Day 721: Swahili Lessons

Life moves on, work continues, and our abilities to speak Swahili limp along. However, learning Swahili is never anything less than a true lesson in living. Today, there were some important life points brought up in one of our self-study tools - Joan Russel's Teach Yourself Swahili


(A note to the Swahili student following a scintillating practice conversation with a taxi driver)

"If the taxi driver's question seems rather brusque and insistent, it should be remembered that overseas visitors, whether temporary workers or tourists, represent a potential source of income for which there is fierce completion in the capital cities and larger towns of Africa. Urban taxi drivers and street traders in east Africa get used to dealing with tourists who have little or no knowledge of Swhaili and who may be in a hurry."

(A note to the Swahili student following an equally exciting practice interaction with a post office attendant)

"It is only in large post offices in the cities and larger towns that people like John may find themselves going to the wrong window if they fail to read the signs above the counter. We can assume that John was in the post office in Maktaba Street in Dar es Salaam, where only certain counters are allocated to the sale of stamps."

No comments:

Real Time Web Analytics