Pen pals in Tanzania

A child in a Tanzanian state primary school is taught in Kiswahili. If they go on to secondary school, lessons switch to English. That handover shapes how a lot of young Tanzanians relate to the two languages: Kiswahili is the language of home, the street, radio and friendship across the whole country, while English is the language of exams, textbooks and, later, much of higher education. If your pen pal writes to you in English, they are often doing it in a language they began studying in earnest only as teenagers. Patience and plain sentences go a long way.

Kiswahili first

Tanzania has well over a hundred local languages, but Kiswahili is the one that ties the country together, and almost everyone speaks it. Greetings matter and can be quite elaborate. You do not need to master them, but one is worth knowing: younger people traditionally greet elders with Shikamoo, a respectful greeting that is answered with Marahaba. Among friends, Mambo? or Habari? is more usual.

If you are learning Kiswahili, a Tanzanian pen pal is ideal, and you can help with English in return. Our language exchange guide has suggestions for keeping the swap balanced.

Rains, not four seasons

Tanzania lies just south of the equator, so rather than spring, summer, autumn and winter, people tend to talk about rains. In much of the north and along the coast there are two: the long rains, masika, roughly March to May, and the short rains, vuli, around November and December. Further south and inland, the pattern is closer to one longer wet season. Temperature depends heavily on altitude: the coast is hot and humid, while highland towns can be cool enough for a jumper in the evenings.

The school year generally follows the calendar year, starting in January, with the main break at the end of the year.

Dates with numbers for names

Two Tanzanian holidays are simply named after their dates in Kiswahili. Saba Saba ("seven seven") is 7 July, linked with the big international trade fair in Dar es Salaam. Nane Nane ("eight eight") is 8 August, Farmers' Day, with agricultural shows around the country. Other public holidays include Union Day on 26 April, marking the 1964 union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, and Independence Day on 9 December. Christmas, Easter and the Eid holidays are all public holidays too; the Eids follow the Islamic lunar calendar and move each year.

One thing people often get wrong

Many outsiders assume Dar es Salaam is the capital. It is the largest city and the main commercial centre, but the official capital is Dodoma, in the centre of the country. It is also worth knowing that Zanzibar is part of Tanzania but has its own semi-autonomous government, and someone from Zanzibar may describe home quite differently from someone on the mainland.

Questions to start with

• Which language do you speak at home, and when did you start learning English?
• What changes in your town when the rains arrive?
• How is Nane Nane celebrated where you live?
• What would you eat on an ordinary weekday evening?

International post can be slow, so most pen pals stay digital and keep postcards for special occasions.