Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 23 - Taking Climate Action in Kenya. John Here.
Medina: Hamjambo, I'm Medina.
John: In this lesson, you’ll learn about conjugating verbs. The conversation takes place at a park.
Medina: It's between Maria, Pamela and Victor.
John: The speakers are friends, therefore, they will speak informally in Swahili. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Maria: Mazao ya mwaka huu ni ya chini sana.
Pamela : Ndio. Nikwasababu kubadilika kwa hewa kunaathiri misimu ya kupanda.
Victor: Je, umegundua athari zake ni dunia nzima?
Pamela : Ndiposa inalinganishwa na kikanza cha dunia.
Maria: Ni sababu ingine kunakupanda kwingi kwa joto.
Victor: Inabadilisha maisha ya binadamu.
Pamela : Kwote. Angalia athari zake mbaya kwa chakula, uchumi,majijini na jamii.
Maria: Ndiposa tuna ukame mrefu, dhoruba haribifu na mafuriko.
Victor: Kama hatutakuwa makini, orodha hii itazidi kuongezeka.
Maria: Wachatutumai kuwa binadamu wataarifika na kuchukua hatua.
Pamela : Ndio.
John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation.
Maria: The harvest this year is very low.
Pamela: Right. It's all because climate change is disrupting the planting seasons.
Victor: Do you realize the effects are global?
Pamela: That's why it's called “global warming.”
Maria: True, it's another reason we are experiencing the devastating rise in temperatures.
Victor: It’s reshaping human life.
Pamela: Everywhere, there is talk of negative effects on food, economies, our cities, and communities.
Maria: Actually, it is the reason we have prolonged droughts, destructive storms, and floods.
Victor: If we aren’t careful, this list will continue to grow.
Maria: Let's hope that humanity will get educated and take action.
Pamela: Right.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
John: Environmental issues are a worldwide concern.
Medina: That’s right. As well as developing its people, Kenya prioritizes protecting its land.
John: How is it prioritized?
Medina: Environmental conservation has been adopted as a civil obligation in the Constitution.
John: Kenya has rich nature and biodiversity.
Medina: That’s right. Environmental conservation benefits agriculture, fights poverty, and promotes sustainable development.
John: So it’s treated in Kenya as being of supreme importance.
Medina: That’s right, there are always campaigns in Kenya to make Kenyans aware of their role in protecting the environment.
John: What are these campaigns like?
Medina: There was a famous campaign run by Wangari Maathai, who tirelessly encouraged Kenyans to plant two trees when they cut down one.
John: I remember hearing about that one, she won a Nobel Peace Prize.
Medina: That’s right, she was the first African woman to win one.
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: kikanza [natural native speed]
John: warning
Medina: kikanza [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: kikanza [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: athari [natural native speed]
John: effect
Medina: athari [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: athari [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: gundua [natural native speed]
John: to notice
Medina: gundua [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: gundua [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: kupanda [natural native speed]
John: to rise
Medina: kupanda [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: kupanda [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: ukame [natural native speed]
John: drought
Medina: ukame [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: ukame [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: dhoruba [natural native speed]
John: storm
Medina: dhoruba [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: dhoruba [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: mafuriko [natural native speed]
John: flood
Medina: mafuriko [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: mafuriko [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Medina: makini [natural native speed]
John: smart, keen
Medina: makini [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: makini [natural native speed]
John: And lastly...
Medina: arifika [natural native speed]
John: to be informed
Medina: arifika [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Medina: arifika [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: kikanza cha dunia
John: meaning "global warming"
John: Let’s go through this phrase word by word.
Medina: The first word is kikanza, and this means “heating” or “to warm up.” The second word is cha, which is the preposition “of.” The final word is dunia.
John: This means “earth.” So together, it’s literally “heating of earth,” or “global warming.”
Medina: There is no specific Swahili phrase for global warming, but this phrase works.
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Medina: Sure. For example, you can say... Kuna watu wasioamini kuna kikanza cha dunia.
John: ...which means "There are people who don't believe there is global warming."
John: Okay, what's the next phrase?
Medina: badilika kwa hewa
John: meaning "climate change"
John: Again, let’s go through this one word at a time.
Medina: The first word is badilika, which means “change”; next is kwa, which means “of.” The last word is hewa.
John: This means “climate.”
Medina: Altogether it means “change of climate,” or “climate change.”
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Medina: Sure. For example, you can say... Raisi anapinga kupandilika kwa hewa.
John: ...which means "The president denies the existence of climate change."
John: Okay, what's the next word?
Medina: kukua makini
John: meaning "to be careful"
John: The first word means “to be.”
Medina: Yes, kukua. The second word is makini.
John: And this means “careful.” The phrase can mean “to be careful,” or “to pay attention.”
Medina: You’ll hear this often when there is danger.
John: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Medina: Sure. For example, you can say... Jaribu kukua makini unapotembea gizani.
John: ...which means "Try to be careful when walking in the dark."
John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

John: In this lesson, you'll learn about conjugating verbs. Let’s start by reviewing some information that our listeners probably already know. Medina, where does a verb usually go in a Swahili sentence?
Medina: Swahili sentences usually follow the pattern of subject, verb, object.
John: Let’s hear an example.
Medina: Mama anapiga simu.
John: “Mama is making a phone call.” We can also have the pattern of personal pronoun plus tense plus root verb, then object
Medina: Yes, for example Anapiga simu.
John: “She is making a phone call.”
Medina: We can also have just verb and object. Piga simu.
John: “Make a call.” There are several ways verbs can be conjugated, depending on context or actions. Here are some of the verb forms.
Medina: Tenda.
John: A form of the verb “to do” in its basic or dictionary form.
Medina: Tendea.
John: A form of the verb “to do” that implies an action done on behalf of another person. Or, “to do for.”
Medina: Tendana.
John: A form of the verb “to do” used to indicate an action done by parties involving each other. Or, “to do for each other.”
Medina: Tendeana.
John: A form of the verb “to do” that indicates an action done on behalf of someone, and that the recipient does the same. Or, “to do on behalf of each other.”
Medina: Tendwa.
John: A form of the verb “to do” that indicates the effects of an action on the recipient. Or, “done to.”
Medina: Tendewa.
John: A form of the verb “to do” that shows an action that is being done on someone's behalf. Or, “done for.”
Medina: Tendeka.
John: A form of the verb “to do” that shows an action has been completed. Or, “done.”
Medina: Tendesha.
John: A form of the verb “to do” that shows someone has been made to do a given action. Or, “make someone do.”
Medina: Tendeshana.
John: A form of the verb “to do” that shows an action that you do to each other only after one party makes you do the action. “Make someone do, and the person makes you do it too.” Let’s hear some examples.
Medina: The following sentence is in tendeshana form. Bwana na bibi harusi walilishana keki.
John: “The groom and the bride gave a piece of cake to each other to eat.”
Medina: This one is tendwa form. Alikimbishwa ilipogunduliwa kuwa yeye ndiye mwizi.
John: “He was chased once it was known that he was the thief.”
Medina: And finally, a tendeka example. Nimekuwa nikikumbuka ngano zake.
John: “I’ve been remembering his stories.”

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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