Learn how to ask about possession and be polite as a visitor
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hello everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Absolute Beginner, season 1, lesson 10 - A Visit to a Kenyan Office. My name is Brandon. |
| Medina: And I’m Medina. |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to express yourself as a visitor and inquire about possessions. This lesson focuses on teaching you how to communicate as a first-time visitor. Medina, what can we expect in the conversation? |
| Medina: The conversation takes place at an office. It’s between two friends. |
| Brandon: The speakers know each other, but one of them has never visited the office before. |
| Medina: Since it is in an office setting, they’ll be using formal Swahili. |
| Brandon: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Musa: Hii ndiyo afisi yako Bwana? |
| Juma: Ndio, karibu ndani. |
| Musa: Asante sana. Imerembeka kweli kweli. |
| Juma: Asante, kujaribu tu. |
| Musa: Tafadhali naomba tuongee kuhusu biashara fulani. |
| Juma: Tuendelee basi. |
| Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Musa: Hii ndiyo afisi yako Bwana? |
| Juma: Ndio, karibu ndani. |
| Musa: Asante sana. Imerembeka kweli kweli. |
| Juma: Asante, kujaribu tu. |
| Musa: Tafadhali naomba tuongee kuhusu biashara fulani. |
| Juma: Tuendelee basi. |
| Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Musa: Hii ndiyo afisi yako Bwana? |
| Brandon: Is this your office, sir? |
| Juma: Ndio, karibu ndani. |
| Brandon: Yes, come on in. |
| Musa: Asante sana. Imerembeka kweli kweli. |
| Brandon: Thanks a lot. It’s very smart. |
| Juma: Asante, kujaribu tu. |
| Brandon: Thanks again. I’m just trying my best. Just making an effort. |
| Musa: Tafadhali naomba tuongee kuhusu biashara fulani. |
| Brandon: I’d like to request that we talk about a certain business deal. |
| Juma: Tuendelee basi. |
| Brandon: Let’s go ahead then. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Medina: Most colleagues and friends have a tendency of referring to each other as Bwana. |
| Brandon: Which means “sir,” right? |
| Medina: Yes, Kenyans also refer to each other as mama, kaka, and dada, depending on the relationship. |
| Brandon: Addressing elders or parents by their names isn’t common, right? |
| Medina: What normally happens is that if you meet an older man and you know one of his children, for example Juma, then you would address the man as the “father of Juma.” |
| Brandon: How would you say that? |
| Medina: Baba Juma. |
| Brandon: This usually happens in informal situations. So if your boss’s name is James and he has a daughter named Amani... |
| Medina: Don’t go around calling him baba Amani in the office. |
| Brandon: What would be the right way to address him? |
| Medina: “Sir” is more appropriate. |
| Brandon: So if they invite me to their daughter’s birthday and I visit them... |
| Medina: Then you can address the wife as mama Amani. |
| Brandon: And if I don’t know much about them, then I should just use “sir” and “madam,” right? |
| Medina: Yes, bwana and madam. Use these terms especially if they’re your elders. |
| Brandon: That was an interesting insight into Kenyan relationships! |
| Medina: Okay, now let’s move on to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Brandon: Let's review the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word is... |
| Medina: ...afisi. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: office |
| Medina: Afisi. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Afisi. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Next we have... |
| Medina: ...bwana. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: sir |
| Medina: Bwana. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Bwana. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Our next word is... |
| Medina: ...karibu. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: welcome |
| Medina: Karibu. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Karibu. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Next... |
| Medina: ...ndani. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: inside |
| Medina: Ndani. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Ndani. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Next we have... |
| Medina: ...imerembeka. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: smart |
| Medina: Imerembeka. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Imerembeka. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Our next word is... |
| Medina: ...biashara. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: business |
