I was surprised to read that...


I was surprised to learn of the spread of Bantu languages from Cameroon, moving South and East. I knew that there were a lot of Bantu languages, but I didn’t know there were more than 400 (Strayer, 2016, p.37). This really made me think about how I perceive things. I speak Kiswahili and learned from a couple of men from Tanzania. I think because everything I learned about Bantu languages was really focused on East Africa, this made me think that it must be where they originated. I must have so many other preconceived notions about things.

 I also think that parts of my ideas are as a result of whom I learned from. My first instructor was a very old sociologist. We called him Mzee, which literally means old man but is the common term of reference. He grew up in Tanzania under the rule of colonial Germans. Subsequently, he learned to speak fluent German, in addition to English, Swahili and his native tribal Bantu language. A lot of class time was dedicated to learning the ins and outs of the culture in Tanzania. In my mind, East Africa is this really separate place from the rest of Africa. And rightfully so, today, the various parts of Africa are wildly different. 

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