled in Swahili 2004 are taking a deeper look at this West African language and its impact on African American world views.
The students said the history of the language developed from the need to communicate between the indigenous people on the East African coast.
The people also wanted to communicate with foreigners who came to trade from the Indian subcontinent and Arabian peninsula. Trade then developed and as it moved inland, so did Swahili.
The Swahili students said they feel African American students should take Swahili and understand the importance of it in their lives.
“I feel that African American students will get a chance to connect to their culture by using Swahili as the link,” said Lawrence Cox, a communication studies senior.
The class went further to single out a specific group of students they feel should take Swahili.
The students felt it would be naive for African American studies students to believe that they are studying African American culture without learning the language.
“Many African American people fail to further explore their culture because of Euro-centric ideals,” said Natasha Powell, a psychology junior.
Swahili is regarded as the seventh major language of the world.
It also is the only language permitted in the business transactions of the African Union, which means all African Nations recognize Swahili as the African language.
Mwalimu Deo, a Swahili professor, and his students even study the African holiday, Kwanzaa.
Mwalimu Deo coaches the seven principles of Kwanzaa in his Swahili class.
“We learned about African culture, not just the Swahili language,” Powell said. “We also learned the opposite of negative media images of African culture.”
Brandi Sanders, a communication studies senior, said the class “breaks pre-imposed ideologies of African culture.”
The students strongly encouraged African American students to take Swahili and not only view it as learning a second language, but learning their first culture.