Dialogue

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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Eric: Top 25 Swahili Questions You Need to Know - Lesson 5 “Can you speak Swahili?” (In each lesson of this 25 part series, you'll encounter a common question for Swahili learners, and then learn how to answer it like a native. You'll learn how these key phrases work by breaking them down into each component. Then through repetition and new vocabulary, you'll expand your understanding of the question, its answers, and any variations.)
In this lesson, you'll learn how to respond to the common question “Can you speak Swahili?” In Swahili this is
Medina: Waweza kuongea Kiswahili?
Eric: The first word in the question is
Medina: Waweza
Eric: meaning “can you” in English.
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) Waweza.
Eric: Listen again and repeat.
Medina: Waweza
{Pause}
Eric: This pattern of first introducing a word at natural speed, providing the translation, breaking it down, and then giving it again at natural speed will be repeated throughout the series. Try to speak aloud as often as possible. The next word in the question is
Medina: kuongea
Eric: meaning “ speak.”
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) kuongea
Eric: Now repeat.
Medina: kuongea
{Pause}
Eric: Listen to the first two words of the question and repeat.
Medina: Waweza kuongea
{pause}
Eric: And next is
Medina: Kiswahili
Eric: meaning “Swahili.”
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) Kiswahili
Eric: Now repeat.
Medina: Kiswahili
{Pause}
Eric: Listen to the entire question and repeat.
Medina: Waweza kuongea Kiswahili?
{pause}
Eric: (You will hear this common question again and again throughout your studies.) Master the following pattern and responses to the question “Can you speak Swahili?”
Medina: Ndio, naongea kidogo.
Eric: "Yes, I speak a little.” Again, slowly. Repeat the phrase.
Medina: (Slow) Ndio, naongea kidogo.
{pause}
Eric: Let's break it down from the beginning. The first word is
Medina: Ndio
Eric: meaning “yes.”
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) Ndio
Eric: Now repeat.
Medina: Ndio
{Pause}
Eric: And next is
Medina: Naongea
Eric: meaning “ I speak.”
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) naongea
Eric: Now repeat.
Medina: Naongea
{Pause}
Eric: And next,
Medina: Kidogo
Eric: meaning “a little.”
Medina: (Slow, by syllable) kidogo
Eric:Now repeat.
Medina: kidogo
{Pause}Eric: Listen to the speaker say “Yes, I speak a little” and then repeat.
Medina: Ndio, naongea kidogo.
{pause}Eric: To use a different phrase, let’s replace “a little” with “pretty well.”
Medina: vizuri sana
Eric: “pretty well”
Medina: (slow) vizuri sana (regular) vizuri sana
Eric: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “pretty well.”
Medina: ndio, naongea vizuri sana.
Eric: It mostly stays the same, we just replace “a little” with “pretty well.” Now say, “Yes, I speak it pretty well.”
{pause}
Medina: ndio, naongea vizuri sana
Eric: For more practice, replace “pretty well” with “fluently.”
Medina: sanifu
Eric: “fluently”
Medina: (slow) sanifu (regular) sanifu
Eric: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “fluently.”
Medina: ndio, naongea sanifu.
Eric: Again, it’s almost the same, just replace “pretty well” with “fluently.” Now say, “Yes, I speak it fluently.”
{pause}
Medina: ndio, naongea sanifu.
Eric: Now let’s replace “fluently” with “well enough.”
Medina: ya kutosha.
Eric: “well enough”
Medina: (slow) ya kutosha (regular) ya kutosha
Eric: Listen to the phrase again, this time with “well enough.”
Medina: ndio, naongea ya kutosha.
Eric: Here we simply replaced “fluently” with “well enough.” Now say, “Yes, I speak it well enough.”
{pause}
Medina: ndio, naongea ya kutosha.
Eric: To say "no" in a simple way, just say
Medina: Hapana, siongei.
Eric: This is like saying “No, I don't speak” in English. Let's hear it slowly.
Medina: (Slowly) hapana, siongei.
Eric: And one more time at normal speed.
Medina: hapana, siongei.
Eric: Now it's time for a quiz. Imagine you are visiting Kenya and someone asks you if you speak Swahili. You want to answer that you speak a little. Respond to the question.
Medina: Waweza kuongea Kiswahili? (five seconds) Ndio, naongea kidogo.
Eric: Now you want to answer that you speak pretty well. How would you answer?
Medina: Waweza kuongea Kiswahili? (five seconds) ndio, naongea vizuri sana.
Eric: You want to answer that you speak fluently. Answer the speaker's question.
Medina: Waweza kuongea Kiswahili? (five seconds) ndio, naongea sanifu.
Eric: Now you want to answer that you speak well enough. How would you respond?
Medina: Waweza kuongea Kiswahili? (five seconds) ndio, naongea ya kutosha.
Eric: Now you want to ask someone if they speak Swahili. Ask the question.
(5 seconds)
Medina: Waweza kuongea Kiswahili?
{pause}
Eric: Now it's time to answer the question with actual information about yourself.
Medina: Waweza kuongea Kiswahili?
{pause}
Eric: This is the end of Lesson 5.

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