Dialogue

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 4, Expressing Your Gratitude in Swahili. I’m Brandon.
Medina: Habari! And I am Medina.
Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to show your appreciation in Swahili.
Medina: The conversation takes place at the hospital, where one friend has just delivered twins.
Brandon: The conversation is between two people who are close friends, so they will be using informal language. Let’s listen to the conversation.

Lesson conversation

Amina: Asante sana kwa kuja kuniona hospitalini.
Rehema: Karibu sana. Nilivyoskia umejifungua mapacha, niliamua lazima nije.
Amina: Aaa..nashukuru.
Rehema: Nimekuletea zawadi; zingine za hawa watoto na zingine zako.
Amina: Asante sana mwenzangu, nashukuru.
Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Rehema: Asante sana kwa kuja kuniona hospitalini.
Brandon: Karibu sana. Nilivyoskia umejifungua mapacha, niliamua lazima nije.
Amina: Aaa..nashukuru.
Rehema: Nimekuletea zawadi; zingine za hawa watoto na zingine zako.
Amina: Asante sana mwenzangu, nashukuru.
Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Amina: Asante sana kwa kuja kuniona hospitalini.
Brandon: Thank you for coming to see me at the hospital.
Rehema: Karibu sana. Nilivyoskia umejifungua mapacha, niliamua lazima nije.
Brandon: You are welcome. When I heard that you delivered twins, I knew I had to come and see you.
Amina: Aaa..nashukuru.
Brandon: I appreciate it.
Rehema: Nimekuletea zawadi; zingine za hawa watoto na zingine zako.
Brandon: I brought you gifts; some are for these babies and some for you.
Rehema: Asante sana mwenzangu, nashukuru.
Brandon: Thank you very much, I appreciate it.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Brandon: Medina, when Kenyans say “Thank you”, do they make any particular gestures?
Medina: Yes, they do. Kenyans hug as they say “Thank you” or Asante sana, especially when they are close.
Brandon: So in the situation that we had in the dialogue, they would hug, right?
Medina: I would say so. Also, they would be very happy as we put a lot of value on the arrival of a newborn baby – we consider it a celebration of new life.
Brandon: It is a pretty exciting moment, isn’t it!
Medina: Definitely! Babies are blessings and I think that it’s common for friends and relatives to visit the new parents and bring gifts.
Brandon: I heard that people will always bring some type of present with them.
Medina: (laughs) That’s true. It sounds funny but you cannot hold a newborn unless you bring a gift, especially in the countryside.
Brandon: That’s a very interesting custom! Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Vocabulary and Phrases (running time 2: 30, preparation time 10 min.)
Brandon: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Medina: asante kukuja [natural native speed]
Brandon: thanks for coming
Medina: asante kukuja [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: asante kukuja [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: karibu sana [natural native speed]
Brandon: You’re very welcome
Medina: karibu sana [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: karibu sana [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: nimekuletea [natural native speed]
Brandon: I brought for you
Medina: nimekuletea [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: nimekuletea [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: zawadi [natural native speed]
Brandon: gift
Medina: zawadi [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: zawadi [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: nashukuru [natural native speed]
Brandon: I appreciate
Medina: nashukuru [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: nashukuru [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: hospitali [natural native speed]
Brandon: hospital
Medina: hospitali [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: hospitali [natural native speed]
Next:
Medina: umejifungua [natural native speed]
Brandon: you have given birth
Medina: umejifungua [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: umejifungua [natural native speed]
And Last:
Medina: mapacha [natural native speed]
Brandon: twins
Medina: mapacha [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: mapacha [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: We have “umejifungua”
Brandon: This means “you have given a birth” but you can use it with the second singular person.
Medina: That’s right. We can break this verb down into two parts. First, we have ume which is an auxiliary verb meaning “You have..” Then we have jifungua meaning “to give birth.”
Brandon: Then how would you say “I have given birth”?
Medina: For that, you can use the auxiliary verb “nime” and say “nimejifungua”. “Nime” is the auxiliary verb meaning “I have”
Brandon: Can we have another example using Nime
Medina: In the dialogue we had “nimekuletea”. You can break this down into two. The first part “nime” is the auxiliary verb meaning “I have” Then, we have “kuletea” meaning “to bring for.”
Brandon: That’s why this word was translated as “I have brought something for..”
Medina: That’s right. So listeners, when you have a verb in Swahili, check the first part and see which auxiliary verb it uses. If it has “nime”, that means “I have done something”. And if it has “ume”, that means “You have done something.”
Brandon: That’s a good tip. Okay, now onto the grammar.

Lesson focus

Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to show your appreciation in Swahili. Medina, how do you say “Thank you” in Swahili?
Medina: It’s simple. Asante sana. (SLOW) Asante sana.
Brandon: This is the most standard way to express your appreciation, right?
Medina: That’s right. Here, Asante means “Thanks” and sana means “very much” so it literally means “Thank you so much”. But you can use these two words as a set when you want to show your appreciation in Swahili.
Brandon: But when you want to show your appreciation to many people, the expression changes slightly, right?
Medina: Very right. If you are referring to many people, you need to add a ‘ni’ at the end of the verb Asante. So it will become Asante-ni.
Brandon: This means “Thank you all.” or “Thank you, everyone.” Moving on, how do you respond with “You’re welcome”?
Medina: You can say Karibu. If you want to emphasize it, you can add the word sana at the end. For example, Karibu sana.
Brandon: Which means “You’re very welcome.”
Medina: And when you’re saying it to many people, you can simply add a ‘ni’ at the end. Karibuni.

Outro

Brandon: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check the lesson notes for more information, and leave us a comment. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. Bye!
Medina: Kwaheri ya kuonana.
MARKETING PIECE
Brandon: Attention perfectionists! You’re about to learn how to perfect your pronunciation.
Medina: Lesson Review Audio Tracks.
Brandon: Increase fluency and vocabulary fast with these short, effective audio tracks.
Medina: Super simple to use. Listen to the Swahili word or phrase...
Brandon: then repeat it out loud in a loud clear voice.
Medina: You’ll speak with confidence knowing that you’re speaking Swahili like the locals.
Brandon: Go to SwahiliPod101.com, and download the Review Audio Tracks right on the lessons page today!

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