Learn how to share ideas in an academic context
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 19 - Collaborating on a Kenyan Research Project. John Here. |
| Medina: Hamjambo, I'm Medina. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn about sharing ideas in an academic context. The conversation takes place in a lounge. |
| Medina: It's between Victor and Maria. |
| John: The speakers are friends, therefore, they will speak informal Swahili. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Victor: Ewe Maria, unaandika nini katika dhana yako ya utafiti? |
| Maria: Jambo kuhusu vile Japani inavyopunguza hatari inayosababishwa na mafaa asilia. |
| Victor: Mada nzuri sana. Dhanio lako ni lipi? |
| Maria: Linasema, kwavile Japani inaongoza kwa kupunguza athari ya mabaa, ni heri nchi zingine ziiige. |
| Victor: Nadhani dhana yako ni nzuri lakini unadai badala ya kuthibitisha. |
| Maria: Ala! Sikuwazia suala jambo hilo. |
| Victor: Ni utafiti hivyo basi unapaswa kuthibitisha. |
| Maria: Unadhania nifanyenini? |
| Victor: Unaweza kuibadilisha iwe swali. |
| Maria: Je ikiwa, nchi zingine zinaweza kujifunza nini kutokana na jinsi Japani inavyopunguza athari ya maafa asili? |
| Victor: Afadhali. Sasa unaweza kuthibitisha. |
| Maria: Nivyema kufikiri pamoja. Asante. |
| Victor: Furaha yangu. |
| John: Now listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Victor: Hey, Maria. What are you writing for your research proposal? |
| Maria: Something about Japan's disaster mitigation strategies. |
| Victor: Sounds great. What's your hypothesis? |
| Maria: I'm saying Japan is ahead in reducing disaster risks. Other countries should emulate them. |
| Victor: I think you have a great topic, but you are making a claim instead of proving it. |
| Maria: Hmmm, I didn’t think about that. |
| Victor: It's a hypothesis, so you need to prove it. |
| Maria: What do you think I should do? |
| Victor: You can change it to a question. |
| Maria: Yes, are there lessons other countries can learn from Japan's disaster mitigation strategies? |
| Victor: Sounds better. Now you can prove it. |
| Maria: It's good to brainstorm together. Thanks. |
| Victor: My pleasure. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Medina, has Kenya ever faced any big natural disaster? |
| Medina: Yes, and actually, natural disasters in Kenya are increasing in number and frequency each year, with droughts and floods as the most significant hazards affecting the country. |
| John: I guess that besides causing suffering and death, these disasters result in extensive destruction of infrastructure and crops. |
| Medina: Other major disasters include disease epidemics and traffic accidents. Yet more disasters are emerging too, such as fires or landslides. |
| John: What’s Swahili for “hazard”? |
| Medina: hatari |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Medina: punguza [natural native speed] |
| John: to reduce |
| Medina: punguza[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: punguza [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Medina: mada [natural native speed] |
| John: topic |
| Medina: mada [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: mada [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: iga [natural native speed] |
| John: to imitate |
| Medina: iga [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: iga [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: dai [natural native speed] |
| John: to claim |
| Medina: dai [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: dai [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: thibitisha [natural native speed] |
| John: to prove |
| Medina: thibitisha [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: thibitisha [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: badilisha [natural native speed] |
| John: to exchange, or to change |
| Medina: badilisha [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: badilisha [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: mafaa [natural native speed] |
| John: disaster |
| Medina: mafaa [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: mafaa [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: afadhali [natural native speed] |
| John: much better |
| Medina: afadhali [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: afadhali [natural native speed] |
| John: And lastly.. |
| Medina: athari [natural native speed] |
| John: effects |
| Medina: athari [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: athari [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is... |
| Medina: mafaa asilia |
| John: meaning "natural disasters" |
| Medina: Mafaa is the plural form of afa ("disaster"). Asilia refers to "real" or "genuine" but when used together with mafaa, they mean "natural disasters." |
| John: The words themselves can be used individually in other contexts to give them different meanings. Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say... Mafaa asilia zimezidi dunia nzima. |
| John: ...which means, "Natural disasters have increased in the whole world. " |
| John: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Medina: kupunguza athari |
| John: meaning "to reduce risks." This is a common phrase used when educating the community on how to prevent or reduce disasters. |
| Medina: The root verb -punguza can be conjugated differently to fit other contexts. Also athari can be used as a noun and a verb on its own. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say... Tujielemishe ilikupunguza athari za majongwa. |
| John: ... which means, "We should educate ourselves to reduce the risk of diseases." |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Medina: kudai |
| John: meaning "to claim" |
| Medina: Kudai is made up of the infinitive prefix ku and the root verb -dai. This form is useful in situations where -dai will require its infinitive form. Although -dai can take other forms when prefixes and suffixes are added to it. |
| John: This means that it would be conjugated to match the noun classes. Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say... Kudai kwake kuhusu haki za watoto kumeokoa watoto wengi. |
| John: ... which means "His claims on the rights of a child have saved many children." |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about sharing ideas in an academic context. In the main conversation, we saw how to express opinions politely in an academic context. What were some of the examples? |
| Medina: Nadhani dhana yako ni nzuri lakini unadai badala ya kuthibitisha. |
| John: meaning “I think you have a great topic, but you are making a claim instead of proving it.” |
| Medina: Ni utafiti hivyo basi unapaswa kuthibitisha. |
| John: “It's a hypothesis, so you need to prove it.” Are there useful expressions you can use while discussing things with your colleagues or supervisor? |
| Medina: Yes, for example, Kwa upande mwingine... |
| John: meaning "On the other hand..." |
| Medina: inawezekana lakini…. |
| John: meaning "That can be, but..." |
| Medina: walakini kwa maoni yangu... |
| John: meaning "In my opinion, however..." Ok, those are all good phrases for politely disagreeing, but what are some good phrases to show that you are accepting the criticism? |
| Medina: We have some examples in the conversation: Ala! Sikuwazia suala jambo hilo. |
| John: meaning “Hmmm, I didn’t think about that.” |
| Medina: Ala! expresses the speaker’s amazement to the insightful idea he received. Here is another example, Unadhania nifanyenini? |
| John: “What do you think I should do?” With this sentence you can express humility and show that you’re willing to accept further advice on what to do. Ok, let’s see now what phrases to consider in academic writing. |
| Medina: Academic writing in Swahili also considers rules that are applied in other academic settings. |
| John: Let’s go over some examples, with both colloquial and written styles. |
| Medina: For example, while speaking you may say Tulivyosema hapo awali, ndiposa… |
| John: meaning “As we already said, that's why…” |
| Medina: On the other hand, if you’re writing, you should choose Kwa sababu sawa zilizotajwa mbeleni, ndio sababu… |
| John: which means “For the same reasons mentioned above, that is why…” |
| Medina: Here is another example, when speaking you may say Anajaribu kusema… |
| John: which means “He’s trying to say that...” |
| Medina: When writing you should opt for Mwandisha anajaribu kudhibitisha kuwa... |
| John: “The writer tries to prove that…” |
| Medina: Similarly, when you speak you can say Unavyo weza kuona… |
| John: “As you can see...” |
| Medina: But when writing you’d better choose Inavyodhamirishwa… |
| John: meaning “As it can be inferred…” Listeners, in the lesson notes you can find more examples. Be sure to check them out! |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Medina: Tuonane! |
Comments
Hide