Let's Learn Swahili!

Although English is widely spoken in Kenya and is taught along with Kiswahili in all schools, communicating in Kenya is not nearly as easy as having a grasp of one of these two national languages. To begin with, kids often learn their tribal language, or “mother tongue,” at home. There are 42 different tribes, which means 42 different languages.

Okay, forty-two languages may be a bit of an exaggeration. Although there are 42 different tribes,  as you can see, there are only a handful of main tribes in Kenya. And the languages are broken down by area. So even if there are several different tribes on the coast, their languages will all be somewhat similar due to similar influences.

So the real language of Kenya is a fusion, a regionally-based mixture of Kiswahili, English, various tribal languages and even sheng, a sort of slang which is often just Kiswahili words said backwards. With all these complications, knowing Kiswahili (or having friends who can translate for you) is really key  to having any chance of understanding Kenyan life and culture. This is especially true on the coast, where Kiswahili originated and, according to friends in other parts of Kenya,where it  is spoken more consistently, more like Kiswahili with some English tossed in than the other way around.

So if you were in Mombasa, and if you didn't know Kiswahili, how would you know that those songs you are dancing to in the clubs are actually gospel music, to remind you to dance “in God’s way,” as one friendly Kenyan man told me? Or how would you know to respond when your co-workers call "Msichana"? Or how would you know when to laugh while watching Churchill Live, a comedic talk show which East Africans love? You wouldn’t. You would just have to dance "sinfully" while (unbeknownst to you) listening to God’s music and stand there dumbly while your co-works are trying to get your attention and have to follow cues from the studio audience for when to laugh. Clearly, you would always be out of the loop and playing catch up. This is no way to live. Which is why I have decided to try to teach myself Swahili.

Brief Interlude: Gospel Music
Let's compare, shall we?

American Gospel Music at its finest

 

Kenyan Gospel Music

Kenyan Gospel Music in English

So it is understandable that I wouldn't recognize all the gospel music being played in clubs. Even in English, it doesn't sound like church music. But don't worry, Mom, I always leave room for Jesus on the dance floor.

Back to the blog post...

Luckily, I have help in my Swahili-learning goal. Radio broadcasters, randos in matatus and even actors on primetime shows help out by either speaking exclusively swahiili, or, more fun, switching back ad forth between English and Swahili. It is really an adventure for your ears. Everything will sound like gobbledegook, and then an English word will be thrown in and your ears perk up but the words switch back to Swahili and you tune in to catch another English word, or maybe a new Swahili word which you have just learned.

My co-workers are helping me the most to learn Swahili and seem to also benefit from the fun of making me their language monkey, or parrot, telling me “go say this to Bulla. He’ll laugh.” Their favourite way of “teaching me” is to repeatedly ask me questions in Kiswahili which I don’t understand. When  I tell them “sielewi” (I don’t understand), they sometimes are so kind as to rephrase the question. In Kiswahili. Usually, this persists until I meekly respond “mzuri” or “poa” (which is my go-to response and means “fine,” as in "I’m fine"). At this point, they laugh and move on, leaving me to wonder if my response was at all appropriate and with more hazy, if anything, understanding of Swahili.

In all seriousness, they are super helpful and encouraging and patient as I struggle to learn a language which they speak with such rapidity and fluidity. They consistently provide me with new words and never seem to get tired of my random requests for translation. William often goes into an entire break down of the grammatical structure or word origin, explaining simple phrases piece by piece in great detail. And, better yet, they tell me they are very impressed with my progress, despite how slow it seems to me. But I will share some of my knowledge with you so you too can try and eek by on a my supply of Kenyan words.

So when I first came to Kenya, I heard "caribou" everywhere I went. And naturally, I wondered why the wild cousin of Prancer and Vixen were so popular in Kenya.

Karibu Caribou!

However, before I could express this concern, I luckily learned that karibu means welcome. As in you are welcome, or welcome to eat, or go ahead. Or me saying I really like Kenya and people responding karibu. Basically throw it down and see if it sticks. It usually will.

The flip-side of karibu is asante, or asante sana, thank you/thank you very much. I sometimes feel like a broken record because, even if I can't express much in swahili, I can always express my gratitude and asante is probably the most common word I say.

Greetings:
There are so many ways to say How are you?/what's up?, which I suppose is true in any language. However, as my co-workers shake my hand, they like to just throw greeting after greeting at me as I wonder if they are still saying the same thing and if I should still respond the same way or if they are actually saying something completely different. Here are just a few. Mzuri sana is pretty much always the appropriate response.

Habari gani? Habari yako? Habari ya asubuhi? Habari mrembo
(how are you, how are you this morning, how are you, beautiful?)

Or if you want to seem hip, you can try out one of the following (answer with poa): Vipi? Mambo? Iko fiti?

And recently, my co-workers have started throwing in greetings in their mother tongues. So I don't even know what is Swahili and what isn't. I'm pretty sure ithenade is how are you in Luo (from near Lake Victoria) and washere may be Kikuyo (from central Kenya) and may also mean how are you, but I'm not sure. I always just mumble washere mnona in response to that one, which I'm pretty sure doesn't mean anything.

A few more fun things to know:

najifunza kiswahili pole pole (I'm learning swahili slowly)- This is my favorite phrase/the first sentence I learned on my own. So I throw it around a lot to look like I know Kiswahili. Even though I really don't.

pesa ngapi  (How much does it cost?)- Useful. However, don't get confused and say ngapi pesa. Apparently, that sounds really dumb.

msichana (young lady/me to all my co-workers)

mzee (old man, but in the sense of wise old man. They call my boss Mzee)

ndege (bird. and airplane. I thought that was a pretty cool double meaning)

ndiyo (yes)  sawe (okay)  apana (no)

iko wapi (where is it?)  apa (here!)

natoka wapi (where did you come from?)   nyumbani (home!)

sema (speak, used in the sense of "say something!")

Eleeza (my name. People don't like saying Elizabeth, too long and the th is a hassel. So I am now Eleeza, or Leez. Hallo Eleeza is a common greeting for me. Which is confusing because it sounds just like sikiliza (listen) or eleza (explain).)

Congratulations, you have now reached the level of a 2-month-Kenyan-Elizabeth. So with that random list, you will be able to have no functional conversations in Swahili! Feel free to enjoy the benefits of catching an occasional word while mostly feeling confused and promising yourself that Kiswahili classes will somehow work into your schedule next year at school.