Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Brandon: Hello everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Absolute Beginner, season 1, lesson 3 - Introducing Yourself in Swahili. I’m Brandon.
Medina: I’m Medina. Habari.
Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to introduce yourself in Swahili.
Medina: The conversation is between two speakers who have never met before. It takes place on a street.
Brandon: They are using formal Swahili. Let’s listen to the conversation.

Lesson conversation
Fatuma: Habari ya asubuhi?
Mohamed: Mzuri mwenzangu lakini nilikuona wapi?
Fatuma: Kwa majina naitwa Fatuma Ali.
Mohamed: Nami naitwa Mohamed Njoroge.
Fatuma: Niko na furaha kukujua.
Mohamed: Nimefurahia pia.
Fatuma: Nimetumwa na rafiki yako nije nikuone.
Mohamed: Haya basi nikusaidie aje?
Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Fatuma: Habari ya asubuhi?
Mohamed: Mzuri mwenzangu lakini nilikuona wapi?
Fatuma: Kwa majina naitwa Fatuma Ali.
Mohamed: Nami naitwa Mohamed Njoroge.
Fatuma: Niko na furaha kukujua.
Mohamed: Nimefurahia pia.
Fatuma: Nimetumwa na rafiki yako nije nikuone.
Mohamed: Haya basi nikusaidie aje?
Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Fatuma: Habari ya asubuhi?
Brandon: Good morning sir?
Mohamed: Mzuri mwenzangu lakini nilikuona wapi?
Brandon: I am fine but where did I meet you?
Fatuma: Kwa majina naitwa Fatuma Ali.
Brandon: My name is Fatuma Ali.
Mohamed: Nami naitwa Mohamed Njoroge.
Brandon: And mine is Mohamed Njoroge.
Fatuma: Niko na furaha kukujua.
Brandon: It's my pleasure to know you.
Mohamed: Nimefurahia pia.
Brandon: It's my pleasure too.
Fatuma: Nimetumwa na rafiki yako nije nikuone.
Brandon: I have been sent by a friend to come and see you.
Mohamed: Haya basi nikusaidie aje?
Brandon: Okay then. How may I help you?
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Brandon: Medina, what do Kenyans do when they introduce themselves?
Medina: We say both our first and family names when it’s a formal situation. When it’s informal, we only exchange our given names.
Brandon: And Kenyans really like shaking hands as a sign of appreciating the people they meet, right?
Medina: That’s right. And when we introduce ourselves in a group of people, we also wave our hands in the air to show how happy we are to meet the new people.
Brandon: I see. But what if I don’t shake someone’s hand the first time I meet them?
Medina: Well, many will consider that impolite.
Brandon: So make sure to shake hands, listeners! Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Brandon: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Medina: majina [natural native speed]
Brandon: names
Medina: majina [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: majina [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: naitwa [natural native speed]
Brandon: to be known as
Medina: naitwa [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: naitwa [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: nimefurahia [natural native speed]
Brandon: I am happy
Medina: nimefurahia [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: nimefurahia [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: kukujua [natural native speed]
Brandon: to know you
Medina: kukujua [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: kukujua [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: pia [natural native speed]
Brandon: same
Medina: pia [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: pia [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: kwa [natural native speed]
Brandon: for
Medina: kwa [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: kwa [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: Nami [natural native speed]
Brandon: I
Medina: Nami [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: Nami [natural native speed]
And Last:
Medina: furaha [natural native speed]
Brandon: happiness
Medina: furaha [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: furaha [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. What’s the first word?
Medina: First we have..Nami
Brandon: This is a pronoun meaning “I”.
Medina: That’s right. Used in an example, you can say Nami nakupenda.
Brandon: meaning “I love you.”
Medina: Here, we used the pronoun Nami to say “I”, and nakupenda to mean something like “Love you.”
Brandon: That’s a good phrase to remember! What’s next?
Medina: The next word is naitwa meaning something like “to be known as..” You can find this word when someone introduces him or herself in Swahili. For example, “kwa majina naitwa ….”
Brandon: Which means something like “My name is..”
Medina: Let’s break it down. Kwa means “of”, majina means “names” and naitwa means “to be known.” All together it’s kwa majina naitwa …. meaning “My name is..”
Brandon: And then, you can put your name at the end. Can you give us an example?
Medina: “Kwa majina naitwa Medina.” My name is Medina.
Brandon: Okay. We have a shorter way to say “My name is..” right?
Medina: That’s right. And this expression is “nami naitwa..” which means “I am known as.” For example, I can say.. Nami naitwa Medina. to mean “I’m Medina.”
Brandon: And there’s an even shorter version as well, right?
Medina: That’s right. You can just say Naitwa Medina without saying Nami.
Brandon: ok That’s easy! Alright now onto the grammar.

Lesson focus
Medina: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to introduce yourself in Swahili.
Brandon: We’ve already learned some phrases to say “My name is...” Can you give us one of them again please?
Medina: Kwa majina naitwa [your name]. Here, we used the word majina meaning “names” as plural, because you’ll give both your first and last names when you’re talking to someone in a formal situation.
Brandon: What about in an informal situation, when you only need to give one name?
Medina: Then, you can simply say “naitwa …” followed by your name. Also, when it’s a casual situation, you can see someone just point at him or herself, and say just their name.
Brandon: It’s like just saying “Brandon”, right?
Medina: That’s right. But if you do that, make sure to point at yourself.
Brandon: I see. So after exchanging names, what should you do?
Medina: You can say Niko na furaha kukujua. That means “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Brandon Can you say it again?
Medina: Sure. (SLOW) Niko na furaha kukujua. (REGULAR) Niko na furaha kukujua.
Brandon: It might sound complicated for now, as there are some new words in the sentence. But don’t worry, you’ll get to know about them in the upcoming lessons. But, Medina, is there a shorter way to say “Nice to meet you?”?
Medina: There is. If you want to say it simply, you can say.. “nimefurahia”
Brandon: This means “pleasure.” Can you read it again?
Medina: Sure. (SLOW) nimefurahia (REGULAR) nimefurahia
Brandon: And how would you reply with “Me too?”
Medina: It’s simple. Just say Nami pia. (slow) Nami pia. Nami is the word meaning “I or me” and Pia means “too or also.” So it literally means “Me too.”

Outro
Brandon: Well, that’s all for this lesson, for more in-depth information remember to look at the lesson notes. Thank you for listening and until next time.
Medina: Kwaheri ya kuonana !
MARKETING PIECE
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