Selection: the first president of Tanzania chose Swahili as the official national language. It was difficult to choose English as it was the language of the colonizer. The choice was based on the facts that Swahili was already the language of education. It also served as a lingua franca of the anti-colonial movement, and strengthened social relations between different groups that were subject to colonization. Swahili is also identified s an African language, as it belongs to the Bantu family.