This sudy on slang Swahili terms is based on published material available on the net. Mwanasimba's work consisted in sifting through the mass of information, putting it in form, correcting the odd mistakes (they were very few), and finally making this mainly academic work palatable to the public at large. We made use of the following sources :

1. LUGHA YA MITAANI IN TANZANIA
   An academic research paper on Tanzanian young urban style of speaking, including a 1100 words dictionary, by Rose Marie Beck, Lutz Diegner, Clarissa Dittemer, Thomas Geider, Uta Reuster-Jahn.

2. TANZANIAN SWAHILI SLANG
   A comprehensive list of old and newly coined slang terms by Planet Bongo, on Darhotwire, with daily additions.

3. KAMUSI PEPE
   A list of new words with new meanings.

4. SHENG.CO.KE (Kenyan Swahili slang)
   A very well documented listing of Sheng words, with multiple entries and daily additions.

5. SHENG (Kenyan Swahili slang) - Sheng-English and English-sheng Dictionary
   Sarah Hillewaert's compilation, provided by TshwanexLex.

 Birth of "lugha ya mitaani" or Swahili slang in Tanzania 

Swahili has been moulded by many factors over many centuries. One of the latest chapters in its history has been the standardisation and implementation of Swahili as a national and official language in Tanzania after independence.

In the 1960's and 1970's Swahilization was given high priority since it was perceived as a key factor in the process of decolonisation, tribe mixity and nation building. Especially in urban areas Swahili has increasingly become the first language of children even in families where both parents share the same tribal tongue.

The National Swahili Council was given the further task of developing as well as guarding the standard form of kiswahili in education, in literature, in music texts, and in radio and television broadcasting (apart from Zanzibar which possessed a state TV station, TV was only introduced on Tanzania mainland in the early 1990's).

But while Standard Swahili was taught in schools and written in books and newspapers, people in town quarters developed and used a colloquial style of speech by enriching the standard form with "slang" words and expressions. Young town men were the most prolific manufacturers of slang.

In the 1980's it was common to call colloquial forms of Swahili "lugha ya mitaani" = "language of the quarters", or "street language". It's development came along with the Liberalisation in Tanzania, which started in the late 1980's.

The main characteristic of lugha ya mitaani is that it deviates from Standard Kiswahili by its special lexicon which is in a constant and rapid process of renovation. This is done by way of deliberate manipulation of existing lexical items, as an expression of provocative violation of linguistic norms.

A recent trend in colloquial speech practice in Tanzania is to blend Swahili with English terms and expressions in order to show that one is up to date in a global world.

A fundamental prerequisite for the flourishing of "Lugha ya mitani" is the fact, that Swahili has truly become the primary language of its speakers : it is full mastery in Swahili which makes it possible to coin slang expressions.

It is quite clear that Lugha ya Mitaani is not an independent language, but a register of Kiswahili. It is definitely derived from Kiswahili, since it has a Swahili grammar. However, it deviates from Standard Swahili in its lexicon and its idiomatic expressions, which are constantly being renovated by strategies of deliberate manipulation. The youth enjoy creating new lexical items. There is an element of playful competition to it, drawing heavily on the "ludic function" of language.

The high mobility of the youth in Tanzania plays a crucial role in this process, but also the media, especially music, radio, video, and the yellow press contribute a lot to the rapid diffusion of Lugha ya Mitaani. The use of Lugha ya Mitaani in the media has only been made possible after private media were allowed in the early 1990s. This not only provided a large audience to Lugha ya Mitaani, but also facilitated its visual representation in print, that contributes to its power.

In Tanzanian circles "lugha ya Mitaani" is contrasted with "lugha fasaha" = 'literary language' or "Kiswahili fasaha" = 'literary Swahili'. Kiswahili fasaha describes Swahili as it is taught at school, and as it can be found in books and text books.

Beside "Lugha ya Mitaani" one can also hear the terms :
"Lugha za mitaani" = 'Languages of the street', suggesting there are several variants of slang across Tanzania ;
"Kibongo" = 'language of Bongo' (i.e. Dar es Salaam), pointing to the fact that Dar es Salaam is the centre of linguistic creativity.

The attitude of Tanzanians towards Lugha ya Mitaani is ambivalent, especially in rural areas where it is seen by older people as "uchafuzi wa lugha" = 'pollution of language' used by the "wahuni" = 'hooligans'. Others admit that Lugha ya Mitaani is enriching Standard Swahili, which is considered as rather bookish.

Acha kipanya kwenye kila picha ili ujipatie tafsiri kwa kiingereza / Leave the mouse on each picture to get the English translation.

It must be further noted that "Lugha ya Mitaani" is a Tanzanian phenomenon quite distinct from "Sheng" which is the variety of slang spoken by Kenyan Youths in urban centers. Nevertheless these two varieties of Swahili slang do share a number of lexical items in common.

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