The name Swahili comes from the plural of the Arabic word sahel ساحل: sawahil سواحل meaning "boundary" or "coast" (used as an adjective to mean "coastal dwellers" or, by extension, "coastal language"). Sahel is also the word used for the border zone of the Sahara. The incorporation of the final "i" is likely to be the nisba in Arabic (of the coast سواحلي), although some state it is for phonetic reasons.

Archive of Popular Swahili - Swahili texts mostly collected in Zaire by Johannes Fabian and made accessible by the Journal of 'Language and Popular Culture in Africa'.
Meta Description: [ home page of Language and Popular Culture in Africa ]
Guide to Swahili - Dictionary, basic lessons, texts, resources, and links.
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Kiswahili Language and Culture - University of Oregon's list of Kiswahili resources.
Kiswahili Resource Page - Link collection by Donath Mrawira an engineer from Tanzania
Koeppe Swahili / Kiswahili publication list - Language Courses (in German), Grammatical Analyses (in English)
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Languages-on-the-web - Swahili links collection
Noun Classification in Swahili - A scholarly paper on the Swahili language by Ellen Contini-Morava
Orthografix 2 - Spell-checker and hyphenator for Swahili developed by Arvi Hurskainen, University of Helsinki
Say Hello in Swahili - Simple conversational lesson from the Internet Public Library. Links to language and culture resources.
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Swahili Language - A description of Swahili with information on noun classes and grammar.
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Swahili Online Study Aids - Including flashcards.
Swahili Online: The Internet Living Swahili Dictionary - The Internet Living Swahili Dictionary is a collaborative work by people all over the world. Includes grammar and pronunciation. Supported by the Yale University.
Meta Description: [ The Internet Living Swahili Dictionary
is a collaborative work by people all over the world. Together we are
working to establish new dictionaries of the Swahili language. Kiswahili is the most widely spoken African
language, with 50 million speakers in East Africa and Central Africa. In... ]
Swahili Profile - Information on dialects and geographical extension of Swahili by the UCLA
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Swahili Studies Bibliography - by the Tanzania Studies Association
Useful Swahili Words - Phrasebook and bibliography. Links to links historical essay, Kanga proverbs, and pronunciation guide.
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