@vi_tumpaledaniel
There is a slight difference in the Swahili spoken by Zanzibaris(people from Zanzibar) and that spoken by people from the mainland.Zanzibaris have a different tone to their Swahili pronunciations and some of the Swahili words have a slightly different meaning to them.For example,They use SOMESHA to mean TEACH instead of FUNDISHA In a Swahili sentence which was supposed to be TUMPALE AMENIFUNDISHA HISABATI Which means TUMPALE has taught me Mathematics They’d say TUMPALE AMENISOMESHA HISABATI.SOMESHA (a causative form of the word SOMA) It means to educate by specifically being responsible for one’s education eg.Paying their fees etc. FUNDISHA is a Swahili word which means teach or instruct.
The Swahili culture of responding to a call according to your gender.In Swahili culture men and women answer differently when their names are called.For women when your name is called the response is "Abee!" or "bee!”( a short form for Abee).As for men the response is "Naam!" Although "Naam!" Can also be used in different contexts like in conversations it means "definitely " or "Exactly ".These responses show a form of respect for others especially elders but you can use them to respond to your peers if you wish. I personally use "abee!" to respond to everyone regardless of their age.
In Swahili culture you can not say "Mambo..!" to your elders ,it’s a disrespect.We say "shikamoo " when greeting older people as a sign of respect.It works one way ,Only young people use Shikamoo when greeting a significantly older person.The response to Shikamoo is Marhaba.When you find a group of elders together you add the suffix "ni" which denotes plural form so it’s gonna be "Shikamooni " but the response doesn’t change,it remains the same "Marhaba"
I wanna share some pretty basic swahili slangs you might hear in Tanzania and their meanings.1.Niaje - What’s up 2.Mwanangu - A very close friend (mostly used by men referring to their best friends)3.Bongo/Tz - Tanzania 4.Unyama sana - very good(shows appreciation of how good and attractive something is)5.Barida sana / Baridi sana - Very cool(all is well)6.Demu - Girlfriend 7.Mshua/Dingi /Mzee - Father /Dad8.Bimkubwa/Maza - Mother/Mom 9.Sepa/Amsha - Leave/Go 10.Toboa - Making it in life /Succeed I’ll come back with more 😁
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