When I’m having a conversation with someone and I say something, if they understand, most of the time they repeat it. Often if I’ve made a mistake, they correct it which is really useful for me, but I don’t think they’re doing it just to correct me. I think it’s […]
Our tutor left last week to return to Dar es Salaam but learning Swahili is still our main focus. So, is not having ‘class’ every day an excuse to slack off? Hardly! Even before Nicholas left we were brimming with ideas about how to continue our language learning in a […]
Every language has unique idiosyncrasies. One thing about Swahili that seems odd to English speakers is the complexity and breadth you can use when talking about location. Grammatically, there isn’t a simple answer to the question ‘where?’ You use different words to talk about locations that are general (e.g. in […]
A language exercise from last week was to read the story ‘Mfalme Mjinga’ and then complete it. I’ve translated it below. How would you finish it?
The other day, someone said something to the effect of ‘you guys are working for God in Tanzania’. I guess that’s what being ‘missionaries’ means. But at the moment, we’re not doing anything that looks much like ‘Christian ministry’. We get up, have language class, practice language, do homework, collapse […]
We finished the ‘beginner’ Swahili textbook last week. What does that mean? Grammatically, we can now give reasons and explain consequences, use relative pronouns, describe things and people, include time references, make comparisons, and say things in both the active and passive voices. Conversationally, we can talk not just about […]
This is what a conversation in Swahili sounds like to me at the moment (translated into English): … … BUT … … SO … … BECAUSE … …
Meet Jesus at uni 