swahili-native-copy

name	swahili-native-copy
description	Use when Kiswahili web, marketing, product, email, or metadata copy must read naturally for a named East African market; use `language-standards` for cross-language policy and `i18n` for routing.
metadata	{"portable":true,"compatible_with":["claude-code","codex"]}

Swahili Native Copy

Acknowledgement: Shared by Peter Bamuhigire, techguypeter.com, [phone].

Author Kiswahili from meaning with correct noun-class concord, register, idiom, and market conventions.

Target Markets (Standard)

Kiswahili content from this engine targets East and Central Africa. The primary markets are:

Primary: Kenya, Tanzania (mainland and Zanzibar) Secondary: DR Congo (Kiswahili-speaking eastern provinces and Kinshasa growing market) Tertiary: Uganda (limited Kiswahili readership — do not assume Ugandan readers), Rwanda, Burundi, Mozambique (Kiswahili-speaking communities)

The reader is an educated professional with advanced Kiswahili comprehension. They expect standard Kiswahili (Kiswahili sanifu) — respectful, formal, and clear. Many read Kiswahili as L1 (Tanzania, coastal Kenya) or as a strong L2 (inland Kenya, DRC).

Default to respectful standard Kiswahili. Avoid Sheng (Nairobi street slang), avoid Mombasa dialect features, avoid Zanzibari historical variants. When a market-specific term differs between Kenya and Tanzania, record the decision and use the term most widely understood.

Use When

• Writing or revising Kiswahili pages, CTAs, microcopy, emails, or metadata.
• Adapting approved source meaning into native Kiswahili rather than literal translation.
• Reviewing concord, register, idiom, spelling, numbers, dates, or search phrasing.

Do Not Use When

• The task is locale routing, hreflang, slugs, or sitemap structure; use i18n.
• The task is cross-language parity; use language-standards.
• The copy is English or French; use the matching native-language skill.

Required Inputs

Artefact	Source or provider	Required?	When missing
Approved meaning, facts, and offer	Source copy, brief, or client notes	yes	Stop and request the missing source of truth.
Target market: Tanzania, Kenya, or regional	Project brief	yes	Use respectful Kiswahili sanifu provisionally and flag localisation unresolved.
Brand register and code-switching boundary	Brand owner	conditional	Default to respectful standard and avoid slang.
Page goal, proof, SEO target, and constraints	Content/SEO owner	conditional	Preserve meaning and label search or conversion choices provisional.

Workflow

1. Fix the market, audience, and register using register and greetings.
2. Stop if the source meaning, time, price, or regulated claim is ambiguous.
3. Write from meaning, not English order; handle loanwords through loanwords and anglicisms.
4. Audit noun classes and agreement using noun classes and concord.
5. Check verb structure, tense, negatives, imperative, subjunctive, and politeness using verb system and politeness.
6. Improve natural collocations and culturally appropriate language with idiom and cultural guidance.
7. Localise numbers, dates, prices, opening hours, and the Swahili clock with numbers, time, and dates.
8. Research search phrasing natively when network access and SEO scope allow.
9. Run the revision checklist, including concord and meaning comparison.
10. If competent native verification is unavailable, mark it not assessed and return a focused review brief.

Recovery: repair meaning, concord, or register findings, then rerun the native-copy checklist.

Quality Standards

• Noun-class agreement is correct across adjectives, possessives, demonstratives, numbers, and verbs.
• Register is respectful and consistent, with no unapproved slide into slang or another dialect.
• Loanwords and technical terms follow the named market's normal usage.
• Spelling, dates, prices, and times are unambiguous and locally correct.
• Search terms are researched in Kiswahili when SEO claims are made.
• Back-comparison preserves every material fact and next step.

Anti-Patterns

• Translating English word order directly. Fix: rebuild the sentence around Kiswahili syntax.
• Applying default M-/WA- concord to every noun. Fix: identify the noun class and audit all agreement.
• Leaving avoidable bare English terms. Fix: use established Kiswahili or an approved market term.
• Mixing Kenyan, Tanzanian, and Sheng conventions silently. Fix: record the market and code-switching boundary.
• Mishandling the Swahili clock. Fix: state and verify the intended civil time.
• Transposing English keywords. Fix: research how the target reader expresses the intent.
• Certifying native quality without review. Fix: mark it not assessed and request review.

Outputs

Artefact	Consumer	Observable acceptance condition
Native Kiswahili copy	Page, campaign, or product owner	Meaning, concord, register, idiom, and localisation pass the checklist.
Market and register note	Future writers	Market, audience, voice, terminology, and code-switching decisions are recorded.
Review findings	Author or approver	Each issue shows the original, correction, reason, and severity.

References

• Noun classes and concord
• Verb system and politeness
• Register and greetings
• Idiom and cultural guidance
• Loanwords and anglicisms
• Numbers, time, and dates
• Revision checklist

Evidence Produced

Evidence	Format	Acceptance condition
Locale and register record	Short note	Market, voice, terminology, and provisional choices are explicit.
Native-copy review	Checklist or issue table	Concord, meaning, idiom, localisation, and unassessed checks are visible.

Capability Contract

Read access to source meaning and Kiswahili copy is required. Review defaults to read-only; editing requires explicit authority. Network access may verify current market and search usage. Native-speaker review cannot be claimed unless it occurred.

Degraded Mode

Without market context, network research, fonts/rendering, or a competent native review, return respectful provisional Kiswahili sanifu and name each unassessed dimension. Never treat unavailable native or visual verification as passed.

Decision Rules

Choice	Action	Failure or risk avoided
Mixed or unspecified East African audience	Use respectful standard provisionally	Slang or country-specific exclusion
Named market has established usage	Localise terminology and formats	Artificial textbook copy
Youth-slang voice is explicitly approved	Define the exact boundary	Uncontrolled register drift
Meaning, time, or claim is ambiguous	Stop and clarify	Material mistranslation

Worked Example

Source intent: advertise a shop opening at 8:00 a.m. civil time in Dar es Salaam. The copy records Tanzania as the market, verifies how the displayed time will be understood, and avoids an unreviewed Swahili-clock conversion.

Read Next

• language-standards for cross-language parity.
• i18n for technical locale routing.
• africa-excellence for wider East African delivery patterns.