Learning Swahili

Having been a host family for Canada World Youth, we have gained an appreciation for being sensitive when travelling or living with other cultures. Before our trip to Kenya, our friend Bill loaned us a copy of the Lonely Planet phrasebook for Swahili. Upon our return home, a copy of this phrasebook has been added to our library which I use to look up a few words each day to add to my vocabularly before our next trip. It's small size makes it handy for carrying in a pocket or purse and it's certainly worth the $10 sticker price.

I have also downloaded a Swahili program from http://www.byki.com/ which I visit on a daily basis spending up to half an hour repeating words. This nice thing about a program like this is that you can hear the actual pronounciations and you can even slow down the speech to catch those tricky phrases.

We also purchased a copy of the Rosetta Stone in Swahili from e-Bay. It too is great as it breaks the language down into units which you can repeat as opften as you need before moving on. It also offers may different styles of learning.

Although we found that most people we met in Kenya spoke English, there were a few of the older folks who did not and we want to be able to communicate with them more next visit. We also learned that Swahili does have regional dialects. Our friend Sera, who grew up on the outskirts of Nairobi, was unable to translate some discussions in Wongonyi Village as the residents were speaking the Taita dialect.

I know that the Kenyans we met appreciated the fact that we tried to speak what little Swahili we knew. As well, when Peter made speeches at the various groups we met, he would have Sera translate a few sentences in Swahili. Our attempts at the local language, always brought smiles and giggles from those on the receiving end.

For those volunteering or working in Kenya, learning the local language will help you to feel more comfortable with those you encounter.