Adventures in Africa
Some vital words/phrases/sounds that will help you along your way if you are in Nairobi/Kenya.
Nini - If you are trying to describe something (or even someone) that you can't think of a name for - the direct translation would be "thing" but it would be used more like "can you pass me that nini??" or even "did you talk to, uh, nini?"
Hmmm - It is more of a grunt that is used VERY often if you are on the receiving end of a conversation - acknowledging that you are listening to the other person speak. Sometimes it sounds more like a growl. I don't use this one much - YET.
Moja!!! - when the matatu tauts are trying to recruit you to hop into their matatu they shout this - it means "One" - meaning there is one more person needed before the matatu is full and can thus leave. However, they often lie - so it is always good to peek into the matatu and make sure it is in fact only room for "Moja" otherwise you could be waiting a while until they fill the van.
Bob - Not a name of a man - it is the slang for the Kenyan shilling (the currency here) - so when you are asking about prices - particularly matatus or things of small value (under 100 shillings) then you will ask - "how much is the matatu?" they will reply "20 bob" or "10 bob". Or you say - "I will only pay 10 bob for the matatu" and that is where the bartering begins.
Nini - If you are trying to describe something (or even someone) that you can't think of a name for - the direct translation would be "thing" but it would be used more like "can you pass me that nini??" or even "did you talk to, uh, nini?"
Hmmm - It is more of a grunt that is used VERY often if you are on the receiving end of a conversation - acknowledging that you are listening to the other person speak. Sometimes it sounds more like a growl. I don't use this one much - YET.
Moja!!! - when the matatu tauts are trying to recruit you to hop into their matatu they shout this - it means "One" - meaning there is one more person needed before the matatu is full and can thus leave. However, they often lie - so it is always good to peek into the matatu and make sure it is in fact only room for "Moja" otherwise you could be waiting a while until they fill the van.
Bob - Not a name of a man - it is the slang for the Kenyan shilling (the currency here) - so when you are asking about prices - particularly matatus or things of small value (under 100 shillings) then you will ask - "how much is the matatu?" they will reply "20 bob" or "10 bob". Or you say - "I will only pay 10 bob for the matatu" and that is where the bartering begins.
I like the catchall word nini. I wish we had something similar.
Have you been learning much of the native language (what is it called?) Are there any sounds that give you trouble?
Kat:
'Nini' generally is used to refer to 'something', in circumstances that you point out. The word that is commonly used to refer to someone whose name you can't remember is 'nani' (the 'i' pronounced out long - 'Nanii')
'Moja' is Kiswahili root word for 'one'. When referring to a person or even an animalor plant (generally, all things that are considered living), the word mutates to 'mmoja'... In speech, they might sound the same, but they are different. However, some matatu touts may actually say 'moja'(Matatu touts are major proponents of Sheng - a uniquely Kenya urban patois/pidgin that borrows from English, Kiswahili and the many local languages, and which by necessity, does not always obey rules of grammatical construction of the mother language from which it has borrowed words.)
Beth:
This place has over 40 dialects...