![]() Vyama vya biashara vanachuma, ambapo sisi tunasikia njaa! – Corporations profit while we go hungry! (Regarding the corporate sponsorship and the high prices of food at the WSF). Wao ni wakichaa! Shilingi hamsini kwa chupa kidogo ya maji?! – They’re crazy people! Fifty shillings for a small bottle of water?! (Jokingly said to an mzungu selling the Socialist Worker ). – Thanks man, I already have a subscription. (Very useful at most of the workshops here as sound systems haven’t worked in many places).Īsante bwana, nina chango tayari. Some phrases I’ve heard at the WSF (may not be entirely accurate, I’m a bit rusty): Haki ya – human rights, workers’ rights, women’s rights, children’s rights. Undugu – brotherhood/sisterhood (the word doesn’t necessarily distinguish gender). To describe community projects where people ‘pull together’ toĪccomplish a common goal, and also commonly used to refer toĬhama cha/Vyama vya ushirika – co-operative society (co-op)/co-operative societies (co-ops) ‘to pull together’, a great word often used Some useful words you might hear at this year’s World Social Forum: Mwanaume/Wanaume – man/men (more informal bwana/mabwana). Mwanamke/Wanawake – woman/women (more informal bibi/mabibi). Kahawa – coffee, stuff we grow and export but rarely drink. Hamjambo? would achieve the same thing if greeting more than one person.Ĭhai – Depending on usage can mean ‘tea’, ‘breakfast’ or ‘bribe’. Say it as if written with an exclamation: Hujambo!). To one person rendering the correct sentiment (although it’s common to Hujambo? therefore is what you want to say What you actually want to say to someone is something close to ‘ no matter/problem?’ (translations are imperfect as the sense is difficult to translate literally into English). The literal translation of jambo! is ‘matter!’ or ‘problem!’ (singular). Promotion from the tourist industry and media, and Disney, the word Speakers have since greeted white people and foreigners with it and The intended greeting or just didn’t care. Their arrogance couldn’t be asked to figure out the rules of usage for Jambo came about probably because British colonists in The number one guaranteed way to expose your über mzungu-ness to Kiswahili speakers is to greet them with: Jambo! Can you pass the mzungu (white person) test? Nairobi and inland Kenyan Kiswahili is fairly flexible whereas on theĬoast you might be corrected for not using proper grammar or Who bend it to their will with extreme dexterity and creativity. Which originated in Nairobi and loved by East Africa hip-hop artists Wonderful Kiswahili-derived patois favoured by urban youth called Sheng Is spoken by over 50 million people and as a first language by some 5 Sudan, Rwanda, Malawi and the DRC, it also has some Hindi, PortugueseĪnd English influences, but it is still essentially a Bantu languageĪnd one of the most widely spoken non-colonial languages in Africa. Uganda), as well as the Comoros, Southern Somalia, Northern MozambiqueĪnd stretching inland as a lingua franca as far as Southern Heavily influenced by Arabic from old trading relationships betweenĪrabian traders and primarily coastal East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and ![]() Proverbs is a window into a different way of looking at life and It’s wonderful expressionism and rich use of Of the few languages I’ve had the privilege to learn (badly) in my life, Kiswahili
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