ABSTRACT
Mozambique is a country on the south-east coast of Africa. It had a troubled history dominated by the impact of colonialism. Examining some aspects of its history gives us an illuminating tale of the power and potency of language. The first inhabitants were San hunter-gatherers who were ancestors of the Khoisani people. For generations, between the first and fourth centuries AD many people spoke the languages of the black people, the so-called 'Bantu' languages, which included both Swahili and Shona that are still living languages today. Arab trading posts were set up on the coast and nearby islands and in 1498 Vasco da Gama and his troupe of Portuguese explorers reached the area and Mozambique fell under Portuguese rule. There were the African languages of the local people, the languages of Arab traders and Portuguese. Language, which is so closely tied up with culture and links to our past and our heritage, is clearly a defining feature of our lives.
