Assessing and understanding language use and development is a complex enterprise, as a large number of intertwined factors come into play. Among these are: common understanding of language use and development; how to assess language use and development; absolute numbers of entities and users and developers of the language; trends in language use and development; Governmental and institutional language policies, including status; attitudes towards Kiswahili; range of domains where the language is being used; and amount and quality of documentation. Although different, these factors cannot be entirely separated.