5,518 but it does not say anything about the competence of those speakers. The number of fluent speakers left is significantly lower, as was established during field trips to the area (2008 , 2009, 2014 , and 2016). We found no children or adolescents speaking the language, which means that the language is threatened with extinction. Our youngest informant was in his thirties, and he could only understand Kami, not speak it. Swahili, the national language of Tanzania, is gaining ground at the expense of Kami, and is the only language (apart from English) allowed in education, media, parliament and church. That said, Swahili is not the major threat to Kami – the regional language Luguru is.