Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated August 2025
Verified for the 2027 exam
Verified for the 2027 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated August 2025
Definition
A Bantu lingua franca shared by the city-states of the Swahili Coast between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, serving as a unifying cultural and commercial language.
AP course connection
Topic 1.8: 1.8 Culture and Trade in Southern and East Africa