Attidudes to Swahili
The role of Swahili in unifying the people of Tanzania to work for independence guaranteed it prestige and positive attitudes.
. The charisma of Nyerere himself carried over to the language he used extensively in his speeches and his political writings.
The story of the acceptance of Swahili as the national language of Tanzania is therefore an interesting one. Swahili serves as a lingua franca in a country with hundreds of different tribal vernaculars. It provides a culturally acceptable symbol of unity. It is potentially divisive. Swahili has provided a very convenient compromise in Tanzania. But finally it is important to remember that the story of how Swahili became the national language of Tanzania might be told rather difference by a group whose tribal vernacular was a competing lingua franca