Swahili Learners' Society

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LOOOL no, I'm not - it's some really distant relatives I don't even know if they are my relatives tbh aha

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So you're white. Got you :wink:

Reply 21

Quick-use

Original post by L'Evil Fish

A = c(a)r
E = b(e)d
I = s(ee)n
O = r(o)b
U = l(oo)t

That's how you pronounce each vowel and this never changes!

That's the same for the vowels in Japanese. :smile:

Hiragana alphabet

あ = a (as in car)
い = i (pronounced as 'ee' like tree)
う = u (pronounced as 'oo' like loot)
え = e (as in bed)
お = o (as in rob)

(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 22

username877577

Original post by L'Evil Fish

After searching for a thread, I can't really find one for people who want to learn or already speak Swahili (Kenyan, if the region has a big impact)

I'm learning from scratch and the only issue I've come across so far is finding the right verb to use and what it actually is...

So if there are any fluent speakers, or anyone who wants to learn, please post!

Asante :biggrin:

Useful Link(s):
Starters PDF File - Pronounciation and Grammar

How did you find the PDF? Was it on a site? Want to see if it has other languages :smile:

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Reply 23

MangoFreak

Hmm, relatively obscure.

Me gusta :colone:

Reply 24

L'Evil Fish

Original post by Quick-use

That's the same for the vowels in Japanese. :smile:

Hiragana alphabet

あ = a (as in car)
い = i (pronounced as 'ee' like tree)
う = u (pronounced as 'oo' like loot)
え = e (as in bed)
お = o (as in rob)

That's nice to know :tongue:

although I don't plan on learning Japanese for a while yet!

Original post by Olympiad

How did you find the PDF? Was it on a site? Want to see if it has other languages :smile:

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It was on a site... Purely for Swahili so no other languages for that one! Sorry.

Original post by MangoFreak

Hmm, relatively obscure.

Me gusta :colone:

Yay!

Reply 25

yaboy

of all the languages in the world why Swahili

Reply 26

L'Evil Fish

Original post by yaboy

of all the languages in the world why Swahili

Of all the threads on the forum, why post here?

I'm already learning, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Welsh, Russian and now Swahili. I intend to start Chinese Mandarin and Japanese one day, so I think it's fair to say Swahili is the next useful language I want to learn.

Reply 27

yaboy

Original post by L'Evil Fish

Well clearly you are superman... in all seriousness how the hell can you learn that many languages???

Why not korean?

Reply 28

L'Evil Fish

Original post by yaboy

Well clearly you are superman... in all seriousness how the hell can you learn that many languages???

I'm learning, I'm not proficient in any... I'm fairly decent at French, and Spanish and Italian will soon follow once I get in terms with vocab.

German is very difficult for me, but I plan on sitting down and going through it all after my exams.

Russian also uses a case system ^ but it seems easier to learn because I can associate their letters with cases unlike German where there the Latin alphabet is used.

Swahili. Is actually really simple! And it's quite interesting in the ease of its formation :smile:

Reply 29

yaboy

Original post by L'Evil Fish

And your teaching yourself all these languages, not attending any classes?
if so you must be superman

Reply 30

L'Evil Fish

Original post by yaboy

And your teaching yourself all these languages, not attending any classes?
if so you must be superman

I have classes for French, but we don't do anything in them, so if I'm honest they're all entirely self taught...

And no. I'm not "good" at any, so :tongue:

Reply 31

username877577

Original post by L'Evil Fish

I know a lot of Chinese Mandarin, let me know if you need help :smile:

Original post by This Honest

So you're white. Got you :wink:

Maybe, maybe not :biggrin:

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Reply 32

L'Evil Fish

Original post by Olympiad

I know a lot of Chinese Mandarin, let me know if you need help :smile:

Maybe, maybe not :biggrin:

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Don't want to learn it now :tongue:

summer maybe, thanks though!

Okay, say I want the verb:

To want

What is it? So many things come up on my dictionary app thinf

Reply 33

username877577

Original post by L'Evil Fish

Don't want to learn it now :tongue:

summer maybe, thanks though!

Okay, say I want the verb:

To want

What is it? So many things come up on my dictionary app thinf

I meant any time you begin to :smile:

I'm hoping to expand on it during the summer holidays :biggrin:

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Reply 34

L'Evil Fish

Original post by Olympiad

I meant any time you begin to :smile:

I'm hoping to expand on it during the summer holidays :biggrin:

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Okay! Thanks :biggrin:

maybe if I could have a peek at the alphabet?

Reply 35

username877577

Original post by L'Evil Fish

Okay! Thanks :biggrin:

maybe if I could have a peek at the alphabet?

For Mandarin right? I'll post it in a bit, revising Geography at the moment :smile:

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Jambo!

Original post by Olympiad

For Mandarin right? I'll post it in a bit, revising Geography at the moment :smile:

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Not here though obviously :tongue:

thanks

Original post by ChemicalBond

Jambo!

Hey! Are you fluent? Beginner? :biggrin:

Reply 38

Voyageuse

Original post by L'Evil Fish

Okay, say I want the verb:

To want

What is it? So many things come up on my dictionary app thinf

In Swahili, 'to want' is 'kutaka'. 'ku' is the prefix for infinitive verbs. There are prefixes for each person that attach to the verb stem (in this case, 'taka'). Grrr... I'm so annoyed at myself for forgetting all of this! I'll have to get back on it after exams! Here's a link to quite a useful website for Swahili:

http://mylanguages.org/swahili_verbs.php

I have the "Teach Yourself Complete Swahili" pack, which comes with a book and CD. It's great for grammar and pronunciation. I'd definitely recommend it :smile:

Reply 39

L'Evil Fish