| Medina: Biashara. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Biashara. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Next… |
| Medina: ...tuendelee. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: go ahead |
| Medina: Tuendelee. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Tuendelee. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: Our last word is... |
| Medina: ...naomba. [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: I’m requesting |
| Medina: Naomba. [slowly - broken down by syllable] Naomba. [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Our first phrase is... |
| Medina: Hii ndio... |
| Brandon: Meaning, “is this..” You use this phrase to inquire about a possession. |
| Medina: Its structure is hii ndio, plus a noun. |
| Brandon: In the dialogue, we heard Musa ask, “Is this your office, sir?” |
| Medina: Right. He said, Hii ndio afisi yako Bwana? The noun being referred to is afisi. |
| Brandon: Or, “office.” |
| Medina: The phrase hii ndio is used to ask a question. |
| Brandon: That’s a good example. Do we have another key phrase? |
| Medina: Yes we do. Let’s discuss karibu ndani. |
| Brandon: It means, “Come in.” |
| Medina: It can also mean “Welcome inside.” It’s a phrase made up of two words: karibu, meaning “come in” or “welcome,” and ndani, meaning “inside.” |
| Brandon: What if you have multiple visitors? |
| Medina: If you have many visitors, then you use the verb karibu in its plural form, which is karibuni. Let’s now learn about the next word, biashara… |
| Brandon: Which is Swahili for “business.” |
| Medina: When you visit someone, you have to state the purpose of your visit after you get acquainted. |
| Brandon: In this dialogue, the purpose of the visit is business, and that’s what Musa wanted to talk about. Okay, now on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll what to say when you’re a visitor, and how to ask about possessions. |
| Medina: It’s important to know how to comment about a new place. |
| Brandon: When people visit somewhere new, they casually comment on how the surroundings look. To do that in Swahili, you can say.. |
| Medina: The object, plus imerembeka kweli kweli. |
| Brandon: What does that mean? |
| Medina: It means whatever object you’re admiring “is very smart.” Rembeka is the adjective that implies the place looks “smart” or “beautiful.” And kweli kweli is an adverb you use for emphasis. |
| Brandon: Right after the casual comments, you should say the purpose of your visit, especially if it’s in an office. |
| Medina: In our conversation, Musa says, ningetaka tuongee kuhusu biashara fulani. |
| Brandon: Meaning, “I’d like to request that we talk about a certain business deal.” |
| Medina: Tuongee is the verb meaning “speaking” and biashara is the noun for “business.” The ongea verb may change its form depending on the number of subjects. |
| Brandon: Moving on, how do people ask about possessions in Swahili? |
| Medina: You say, hii ndio, plus the object, and then yako. |
| Brandon: Can you give us an example? |
| Medina: Sure! Hii ndio nyumba yako? |
| Brandon: Meaning, “Is this your house?” |
| Medina: You can use this phrase to ask about something that you can see and point to, but don’t know who owns it. |
| Brandon: So let’s clarify the translation of “your.” |
| Medina: Okay. Yako and yenyu both mean “your.” Yenyu is the plural form. |
| Brandon: OK, now, let’s go through the various pronouns that you use to refer to different objects. Listeners, please follow along with the chart in the lesson notes. |
| Medina: Hii is a demonstrative pronoun that you use to point at things that are within reach. Others in that category include hizi, hili, hawa and huyu. |
| Brandon: So all of these pronouns refer to things within reach? What about things at a distance? |
| Medina: Ile, zile, wale, lile, yule are all demonstrative pronouns that you use to refer to things that can be seen from a distance. |
| Brandon: So, how can I say, “Those are game animals and that’s my vehicle.” |
| Medina: “Wale ni wanyama wa pori na lile ni gari langu.” The demonstrative pronouns were wale, “those,” and lile, “that.” |
| Brandon: What interrogative words can you use to ask about possession? |
| Medina: Here are all of the question words you can use. Listeners, check out the chart in the lesson notes. Yako, yetu, zetu, langu, lako, zangu, and zako can all be used to ask about possession. |
Outro |
| Brandon: Well, that’s all for this lesson. |
| Medina: Listeners, remember to check the lesson notes for more information. |
| Brandon: Until next time, Goodbye! |
| Medina: Mpaka wakati mwingine, Kwaheri ya kuonana! |
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