First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Modern Swahili Grammar is an important contribution to the study of Swahili grammar from pedagogical and lingustic perspectives, and thus relevant to both students of Swahili and scholars of linguistics and sociolinguistics. At a descriptive level, the book covers phonology, morphology and syntax. The following areas of Swahili grammar are also covered in detail: affixes, derivation, inflection, parts of speech, relatives, tenses, demonstratives of reference, pronominalisation, phrases, clauses and sentences. Grammatical explanations are always followed by exercises and comprehensive vocabulary lists are also included.

Originally published in 1969, this book examines the factors which at different historical periods led people to use one language (Swahili) rather than another, or within a given period, to use a particular language in one set of circumstances. The national language of Tanzania and much of East Africa, Swahili is unique among African languages in its verse literature, which dates back to the 18th Century and was written in the Arabic script. This book traces the remarkable expansion of Swahili, which was linked with the expansion of trace, missionary activities and the establishment of Colonial administrations and the development of education.