Learn how to use many common phrases in Swahili to learn more of the Swahili language
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Gabriella: Hi everyone. Gabriella here, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Basic Bootcamp Lesson 2, Talking About Nationality in Swahili. This is the 2nd in a 5-part series that will help you ease your way into Swahili. |
| Medina: Helo, mimi ni Medina. I’m Medina! In this lesson, you will learn how to introduce yourself and tell people where you are from. |
| Gabriella: Which is essential when you’re traveling in Kenya, because that will be the first question people will probably want to ask you. |
| Medina: Whether you’re in a language class, in a new country, or in your own city, in our small world, you can always find someone from somewhere else. |
| Gabriella: And in this bootcamp, we’ll be talking about nationality. |
| Medina: We’ll also go over one of the easy building blocks for learning Swahili word order. |
| Gabriella: So have a listen to these students in Kenya talk about where they're from. And while you’re listening, try to guess their nationalities. |
| Gabriella: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Gabriella: So, Kenya is maybe not as famous as Kenyans like to think. |
| Medina: That said, Kenya is a popular vacation destination. |
| Gabriella: And people interested in history will want to study one of the most popular African languages. |
| Medina: Of course, nothing beats being able to order delicious food using only Swahili. |
| Gabriella: Or going hiking in Kenya, and interacting with the people you meet on your way. |
| Medina: It’s a truly wonderful experience and worth all the hours of study. |
| Gabriella: The fact that it's becoming more and more of an international destination makes it even more exciting to learn! |
| Medina: Yes, I kind of want to start all over again! |
| Gabriella: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Gabriella: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. First we have.. |
| Medina: Jina langu ni... |
| Gabriella: “My name is…” |
| Medina: Jina langu ni... |
| Gabriella: Now, before you say your nationality, you need one phrase. It's extremely important, and you'll use it all the time. |
| Medina: It’s Mimi ni |
| Gabriella: This phrase means “I am” in English. It's pretty straight forward in its use. Let’s hear it one time, slowly. |
| Medina: Mimi ni |
| Gabriella: And one more time fast? |
| Medina: Mimi ni |
| Gabriella: So in the dialogue, we heard the speaker say |
| Medina: Mimi ni |
| Gabriella: and then the word... |
| Medina: Mkenya |
| Gabriella: Which would translate as “I am Kenyan.” |
| Medina: That’s right. |
| Gabriella: So altogether that’s... |
| Medina: Mimi ni Mkenya. |
| Gabriella: Listeners, listen and repeat. |
| Medina: Mimi ni Mkenya. |
| Gabriella: (pause) Okay, that was easy enough! Now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Gabriella: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about nationality in Swahili. |
| Medina: That’s right. We’ve learned how to say “I am Kenyan” and “I am British”. |
| Gabriella: Right, and the main phrase here is |
| Medina: ...mimi ni. Mimi ni is a phrase you will use more often than you’ll be able to count. |
| Gabriella: The easy thing about Swahili is that it's a very straightforward language, and there are very few times when you have to change a basic word or phrase to make it intelligible to Kenyans. |
| Medina: Mimi ni can be used in any situation where you'd use “I am” in English. |
| Gabriella: OK. So how do you say "I am Italian?" |
| Medina: Mimi ni Mwitalia. |
| Gabriella: You can also use it for phrases like “I am hungry.” |
| Medina: Mimi ninanjaa. |
| Gabriella: But let’s concentrate on nationalities for now. |
| Medina: While the name of each country has its own spelling in Swahili, the differences from English are not that significant. |
| Gabriella: So, let’s take this phrase and boot camp it up a little…what do you say medina? |
| Medina: I’m not sure what "boot camp it up" really means, but I guess we’re going to find out. |
| Gabriella: We’re going to list a number of nationalities. Listeners, try to follow along and catch the nationality before we say the English name. |
| Medina: Okay, let’s start. First is...Mkenya [pause] |
| Gabriella: "Kenyan" |
| Medina: Mwamerika[pause] |
| Gabriella: "American" |
| Medina: Mwingereza[pause] |
| Gabriella: "British" |
| Medina: Mjapani[pause] |
| Gabriella: "Japanese" |
| Medina: Mchina[pause] |
| Gabriella: "Chinese" |
| Medina: Mfaransa[pause] |
| Gabriella: "French" |
| Medina: Mwitalia[pause] |
| Gabriella: "Italian" |
| Medina: Mrusi[pause] |
| Gabriella: "Russian" |
| Gabriella: Listeners, did you catch all of them? |
| Medina: If you didn’t, then just jump back and go over them again till you get it. |
| Gabriella: And you can also check the lesson notes. Now, when you’re using these, remember “I am.” |
| Medina: Mimi ni |
| Gabriella: Okay, let’s recap. Listeners, how do you say, “I'm Kenyan”? |
| Medina: (Pause) Mimi ni Mkenya. |
| Gabriella: And what about if you’re British? |
| Medina: (Pause) Mimi ni Mwingereza. |
| Gabriella: Great. Now, listeners, lets have some fun, try to make some simple sentences with your own nationality. |
| Gabriella: |
| Medina: You’ll find more of them in the PDF lesson notes that accompany this lesson. |
| Gabriella: So, we hope everybody isn’t too tired after this boot camp! |
| Medina: Yeah! I think we’re pretty nice boot camp instructors. We don’t like to yell at the listeners or anything like the boot camps I’ve seen. |
| Gabriella: Just make sure you keep practicing and you’ll have these down pat in no time! |
Outro |
| Gabriella: That's it for this lesson. We’ll see you next time! |
| Medina: Thanks for listening. Bye. |
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