Memory Alpha
Register
Advertisement
Memory Alpha

Swahili was a language spoken on the planet Earth, originating in the African continent, and belonging primarily to the Swahili people of East Africa. A notable native speaker was the linguist Nyota Uhura.

A mysterious crewman encountered by Uhura, who was (unknown to her) the M-113 creature in Human form, spoke to her in Swahili. He stated "Ninakudhania mwanamke mzuri," which meant "I think of you, beautiful lady." (TOS: "The Man Trap")

In 2267, Uhura had her memory erased by the Nomad space probe, forcing Uhura to be reeducated. While working with Nurse Chapel, Uhura had difficulty sounding out the words in her first grade reader, and began speaking in Swahili out of frustration, saying "Sikumbuka" ("I don't remember"). Chapel then encouraged her, by telling her to speak it in English, not Swahili, and proceeded to sound out the sentence for her. (TOS: "The Changeling")

When the USS Enterprise encountered a Melkotian buoy in 2268, it spoke to the crew in their native languages, which included Swahili, as heard by Uhura. (TOS: "Spectre of the Gun")

In a scene cut from DS9: "Explorers", Benjamin Sisko's Bajoran lightship was named the Baraka. This Arabic word, meaning "blessing" or "good fortune", entered the Swahili vocabulary and, in the 19th century, even became a common word in French, via France's colonization of Arabic-speaking North Africa. The word "safari" also originates from Swahili.

External links[]

Advertisement