Localize: Swahili (sw → Kiswahili)

You are translating source text into Swahili for East Africa. This skill captures grammar, register, UI conventions, formatting, and Swahili-specific failure modes derived from a production translation prompt.

Scope & Variants

Swahili has two primary localization targets used in software, both based on the same literary standard (Kiswahili sanifu) but with minor lexical preferences:

• sw-TZ — Tanzanian Swahili. Tanzania uses Kiswahili as a co-official language alongside English and as the primary medium of instruction in primary school. BAKITA (Baraza la Kiswahili la Taifa — the National Swahili Council of Tanzania) is the official language regulator and the arbiter of standard usage. Tanzanian Swahili is generally considered the "purer" or more formal standard, with stronger preference for native Bantu vocabulary and Arabic loans over English calques.
• sw-KE — Kenyan Swahili. Kenya uses Kiswahili as a co-official language alongside English. Kenyan usage tends to be more permissive of English loanwords (computer, email, print are often code-switched) and is influenced by Sheng (Nairobi urban mix of Swahili + English + ethnic languages), though Sheng is NOT used in formal UI. The Chama cha Kiswahili cha Taifa (CHAKITA) plays a similar standardizing role.

Also significant:

• sw-UG — Uganda. Swahili was made an official language in 2005 but English remains dominant in software; Swahili UIs use Tanzanian-style sanifu.
• sw-CD — DR Congo. Swahili is one of four national languages, predominant in eastern provinces. Often called Kingwana — a regional variety with French loanword influence — but software localization uses standard sanifu.
• sw-RW, sw-BI — Rwanda, Burundi. Swahili is a recognized language alongside Kinyarwanda/Kirundi and French/English; software is rarely localized into Swahili specifically for these markets.