Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Hi, everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1, Lesson 11 - Extending a Hotel Stay in Kenya. John here.
Medina: Hamjambo, I'm Medina.
John: In this lesson, you’ll learn about quantifiers. The conversation takes place over the phone.
Medina: It's between Maria and Mark.
John: The speakers are strangers in a customer service context, therefore, they will speak formal Swahili. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Mark: Habari, hii ni kampuni ya manyumba ya Lib?
Maria: Ndivyo. Nikusaidie vipi?
Mark: Hasa ni ombi. Mbeleni, nilitarajia kuishi kwa siku tatu.
Maria: Unataka kuongeza masiku?
Mark: Ndio, hadi mwisho wa wiki hii.
Maria: Naelewa. Hivyo basi unahitaji kuongeza pesa kwa zile ulizolipa hapo mbeleni.
Mark: Najua.
Maria: Kuna jambo lolote lingine naweza kukusaidia?
Mark: Ndio, tafadhali. Tunaweza badilishiwa taulo na chumba chetu kusafishwa?
Maria: Sawa. Hiyo itafanywa leo alasiri.
Mark: Asante.
John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation.
Mark: Hello, is this the Lib Accommodations company?
Maria: Yes, how can I help you?
Mark: It's actually a request. Initially, I had intended to stay for three days.
Maria: So, you want to extend your stay?
Mark: Right, until the end of this week.
Maria: I see. Then you will be required to add some money to the amount you paid earlier.
Mark: I understand.
Maria: Is there anything else I can do for you?
Mark: Yes, please. Can we have our towels changed and our room cleaned?
Maria: Okay. That will be done this afternoon.
Mark: Thank you.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
John: Mark was able to extend his stay without any problems.
Medina: Yes, if there is space in the schedule, why not let someone stay longer?
John: Of course. I noticed that he called the Lib Accommodations company. Is that a hotel?
Medina: Maybe not. As well as hotels, there are many guesthouses and furnished apartments that you can stay in when in Kenya. There are even host families.
John: What are the benefits of those type of places?
Medina: Some will be fully furnished and even have staff to help you.
John: Are they expensive?
Medina: I suggest you search the Internet for a good deal. Some areas near cities can be expensive.
John: But if you look around, you can find something cheaper?
Medina: There’s lots of competition, so that helps bring the prices down sometimes.
John: Are there some places that are expensive because they’re popular and trendy?
Medina: Yes, Karen is a little far from the main city, but is a popular area.
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: ombi [natural native speed]
John: request
Medina: ombi [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: ombi [natural native speed]
John: Next, we have...
Medina: tarajia [natural native speed]
John: to expect
Medina: tarajia [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: tarajia [natural native speed]
John: Next up is...
Medina: ongeza [natural native speed]
John: to add, to extend
Medina: ongeza [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: ongeza [natural native speed]
John: Next, we have...
Medina: hitaji [natural native speed]
John: basic need, to need
Medina: hitaji [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: hitaji [natural native speed]
John: Next, there’s...
Medina: pesa [natural native speed]
John: money
Medina: pesa [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: pesa [natural native speed]
John: Next, we have...
Medina: saidia [natural native speed]
John: to help
Medina: saidia [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: saidia [natural native speed]
John: Next, there’s...
Medina: badilisha [natural native speed]
John: to change
Medina: badilisha [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: badilisha [natural native speed]
John: Next, we have...
Medina: taulo [natural native speed]
John: towel
Medina: taulo [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: taulo [natural native speed]
John: Next up is...
Medina: safisha [natural native speed]
John: to clean
Medina: safisha [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: safisha [natural native speed]
John: And lastly...
Medina: alasiri [natural native speed]
John: afternoon
Medina: alasiri [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: alasiri [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: nikusaidie
John: ...meaning "can I help you?"
Medina: First is ni, the first person singular pronoun. Then there’s the infinitive pronoun, ku. Finally is saidie, the imperative form of saidia.
John: ...which means “help.” So all together, it means “Can I help you?”
Medina: Yes. You can use the first half, niku, in other circumstances, too.
John: That first half means “can I.”
Medina: Also, saidia can have different meanings, like “support, favor, protect” so it can be used in other ways, too.
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Medina: Sure. For example, you can say Nikusaidie kupeleka barua kwa posta?
John: ...which means "Can I help you take the letter to the post office?"
John: Okay, what's the next word?
Medina: ongeza pesa
John: ...meaning "to add money."
John: What do the two words in this phrase mean?
Medina: The first word is ongeza, and it means “to add.” The second word is pesa.
John: This means “money.” When do you usually hear this phrase?
Medina: It’s common in business transactions.
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Medina: Sure. For example, you can say Ongeza pesa ilinikupe.
John: ...which means "Add more money to get the product."
John: Okay, what's the next word?
Medina: badilishiwa
John: ...meaning "to change for."
John: What can you tell us about this word?
Medina: Badilishiwa is derived from the verb badilisha, but that is conjugated further into the "to be done for" form.
John: So it means “to change for.” When would you use this?
Medina: When an action is done on behalf of another person.
John: It’s a passive form, right?
Medina: Yes, you use it when referring indirectly to the person who carried out the action.
John: Can you give us an example using this word?
Medina: Sure. For example, you can say Alibadilishiwa pesa geni kwa benki.
John: ...which means "He exchanged shillings for foreign money at the bank."
John: Now onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

John: In this lesson, you'll learn about quantifiers. We use quantifiers when we want to talk about how much of something there is.
Medina: In Swahili, we use -ote to mean wholeness, and o-ote for whatever or whoever.
John: It’s basically the difference between everything and anything. Let’s hear some examples. We’ll use the noun for “potato” as our first example.
Medina: First is Kiazi chote, and then Viazi vyote.
John: So that was “the entire potato,” followed by “all the potatoes.” Let’s hear another example with “friendship.”
Medina: Urafiki wowote
John: This means “any friendship.” How about a sentence example?
Medina: Ni vyema urafiki wowote uchunguzwe.
John: “It’s good to examine any kind of friendship.”
Medina: There are some nouns in Swahili that don’t change their form if they’re singular or plural.
John: It’s the same in English and many other languages.
Medina: It’s easier to tell if things are singular or plural through the use of quantifiers. Let’s use the sentence Baba wote huadhibu wanao as an example.
John: This means “all fathers discipline their children.” You can hear the quantifier in there.
Medina: That’s right, baba is a noun in the M-WA class, but doesn’t take the WA form to become plural.
John: Instead, it’s plural through one of the quantifiers we just heard about.
Medina: -ote, yes. Another example is Mchanga wowote unawezajenga.
John: “Any kind of soil can be used to build.”
Medina: And Njia yote imefungwa.
John: “All the roads are closed.” Now, let’s finish the lesson by hearing some example sentences that will help us when we’re traveling and wanting to know how long it will take.
Medina: First is a simple one Itachukua muda upi?
John: “How long will it take?”
Medina: Kwa muda gani?
John: “For how long?”
Medina: Kutoka hapa hadi Karen.
John: “From here to Karen.”

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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