Learn about expressing uncertainty
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 10 - Making Hiring Decisions in Kenya. John Here. |
| Medina: Hamjambo, I'm Medina. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn about expressing uncertainty. The conversation takes place at an office. |
| Medina: It's between Victor and Mable. |
| John: The speakers are an employer and an employee, therefore, they will speak both formal and informal Swahili. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Victor: Tunatafuta mtu wa kurithi cheo cha umeneja wa Tom. |
| Mable: Je, Tom anawacha kazi? |
| Victor: Sivyo, anapandishwa cheo kuwa mkurugenzi katika kampuni yetu nchini Kanada. |
| Mable: Heri kwake. Je, unadhania Damon anaweza jaza pengo hilo? |
| Victor: Mbona unawaza hivyo? |
| Mable: Anaushurikiano bora na kila mtu. Yeye ni mjuzi na anajulikana kwa uongozi bora. |
| Victor: Nilidhania hivyo pia. Nadhani anaujuzi wa kutosha inayohitajika katika cheo hicho. |
| Mable: Divyo. Amekuwa meneja wa ofisi ya uuzaji kwa miaka sita sasa. |
| Victor: Nitaongea nayeye kabla ya kutangaza. |
| Mable: Ninauhakika tutapenda kufanya kazi kwa uongozi wake |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation |
| Victor: We are currently looking for someone to succeed Tom in the managerial position. |
| Mable: Is Tom leaving? |
| Victor: Not really, he's been promoted to be the director of our company in Canada. |
| Mable: Good for him. Don't you think Damon could fill in the gap? |
| Victor: Why do you think so? |
| Mable: He's friendly to everyone. He is skilled and a good leader. |
| Victor: I thought the same. I suppose he's experienced for that position, too. |
| Mable: Right, he's been managing the sales department for 6 years now. |
| Victor: I will talk with him before making it public. |
| Mable: I'm sure we will love to work under his leadership. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Good luck to Tom at the company in Canada! |
| Medina: Yes, sounds like a good promotion! |
| John: It’s interesting to hear Victor and Mable discuss Tom’s successor. |
| Medina: He certainly sounds qualified for the job. |
| John: Is that how a promotion in Kenya works? That the best person for the job gets it, and not just the most senior person? |
| Medina: Yes, it’s usually based on performance or qualifications. |
| John: Even if that means a younger member of the staff is a better fit than an older one? |
| Medina: Yes. Younger staff members that are in a position to be promoted have probably won awards or show competence in their job, so it isn’t questioned. |
| John: It sounds like a very fair system. |
| Medina: It’s not always so fair, though. Sometimes it’s luck, or sometimes bosses choose who they like. |
| John: But whoever gets the job, then has to prove that they are worthy of it. |
| Medina: Yes, there are many expectations and additional roles you have to do. |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Medina: rithi [natural native speed] |
| John: to succeed |
| Medina: rithi[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: rithi [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: wacha [natural native speed] |
| John: to let |
| Medina: wacha[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: wacha [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: pandishwa [natural native speed] |
| John: to be promoted |
| Medina: pandishwa[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: pandishwa [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: mkurugenzi [natural native speed] |
| John: director |
| Medina: mkurugenzi[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: mkurugenzi [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: pengo [natural native speed] |
| John: gap |
| Medina: pengo[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: pengo [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: ushirikiano [natural native speed] |
| John: cooperation |
| Medina: ushirikiano[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: ushirikiano [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: ujuzi [natural native speed] |
| John: experience |
| Medina: ujuzi[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: ujuzi [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: uuzaji [natural native speed] |
| John: sales |
| Medina: uuzaji[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: uuzaji [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have.. |
| Medina: tangaza [natural native speed] |
| John: to tell, to spread |
| Medina: tangaza[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: tangaza [natural native speed] |
| John: And last.. |
| Medina: hakika [natural native speed] |
| John: Sure. |
| Medina: hakika[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Medina: hakika [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 word is.. |
| Medina: kutafuta |
| John: meaning "to look for" |
| John: This word is made of two parts. |
| Medina: The first is the indefinite pronoun ku. The second is tafuta. |
| John: This is a root verb that means “look for.” |
| Medina: You can use tafuta when there is a search. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say.. Tumeanza kutafuta karo ya shule. |
| John: ..which means "We have started looking for school fees." |
| John: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Medina: rithi cheo |
| John: meaning "to succeed a post" |
| John: There are two words here, so can you tell us what they both mean? |
| Medina: The first word rithi means to "succeed" or "inherit.” The second word is cheo. |
| John: This is a “post” or “rank.” |
| Medina: Altogether, it means “to succeed a post.” |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say.. Ametajirika kwa kurithi cheo cha babake |
| John: .. which means “He has become rich after inheriting his father's post.” |
| John: Okay, what's the next phrase? |
| Medina: ofisi ya uuzaji |
| John: meaning "sales department" |
| John: That first word sounds a little like the English word “office.” |
| Medina: Well spotted. Ofisi is borrowed from English. Ya is a preposition meaning "of," and the final word is uuzaji. |
| John: This means “sales.” Put together, the phrase literally means “office of sales.” |
| Medina: It sounds better as “sales department.” |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Medina: Sure. For example, you can say.. Ofisi ya uuzaji umepata faida ya juu zaidi. |
| John: .. which means "The sales department has gotten the highest profit." |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn about expressing uncertainty. First, let’s look at how indefinite pronouns work in Swahili. |
| Medina: An example of a Swahili indefinite pronoun is kila. |
| John: This means “each, every.” So indefinite pronouns are words that aren’t specific in number. Another example is “several”. |
| Medina: That is kadhaa. Although these refer to multiple objects, they take a singular form, not a plural one. |
| John: So they have to agree with singular noun classes. Let’s hear a sentence example. |
| Medina: Kila nyumba ina amri zake. |
| John: “Every house has it’s own rules.” |
| Medina: Mtu fulani alikuja hapa. |
| John: “Someone came here.” Next, let’s look at some key phrases that will help us express opinions. |
| Medina: If you want to show what you’re thinking about, you can start a sentence with nadhani |
| John: “I think that…” |
| Medina: Also maoni yangu |
| John: “In my opinion…” |
| Medina: Maybe even Kwangu mimi |
| John: “As for me…” Can we hear a sentence using a sentence starter like these? |
| Medina: Naona ni heri urudi nyumbani kwa wazazi uwasaidie. |
| John: “The way I see it, is it’s better you go home and help your parents.” You can also ask other people for their opinions. |
| Medina: Right. You can say something like wadhaniaje. |
| John: “What do you think?” |
| Medina: Or Maono yako ni ipi |
| John: “What’s your opinion?” Finally for this lesson, let’s look at a few words to describe someone’s personality. Medina, can you give us a couple of words? |
| Medina: Sure. maarufu |
| John: “Popular.” |
| Medina: mwerevu |
| John: “Clever.” |
| Medina: mpole |
| John: “Polite.” Let’s wrap up this lesson, with a couple of sentences using these words. |
| Medina: For example you can say Seneta maarufu alichaguliwa bila kupingwa. |
| John: “The popular senator was elected unopposed. ” |
| Medina: Yeye ni mpole hawezi umiza nzi. |
| John: “She is too polite to injure a fly.” |
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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