Languages of the Comoros

Comorian Comorian, or Shikomoro is the most widely spoken language in the country, spoken by 96.9% of the population. As a Bantu language, Comorian is closely related to Swahili. The Shingazija dialect is the most widely used variant of Comorian, spoken on Grande Comore (Ngazija) by about 312,000 people. Additionally, the Shimwali dialect is spoken by 29,000 people on Moheli (Mwali) and the Shinzwani dialect is spoken by about 275,000 people on Anjouan (Nzwani). Although the dialects have linguistic differences, they all share mutual intelligibility. Historically and informally, Comorian was written using a variant of Arabic script, called the Ajami script. According to John Mugane, professor of African languages at Harvard University, there were extended time gaps ranging from 25 to 30 years throughout the 1900s, which lacked new academic information on the Comorian languages. In 1986, a Swahili-based orthography was proposed by Comorian linguist Moinaecha Cheikh. The language emerged as a result of French colonisation in the Comoros, lasting from 1841 until independence in 1975. After independence, the use of the French language was propagated during the administration of the pro-French president, Ahmed Abdallah. Arabic Although an official language, Arabic is a minority language in the Comoros Islands. Arabic functions as a liturgical language for the country's dominant religion, Islam, adhered to by 95% of the population. Despite being an official language, Arabic is not widely used in the Comoros and it is not reported as a first language (L1) amongst the population. From the 1970s, the use of Arabic gradually began to separate from religious purposes. The teaching of Arabic as a secular subject and at an advanced level started to gain popularity. Arabic languages skills came to be regarded as privilege in Comorian society. But, Arabic language use remains largely assigned to religious purposes. This is primarily due to the lasting importance of the Quranic School in the Comorian education system, existing in Comoros for more than four centuries. The Comoros participates in international delegations tied to promoting Arabic language use. Six Arabo-Islamic colleges and an Institute for Arabic Language were constructed with financial support from the World Islamic League and Kuwait. Similar to French, higher education in the Comoros is tied Arabic language usage, with many Comorian students receiving tertiary education in Arabic-speaking countries. The Comoros is also a member of the Arab League. == Minority languages ==

Malagasy According to Ethnologue, Malagasy is a minority language spoken in the Comoros. A dialect of Malagasy called Shibushi is spoken by an estimated 39,000 people in the Comoros Islands. Traces of Malagasy speakers predominantly reside in the islands of Mayotte and Moheli manifesting as small populations of Malagasy-speaking villages Much of the early history of the Comoros is written in Swahili, using the Arabic script. Many ancient Comorian poems and songs written in Swahili detail key historical events such as the slave trade, and the various battles between the Sultans who once ruled the Comoros. Swahili played a major role for the struggle for independence in the 1960s when Comorians living in Tanzania would support independence by broadcasting messages via radio in Comorian and Swahili to Comorians living in French-colonised Comoros. Kiunguja, a dialect of Swahili, is also spoken in the Comoros, particularly in Grande Comore Islands. This was the result of the migration to the Comoros from Zanzibar in Tanzania during the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution. == Uses ==

In government and commerce, French is the most widely used language. Newspapers are only published in two languages, as in the Arabic language Al Watany, and the independent, French language, l’Archipel. Historically, French colonial planters and government officials used French to write personal and place names. This has influenced the spelling of place names on maps in the Comoros, many streets use French signage. Each island also holds a French and a Comorian name. Use of Comorian Outside of administration, education and commerce, French and Arabic are not widely spoken. Instead, Comorian is the most widely spoken language, confined largely to informal and oral purposes. This is because, during the French colonial period, Comorian language use was forbidden in schools as it was not considered a suitable medium of instruction. Under the French model of education, Comorian language use by students were often met with severe punishments. The use of Comorian is also restricted by the lack of stable writing form that has complicated Comorian language use in education. Despite the lack of written standard, Comorian is still used for administrative purposes to a limited extent. In October 1974, the French National Assembly passed a resolution, requiring that the referendum bill be published in both French and Comorian and the Arabic script was used for the Comorian documentation. Comorian is also becoming increasingly present in education, with many schools teaching grammar on the local Comorian dialects. In January 1978, the Comorian government had reformed primary schools to cater to religious education in Arabic and nursery education in Comorian. Since 2009, there has been an ongoing debate in the Comorian Government for Comorian as a language of instruction alongside French and Arabic. Amongst the different variants of Comorian, the Shingazidja is considered the most commonly used dialect, due to the population of Grande Comore Island being the largest in the archipelago. Shingazidja was used for the 1974 French and Comorian language referendum bill. The preference towards Shingazidja however, has contributed to the growing language disunity amongst the Comorian variants. == Multilingualism ==

Multilingualism is prevalent in the Comoros with a diverse language repertoire. Code-switching is frequently used for socialising purposes, in particular, with the Comorian youth. ==See also==