Agglutinative languages are languages that combine into a single word various linguistic elements, each of which has a distinct fixed connotation and a separate existence. For example, in Basque the word ponetekilakoaekin means 'with him who has a ponet'. The principal agglutinative languages include Turkish, Japanese, Finnish, Hungarian, Swahili, and Native American languages. English has agglutinating features in such compound words as ungodliness and unavoidably. Research Agglutinative Languages
The Swahili are a hybrid people of the coastlands and islands of central east Africa descended from the mediaeval Zenj population forming a blend of inter-marriage between aboriginal peoples and Arab settlers over a period of some 2000 years. Research Swahili
The Republic of Burundi is a country in east Africa. It has a total area of 27,830 km2. The climate is temperate, warm with the occasional frost in the uplands. The terrain is mostly rolling to hilly highland with some plains. Natural resources are nickel, uranium, rare earth oxide, peat, cobalt, copper, platinum (not yet exploited) and vanadium The religion is about 67% Christian (62% Roman Catholic, 5% Protestant), 32% indigenous beliefs and 1% Muslim. The official language is French with Kirundi and Swahili (along LakeTanganyika and in the Bujumbura area) also being spoken. Burundi was originally inhabited by Twapygmies, but during the 13th century was overrun by Bantu Hutus. From the 15th century until 1890 the land was ruled by the Tutsi and was known as Urundi. In 1890 the country became part of German East africa, and following the Great War a Belgian territory, later becoming an independent kingdom in 1962 and in 1966 when the king was deposed, a republic. Research Burundi
The Central African Republic is a country in west Africa. It has a total area of 622,980 km2. The climate is tropical; hot, dry winters; mild to hot, wet summers. The terrain is vast, flat to rolling, monotonous plateau; scattered hills in the north-east and the south-west. Natural resources are diamonds, uranium, timber, gold, oil. The religion is 24% indigenous beliefs, 25% Protestant, 25% Roman Catholic, 15% Muslim, 11% other; animistic beliefs and practices strongly influence the Christian majority. The official language is French with Sangho, Arabic, Hunsa and Swahili also spoken. The Central African Republic was a French colony from the late 19th century and in 1958 the territory, then known as Ubangi-Shari, became self-governing within French Equitorial Africa. In 1960 the country changed its name to Central African Republic. Research Central African Republic
The federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros is an archipelago of four inhabited islands (Great Comoro, Mohilla, Johanna, and Mayotte) in the Indian Ocean with no natural resources, but excellent agricultural land. The Comoros have a total area of 2,170 km2 The climate is tropical marine with a rainy season from November to May. The terrain comprises fertile volcanic islands, the interiors vary from steep mountains to low hills. The religion is 86% SunniMuslim, 14% Roman Catholic. The language is Shaafi Islam (a Swahilidialect), Malagasy and French. The Comoros were controlled by Muslim sultans until being acquired by France in 1841, the first island taken over by the French being Mayotte, the remaining islands becoming French posessions in 1886 and becoming a French colony in 1912. From 1914 to 1947 the Comoros were attached to Madagascar for administrative purposes, and then made a French overseas territory, being granted internal autonomy in 1961, three of the islands becoming independent in 1975 the fourth, Mayotte voting to remain a French dependancy. Research Comoros
The Democratic Republic of The Congo or Congo-Kinshasa (formerly known as Zaire) is a country in central Africa. It has a total area of 2,345,410 km2. The climate is tropical; hot and humid in the equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in the southern highlands; cooler and wetter in the eastern highlands; north of the Equator the wet season is April to October, the dry season is December to February; south of the Equator the wet season is November to March, the dry season is April to October. The terrain is a vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east. Natural resources are cobalt, copper, cadmium, crude oil, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal and hydropower potential. The religion is 50% Roman Catholic, 20% Protestant, 10% Kimbanguist, 10% Muslim, 10% other syncretic sects and traditional beliefs. The official language is French with Lingala, Swahili, Kingwana, Kikongo and Tshiluba also spoken.
The land was given the name Zaire by Portugese explorers arriving in the 15th century. In 1885 the land was established as the Congo Free State by the Belgian king Leopold II. In 1908 the country became a colony of the Belgian Congo and in 1960 independent. In 1964 the country changed its name to the Democratic Republic of The Congo, and in 1971 after years of civil war changed its name to Zaire. In 1997 the government was ovethrown and the country reverted its name to the
Democratic Republic of The Congo. Research Democratic Republic of The Congo
The Republic of Kenya is a country in east Africa. It has a total area of 582,650 km2. The climate varies from being tropical along the coast to arid in the interior. The terrain is comprised of low plains that rise to central highlands bisected by the Great Rift Valley with a fertileplateau in the west Natural resources are gold, limestone, diatomite, salt barytes, magnesite, feldspar, sapphires, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife The religion is 38% Protestant, 28% Roman Catholic, 26% indigenous beliefs, 6% Muslim The official language is Swahili with English and numerous indigenous languages also spoken. The area of Kenya was originally inhabited by African tribes before being colonised by Arabs during the 8th century and later conquered by the Portuguese in the 15th century and taken by the British in 1895, becoming part of British East Africa before becoming a British colony in 1920 and independent in 1963 following an uprising and a republic in 1964. Research Kenya
Mayotte (Mahore) is an island in the Comoro Archipelago. It has a total area of 375 km2. The climate is tropical; marine; hot and humid in the rainy season during north-eastern monsoon (November to May). The dry season is cooler (May to November). The terrain is generally undulating with ancient volcanic peaks and deep ravines. Natural resources are negligible. The religion is 99% Muslim; remainder Christian, mostly Roman Catholic. The language is Mahorian (a Swahilidialect) and French. When the Comoros elected to become independent in 1974, Mayotte decided to remain an overseas territory of France. In 1976 the island became a Territorial Collectivity of France. Research Mayotte
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in east Africa. It has a total area of 945,090 km2. The climate varies from tropical along the coast to temperate in the highlands. The terrain is comprised of plains along the coast; central plateau and highlands in the north and south. Natural resources are hydropower potential, tin, phosphates, iron ore, coal, diamonds, gemstones, gold, natural gas and nickel. The religion on the mainland is 33% Christian, 33% Muslim, 33% indigenous beliefs. And in Zanzibar is almost all Muslim. The official language is Swahili and English with primary education generally in Swahili.
Tanzania was conquered by the Portuguese in 1498, and then by the Omani Arabs in 1698, and the Germans in 1884 who made the area a part of German East Africa. In 1919 mainland Tanzania became the British trust territory of Tanganyika, gaining independence in 1961. In 1964 the island of Zanzibar was reunited with mainlandTanganyika forming the United Republic of Tanzania. Research Tanzania
The Republic of Uganda is a country in east Africa. It has a total area of 236,040 km2. The climate is tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons, one from December to February and the other from June to August; semiarid in the north-east. The terrain is mostly plateau with a rim of mountains. Natural resources are copper, cobalt, limestone, salt. The religion is 33% Roman Catholic, 33% Protestant, 16% Muslim and the rest indigenous beliefs. The official language is English with Luganda and Swahili widely used and other Bantu and Nilotic languages also spoken. The modern country of Uganda was formed in 1894 as a British protectorate around the Kingdom of Buganda, and became independent in 1962, becoming a federal republic in 1963. Research Uganda
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Agglutinative Languages
