Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Introduction
John: Welcome to 3-Minute Swahili Season 1, Lesson 17 - Why? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask and answer why in Swahili.
Body
John: Here's the way to ask "Why are you late?" in Swahili.
Medina: [Normal] Mbona umechelewa?
John: First is a word meaning "why."
Medina: [Normal] mbona [Slow] mbona
John: Last is the phrase meaning "you are late."
Medina: [Normal] umechelewa [Slow] umechelewa
John: Note the rising intonation. Listen again to the question meaning "Why are you late?"
Medina: [Slow] Mbona umechelewa? [Normal] Mbona umechelewa?
John: Here's a response meaning "I missed the train."
Medina: [Normal] Nilikosa treni.
John: First is a word meaning "I missed."
Medina: [Normal] nilikosa [Slow] nilikosa
John: Next is the word meaning "the train."
Medina: [Normal] treni [Slow] treni
John: Listen again to the sentence meaning "I missed the train."
Medina: [Slow] Nilikosa treni. [Normal] Nilikosa treni.
John: Here's a way to ask "Why do you leave so early?"
Medina: [Normal] Mbona unaondoka mapema?
John: First is a word meaning "why."
Medina: [Normal] mbona [Slow] mbona
John: Next is the phrase meaning "you leave."
Medina: [Normal] unaondoka [Slow] unaondoka
John: Last is the word meaning "early."
Medina: [Normal] mapema [Slow] mapema
John: Listen again to the question, "Why do you leave so early?"
Medina: [Slow] Mbona unaondoka mapema? [Normal] Mbona unaondoka mapema?
John: Here's a response meaning, "To not miss the train."
Medina: [Normal] Kutokosa treni
John: First is a word meaning "to not."
Medina: [Normal] kuto [Slow] kuto
John: Next is the word meaning "miss."
Medina: [Normal] kosa [Slow] kosa
John: Last is the word meaning "the train."
Medina: [Normal] treni [Slow] treni
John: Listen again to the response, "To not miss the train."
Medina: [Slow] Kutokosa treni [Normal] Kutokosa treni
Cultural Insight
John: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight.
Medina: Just like in English, "Why not?" can also have a positive meaning, for example if you are invited to a party and after a moment of thinking you respond "Sure, why not!". In the same way, in Swahili you can just answer Mbona sivyo!

Outro

John: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson!
Medina: Tuonane!

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