Learning Swahili

[raula]

Coofle..usimsikize (hadhageysan) NGONGE..ye (instead of me saying YEYE...i condensed it to YE, ***explanation below) majnuni (majnoon, waalan ) kichaa (waalni ) nafkiri (uu maleyn) siku hizi =(beryahaan). Waxaan ku iri, NGONGE ha dhageysan...beryahaan wuu waashe

 

***(this is more of Malika's lingo, & those of coastal Kenya i.e Mombasa, malindi, lamu & the rest of coastal zanzi & Tanzania). They tend to condense words whereas in Mainland (inland) Kenya we use the whole word. For example.

 

YE (YEYE) =Isaga/ayada

Mie (Mi) (MIMI)=aniga

 

They (coastal that is) as well tend to use more fasihi swahili (Fasiix or as swahili's in inland kenya say SANIFU).

 

N'ways here is a few words to your collections:-

 

Ujambo mpwendwa (see tahay gacaliso )-how are you my dear ?

U hali gani (xaaladada?? meaning xaaladada ka waran ?)

 

If you are the receiver of greetings? you should reply,

safi (saafi, fican/good)?

 

***the most common words are: Sawa (haye), Safi or Safi kabisa (could be used to reply after greetings..), twende (let's go)., badaye/tutaonana badaye (later/we'll see each other later), Leo (today).

 

Coofle..utafurahiya kujifunza kiswahili ni lugha safi kabisa (you'll be happy to learn swahili, its a good language)...***the words safi has been used here in the context to mean good, however, it could be translated differently depending on the contexts.

 

***by the way..some words are derived from portuguese, germany, Persian languages.

[raula]

MMA..waan ognahay inaad sawaxiili iska jeceshehee maad naga deysid..mise that's your way of showing LOOF to SHEMEJI

[NGONGE]

^^ You know I'm right. Let him have a couple of kids and you'll soon see him fluently singing askari ameva magwanda buti kofia ya chuma..

[raula]

^^^^ :D you are nuts!

[Alpha Blondy]

Coofle;935618 wrote:

Even the name of the language

Sawaahili

comes from arabic word Saaxil - Saawaaxiliyiin

interesting....does this saaxil mean the same as sahal (e.g sahal region being hot and desert-like).

[Safferz]

Alpha Blondy;935767 wrote:

interesting....does this saaxil mean the same as sahal (e.g sahal region being hot and desert-like).

It means coastal (as does Sahel, the "coast" of the Sahara desert). The Swahili coast and civilization stretches from southern Somalia to Mozambique.

[Alpha Blondy]

Safferz;935775 wrote:

It means coastal (as does Sahel, the "coast" of the Sahara desert). The Swahili coast and civilization stretches from southern Somalia to Mozambique.

thanks for clarifying.

 

why do you think Swahili is the lingua franca of eastern African countries? i was told its very similar to Esperanza.

[Safferz]

Alpha Blondy;935785 wrote:

thanks for clarifying.

 

why do you think Swahili is the lingua franca of eastern African country? i was told its very similar to Esperanza.

Good question -- it precedes colonialism, Swahili was the language of trade and commerce in east Africa, with the Swahili on the coast and embedded in the Indian Ocean trade networks and trade going as far interior as Congo. Swahili also became important to anticolonial nationalist movements, like Nyerere's TANU.

[Alpha Blondy]

Safferz;935810 wrote:

Good question -- it precedes colonialism, Swahili was the language of trade and commerce in east Africa, with the Swahili on the coast and embedded in the Indian Ocean trade networks and trade going as far interior as Congo. Swahili also became important to anticolonial nationalist movements, like Nyerere's TANU.

another question.....do you not think this language has also killed many indigenous languages. some describe its devastating cultural genocide as being very similar to that of English and Spanish?

[Safferz]

Alpha Blondy;935886 wrote:

another question.....do you not think this language has also killed many indigenous languages. some describe its devastating

cultural genocide

as being very similar to that of English and Spanish?

The people who talk about "Swahili dominance" are usually islamophobes from the interior who want to rewrite east African history and continue their marginalization of those who identify as Swahili. Language use (and spread) *everywhere* has always been historically linked to governance and trade/commerce, people and communities adopt and abandon languages when they feel it can provide more for them in terms of access to power or wealth.

[Alpha Blondy]

Safferz;935898 wrote:

The people who talk about "Swahili dominance" are usually islamophobes from the interior who want to rewrite east African history and continue their marginalization of those who identify as Swahili. Language use (and spread) *everywhere* has always been historically linked to governance and trade/commerce, people and communities adopt and abandon languages when they feel it can provide more for them in terms of access to power or wealth.

irrespective of their leanings, these ''islamphobes from the interior'' have valid grievances. their religious views shouldn't prejudice your neutrality. surely as a researcher, you ought to behave with the utmost discretion. laakin, it seems to me you lack basic 101 ethnography.

[Safferz]

Alpha Blondy;935916 wrote:

irrespective of their leanings, these

''islamphobes from the interior''

have valid grievances. their religious views shouldn't prejudice your neutrality. surely as a researcher, you ought to behave with the utmost discretion. laakin, it seems to me you lack basic 101 ethnography.

Get back to me when you have to deal with missionary educated east African academics who tell you Swahili Muslims on the coast are not real Africans, but Arab settlers who enslaved Africans.

[Alpha Blondy]

Safferz;935922 wrote:

Get back to me when you have to deal with missionary educated east African academics who tell you Swahili Muslims on the coast are not real Africans, but Arab settlers who enslaved Africans.

ok.

 

i'm back.

 

what about dealing with madrasah educated east African academics who tell you bantu Christian Africans were ripe to be colonalised, and worthy of enslaving.

 

dhexdhexaad, or as you'd understand it - OBJECTIVITY, inaar.

[Safferz]

Alpha Blondy;935941 wrote:

 

what about dealing with madrasah educated east African academics who tell you bantu Christian Africans were ripe to be colonalised, and worthy of enslaving.

Except I've never heard that from a Muslim east African academic, but the scenario I described above is one I have direct experience with and those ideas are increasingly common when discussing the history of the Swahili coast. So try again.

[Alpha Blondy]

Apophis;935945 wrote:

This made me laugh. Thank you Alpha

:D:D

inaar, ''knowledge-endowed uppity pseudo-intellectualism'' has permeated these boards. there is nothing we can do about them. i've tried reasoning but this new strain of the condition is hawkish.