Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 14 - Waiting in Line at a Kenyan Grocery Store. John Here.
Medina: Hamjambo, I'm Medina.
John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to make simple complaints. The conversation takes place at a supermarket.
Medina: It's between Maria and Musa.
John: The speakers are strangers in a customer service context. Therefore, they will speak formal Swahili. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Maria: Hawa makarani wa pesa wa hii duka la kijumla wanafanya pole pole sana.
Musa: Ndio. Hii foleni imekuwa ndefu sana.
Maria: Tumechoka kusimama na joto imeongezeka hewani.
Musa: Mimi kwanza nimechoka sana.
Maria: Nikidhani mashine zao zimeharibika.
Musa: Wacha basi nirudishe bidhaa zangu.
Maria: Haiya...ni kama zimeanza kufanya kazi.
Musa: Wafanye haraka basi ndio tuokoe masaa.
John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly.
Maria: Hawa makarani wa pesa wa hii duka la kijumla wanafanya pole pole sana.
Musa: Ndio. Hii foleni imekuwa ndefu sana.
Maria: Tumechoka kusimama na joto imeongezeka hewani.
Musa: Mimi kwanza nimechoka sana.
Maria: Nikidhani mashine zao zimeharibika.
Musa: Wacha basi nirudishe bidhaa zangu.
Maria: Haiya...ni kama zimeanza kufanya kazi.
Musa: Wafanye haraka basi ndio tuokoe masaa.
John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation.
Maria: The cashiers in this supermarket are very slow.
Musa: Yes. This line has become so long.
Maria: I’m tired of standing, and the air has become so hot.
Musa: I’m so tired.
Maria: I think their cash register machines are broken.
Musa: Let me return the goods.
Maria: Ohhh...it seems they’ve started working.
Musa: They should hurry up to save time.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
John: Are people in Kenya usually in a hurry, as Musa was in the dialogue?
Medina: Kenyans are usually impatient people. They’re often accused by their neighbours of being fast or always in a hurry.
John: I see. Maybe that’s more common in the major cities, right?
Medina: Right, but in general Kenyans hurry to work. They often complain about traffic jams and people doing things at the last minute.
John: I’m often late. What’s the Swahili for “I am getting late?”
Medina: That’s nachelewa
John: I’d better remember it! Now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is...
Medina: duka [natural native speed]
John: shop
Medina: duka[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: duka [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: pole pole [natural native speed]
John: slower
Medina: pole pole[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: pole pole [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: tumechoka [natural native speed]
John: to be tired
Medina: tumechoka[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: tumechoka [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: zimeharibika [natural native speed]
John: to spoil
Medina: zimeharibika[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: zimeharibika [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: mashine [natural native speed]
John: machines
Medina: mashine[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: mashine [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: bidhaa [natural native speed]
John: ingredients, shopping
Medina: bidhaa[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: bidhaa [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: kazi [natural native speed]
John: job, work, career
Medina: kazi[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: kazi [natural native speed]
John: And last...
Medina: masaa [natural native speed]
John: time
Medina: masaa[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: masaa [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: duka la kijumla
John: meaning "supermarket."
Medina: Duka la kijumla is a phrase made of three words.
John: Let’s break it down.
Medina: Duka
John: is a noun meaning "shop,"
Medina: la
John: means "of," and
Medina: kijumla means "in general."
John: When put together, they mean "supermarket."
Medina: The phrase duka la kijumla is also used to refer to a general shop.
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Medina: Sure. For example, you can say, Napenda kwenda kwa duka la kijumla kwa vile mtu hujichukulia bidhaa mwenyewe.
John: ...which means "I love going to the supermarket because it is self-service."
John: Okay, what's the next phrase?
Medina: kufanya kazi
John: meaning "working."
Medina: Kufanya kazi is made of the verb kufanya, meaning "to do," and the noun kazi, meaning "work." The prefix ku is used to mean "of."
John: This refers to a state of working. Can you give us an example using this word?
Medina: Sure. For example, you can say, Kufanya kazi kunasaidia watu kujikimu maishani.
John: ...which means "Working helps people to earn their livelihoods."
John: Okay, what's the next phrase?
Medina: kuokoa masaa
John: meaning "to save time." Let’s break this down.
Medina: This is a phrase made of two words. First, Kuokoa.
John: This is a verb meaning "to save," and next…
Medina: masaa
John: A noun which translates as "time." Altogether, this phrase is used to talk about saving time.
Medina: When talking about time, some people may choose to say wacha kupoteza wakati, meaning "stop wasting time."
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Medina: Sure. For example, you can say, Nikienda kwa ndege nitalipa ghali lakini nitaokoa masaa.
John: ...which means "If I use an airplane, I will pay expensively but I will save time."
John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to make simple complaints. In the dialogue, we heard two people complaining about the waiting while at the cash register.
Medina: Yes, one of them said Hawa makarani wa pesa wa hii duka la kijumla wanafanya pole pole sana.
John: which means “The cashiers in this supermarket are very slow.” Are there specific words we’d better remember when complaining?
Medina: When complaining about delays in Swahili, you may use words such as ninalalamika,
John: meaning “I am complaining,”
Medina: ukawiaji,
John: meaning “delay,”
Medina: chelewa
John: “to be late,”
Medina: kupoteza wakati and pole pole
John: Respectively meaning “to waste time” and “slowly.” All these words express delays and appear in sentences that discuss complaints about time.
Medina: You show how you are annoyed by using words such as umekosa
John: meaning “you have wronged me,”
Medina: nimekasirika
John: meaning “I am mad,” and…
Medina: chelewa, meaning “to be late.”
John: Let’s give some examples.
Medina: Nalalamika kwa sababu tumekaa sana hapa na gari haliondoki.
John: “I’m complaining because we have been delayed. We have been here for a while and the vehicle is not leaving.”
Medina: Jaribu kuokoa masaa, unakaa sana.
John: “Try to save time, you’re taking a lot of time.”
Medina: Nimekasirika kwa vile mtu wa teksi amechelewa kunichukua.
John: “I am annoyed because the taxi guy is late to pick me up.” Ok, now let’s learn some useful phrases for another topic which people like to complain about: the weather.
Medina: When complaining about hali ya anga, meaning “the weather,” there are some useful words, such as hewa
John: which means “air,”
Medina: or mbaya and nzuri,
John: meaning “bad” and “good”
Medina: joto
John: “hot”
Medina: mvua
John: “rainy.” These words are also useful when speaking about the weather in a neutral way.
Medina: Here’s an example of a complaint: Leo kuna hali ya anga mbaya sana.
John: “Today there is very bad weather.”
Medina: Tumechoka kusimama na joto imeongezeka hewani.
John: “I am tired of standing and the weather has become so hot.” Lastly let’s go over some keywords when complaining about things not working.
Medina: Haribika is the verb literally meaning “to spoil.”
John: So it’s commonly used to complain about things not working.
Medina: You may also use -vunjika or katika to mean “to break” and chomeka “burnt” to talk about destruction and complain about things not working. You can also say Haifanyi
John: which means “It is not working.”
Medina: In most cases, hai- is the prefix that comes before -fanyi when constructing written or spoken sentences about things not working. For example: Mashine yake ya kunyoa haifanyi kazi
John: which means “His electric razor is not working.”
Medina: Hai can be combined with other verbs to express dysfunction. For example, Gari haiendi,
John: meaning “The car is not moving,”
Medina: Hii foleni ya hospitali haisongi,
John: “This hospital queue is not moving.”
Medina: Please note that -fanyi is also prefixed by other words such as sifanyi
John: meaning “I do not do.”

Outro

John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Medina: Tuonane!

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