Learn the top five reasons you should be learning to speak Swahili
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Medina: Hello everyone, I’m Medina. |
| Joshua: And I’m Joshua. Welcome to SwahiliPod101.com. This is All About Lesson 1 - Introduction to Kenya and the Swahili Language. Together we'll be your guides to everything Kenyan. |
Lesson focus |
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| Medina: That's right. This first lesson is all about my home and native country. |
| Joshua: And mine, too. Kenya is great. |
| Medina: Kenya has great scenery and is famous for its good weather. And whether you’re visiting there or living there, Kenya is a multi-cultural country, so no matter your background, you will always find somebody from your own country. |
| Joshua: I think most of our listeners will be surprised at how unique Kenya is. So Medina, give me some statistics about Swahili. Some hard numbers our listeners can impress people with. |
| Medina: Well, first of all, there’s a lot of us Swahili speakers. Swahili happens to be the national language of Kenya, so that makes up 32 million people who speak the language. This also contributes to the 100 million people who speak Swahili worldwide. |
| Joshua: That’s a lot of people! |
| Medina: It is! Swahili was born when Asian communities interacted with people on the East Coast of Africa. It came about as a result of mixing many of the Bantu words of the coast people, with those of the Asian merchants. Most words have the Bantu intonation. But that doesn’t mean it’s hard to learn Swahili. |
| Joshua: Right. I mean, you only need to learn the sounds, which are not different from English. Swahili is easy to master since you pronounce the sounds as they are written. Learning Swahili is good because it means you can talk to a wide number of people on the African continent, especially in east, central and south Africa. |
| Medina: Yes, life in Africa will be much easier if you speak Swahili! |
| Joshua: Now let’s talk a bit about Kenya and Swahili linguistics. We’ll start off by saying that Kenya is a democratic country. |
| Medina: That’s right. Every five years, Kenyans have to vote for a new President and members of parliament. |
| Joshua: The current constitution introduced the position of a Prime minister, meaning the President doesn’t really hold that much power anymore. |
| Medina: So Kenya is among the many countries in Africa that have democratic elections. |
| Joshua: That’s correct. And its history goes way back. From about the 7th century on, Kenyan history underwent a big change, when Arab traders started coming to Kenya by ‘dhows’ or (boats) over the Indian Ocean. |
| Medina: During the 8th century, Arabs and Persians founded colonies along the coast, and came to dominate a large part of what is now Kenya for many centuries to come. |
| Joshua: This is how Swahili, together with English, which is the official language of Kenya, appeared – a Bantu language with many Arabic loan words. Swahili became the ‘lingua franca’ between the many tribes. |
| Medina: There is one important thing to note here. The Swahili spoken in the different regions of Africa can be understood by everyone, but there are accent variations. |
| Joshua: And that doesn’t cause any issues? |
| Medina: No, because Swahili has lots of shared words. Tanzania adopted Swahili as their national and official language. The purest form of Swahili in Kenya, is spoken along the coast. Inland, especially in Nairobi, Swahili has been influenced by Sheng. |
| Joshua: Sheng! Is that another language? |
| Medina: Some people think so. It’s slang that is commonly spoken in Nairobi. |
| Joshua: How different is it from Swahili? |
| Medina: It’s a mixture of Swahili and English, with a sprinkling of other indigenous languages. Sheng is now more than just slang. It has become a lifestyle, especially among the urban youth. |
| Joshua: But don’t worry too much about which you should learn, because speakers of Sheng can speak and understand pure Swahili. Medina, what else can you tell us about about Kenya? |
| Medina: Well, Kenya is an East African nation on the Indian Ocean that spans more than 224,000 sq. miles. It is situated on the equator and bordered by five countries - Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Tanzania. |
| Joshua: Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is located in the southwest. The other major cities are Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret, and Kisumu. |
| Medina: That's right. Among the 36 million inhabitants, there are 42 ethnic groups who call Kenya home, and each group has its own unique language and culture. |
| Joshua: Weather-wise, Kenya enjoys a tropical climate. The weather varies in the different regions, as you’d expect. |
| Medina: It’s also a popular tourist destination. |
| Joshua: That’s right. It’s a country rich in wildlife, culture, history and beauty, and friendly, welcoming people. It’s geographically diverse, from snow-capped mountain peaks to large forests, to wide open plains. The big geographical attractions include the Great Rift Valley, with its extinct volcanoes and hot springs, and Kenya's coastline, complete with reefs and magnificent beaches. |
| Medina: I think the listeners understand why so many tourists visit Kenya now! |
| Joshua: To sum up, there are many advantages to learning Swahili. For example, for English speakers, Swahili is one of the easier languages to learn. English words are used so much in daily life, that some words have been added to the Swahili language. “Hello” is one of them. |
| Medina: Also, learning Swahili gives you an opportunity to make friends from all over the world, because Kenya is a place with lots of interesting people. |
| Medina: And finally, learning Swahili is fun! |
| Joshua: Of course it is! In our lessons, we’ll show you the easiest way to get the most out of Kenyan culture and make new Kenyan friends! |
| Medina: Definitely! |
Outro |
| Joshua: Okay everybody, are you ready? Get out your pen and notebook, grab your iPhone, fire up your computer, and whatever else you use to study - and get ready for some Swahili lessons from SwahiliPod101.com! We’ll see you next time! |
| Medina: Bye. |
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