Learn how to order a meal
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 9 - Are You Falling Behind at Work in Kenya? John Here. |
| Medina: Hamjambo, I'm Medina. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to answer simple questions about your social life. The conversation takes place at the office. |
| Medina: It's between Fadhili and Rehema. |
| John: The speakers are an employer and employee, so they will use both formal and informal Swahili. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Fadhili: Nikilinganisha kazi yako ya hapo awali na ya sasa, ya hapo awali ilikuwa nzuri sana. |
| Rehema: Nimekuwa mwenye makini. |
| Fadhili: Pengine ni kwa sababu ya maisha ya kijamii |
| Rehema: Niko na mpenzi. |
| Fadhili: Huenda ikawa ni mambo ya uhusiano yenyu inakuadhiri? |
| Rehema: Nitajaribu kuwa mzuri kwa kazi yangu. |
| Fadhili: Haya basi. Natumai unajua ni kipi kimekuleta hapa |
| Carol: Ndio mdosi |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Fadhili: Nikilinganisha kazi yako ya hapo awali na ya sasa, ya hapo awali ilikuwa nzuri sana. |
| Rehema: Nimekuwa mwenye makini. |
| Fadhili: Pengine ni kwa sababu ya maisha ya kijamii |
| Rehema: Niko na mpenzi. |
| Fadhili: Huenda ikawa ni mambo ya uhusiano yenyu inakuadhiri? |
| Rehema: Nitajaribu kuwa mzuri kwa kazi yangu. |
| Fadhili: Haya basi. Natumai unajua ni kipi kimekuleta hapa |
| Carol: Ndio mdosi |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation |
| Fadhili: When I compare your past job performance and your current one, your past performance is better. |
| Rehema: I have been more attentive in the past. |
| Fadhili: Maybe it is because of your social life. |
| Rehema: I have a boyfriend. |
| Fadhili: Is it possible that it's your relationship issues affecting you? |
| Rehema: I will try to be better in my job. |
| Fadhili: Okay then. I hope you know what has brought you here. |
| Carol: Yes, boss. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Medina, what are some important social conventions in Kenya? |
| Medina: In East Africa, and especially in Kenya, people value family and marriage. Therefore, when starting a formal conversation, most people introduce themselves and their family members. |
| John: What’s an example? |
| Medina: For example, Jina langu ni Karisa na niko na wake wawili na watoto kumi. |
| John: which means “My name is Karisa, and I am married to two wives and I have ten children.” Does that mean that polygamy is tolerated in Kenya? |
| Medina: Yes. Actually it’s recently been legalized. Here is a more ordinary example, Niko na wake na watoto. |
| John: "I am married and have children" Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Medina: linganisha [natural native speed] |
| John: to compare |
| Medina: linganisha[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: linganisha [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: awali [natural native speed] |
| John: initially |
| Medina: awali[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: awali [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: makini [natural native speed] |
| John: attentive |
| Medina: makini[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: makini [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: mpenzi [natural native speed] |
| John: lover, boyfriend, girlfriend |
| Medina: mpenzi[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: mpenzi [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: uhusiano [natural native speed] |
| John: relationship |
| Medina: uhusiano[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: uhusiano [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: maisha [natural native speed] |
| John: life |
| Medina: maisha[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: maisha [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Medina: Natumai [natural native speed] |
| John: to hope |
| Medina: Natumai[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: Natumai [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: linganisha kazi |
| John: meaning "to compare jobs" |
| Medina: linganisha means "to compare," and kazi means "jobs." |
| John: You can used the words when classifying job types. |
| Medina: These words are mainly used in the research industry or by job seekers. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say.. Mbona unalinganisha kazi, hiyo siyo mzuri. |
| John: ..which means "Why are you comparing jobs, that is not good." Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Medina: maisha ya kijamii |
| John: meaning "social life" |
| Medina: Maisha means "life" and kijamii is "the social life." Hence maisha ya kijamii is literally "life the social life." |
| John: You can use these words to describe the lifestyle of a place or a particular person, when talking about family, friends and religion. |
| Medina: Maisha ya kijamii or “social life” is usually related to a family, not a single person. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Medina: For example, you can say.. Hakushinda uchaguzi sababu maisha yake ya kijamii sio mzuri. |
| John: .. which means "He did not win the election because his social life is not good. " Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Medina: kuwa makini |
| John: meaning "to be keen" |
| Medina: Kuwa means “to be,” and makini means “keen.” Makini can also mean “attentive.” |
| John: You can use this phrase when cautioning someone about something. |
| Medina: Right. For example, Kuwa makini ukivuka barabara. |
| John: Which means "pay attention when crossing the road." |
| Medina: Here is another example, Unapofanya biashara Nairobi, kuwa makini. |
| John: .. which means "When you do business in Nairobi, be keen." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to answer simple questions about your social life. |
| Medina: When talking about their social life in Kenya, people are always open and ready to share. However, people of a different age, especially young ones, will not be able to share some topics. |
| John: What is an example in the dialogue? |
| Medina: Niko na mpenzi. |
| John: meaning “I have a boyfriend/girlfriend.” Let’s see some other similar sentences that would be useful when you’re talking about your family or friends. |
| Medina: Niko na ndugu watatu. |
| John: "I have three brothers." |
| Medina: Sina watoto. |
| John: “I don’t have children.” |
| Medina: Niko na marafiki wengi Nairobi. |
| John: “I have many friends in Nairobi.” Ok, now let’s take a look at how to compare things. Which words come in handy? |
| Medina: Let’s see first the example in the dialogue, when Fadhili says, Nikilinganisha kazi yako ya hapo awali na ya sasa, ya hapo awali ilikuwa nzuri sana. |
| John: meaning “When I compare your past job performance and your current one, your past performance was better.” |
| Medina: When comparing different things, the word sana, meaning “very,” or “very much,” is used a lot. In the dialogue we have nzuri sana. |
| John: What are some other similar words, and how can they be used? |
| Medina: kuliko meaning “than.” For example you can say, Watoto wangu ni wakubwa kuliko wako. |
| John: meaning “My children are bigger than yours.” |
| Medina: Another useful phrase is nyingi zaidi... |
| John: meaning “more,” |
| Medina: For example, you can say Mimi nitachagua maji hii kwa kuwa ni nyingi zaidi. |
| John: “I will choose this bottle since it has more water.” |
| Medina: You can use ndogo sana to mean “much less,” for example, Hii nyumba ni ndogo sana ukilinganisha na yenye tulikuwa tukiishi ndani. |
| John: meaning “This house is much smaller compared to the one we lived in.” |
| Medina: kidogo means “little”, for example you can say Nipe hii chai kwa kikombe kidogo. |
| John: “Give me tea in a little cup.” |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Medina: Tuonane! |
Comments
Hide