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Crissy’s Swahili Journal | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Crissy Groupie United States Joined 6305 days ago 48 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swahili | Message 33 of 54 24 August 2007 at 9:10pm | IP Logged | ||
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Ijumaa Agosti 24, 2007
Today's Active Study FSI Unit 8 (30 min.) Read “Wafanyikazi wa UN wagoma DR Congo” on BBC Swahili (5 min.) Pimsleur Unit 7 (30 min.) Mnemosyne (20 min.) Today's Passive Study Listened and read simultaneously Matthew ch. 14-16 (15 min.) Thru The Bible Swahili (30 min.) Notes: I’m finding the various and seemingly endless translations for some words extremely frustrating at times. Take, for instance, the word “jambo.” Not only is it listed as a common greeting meaning “hello” but it’s also listed as meaning issue, thing, matter, affair, difficulty, problem, trouble, circumstance, condition, fact, actual state of affairs, wonder and bait (for fishing). I have no doubt that this will all work itself out eventually but right now it’s very frustrating. I’ve heard this one phrase “jambo hilo” a bunch of times in the radio show I listen to and finally decided to look it up. Assuming “jambo” meant “hello” or some form thereof I just looked up “hilo” which means “previously mentioned.” I was pretty sure, in this context, it didn’t mean “previously mentioned greeting” so I went down the list of things “jambo” means and came out with a half dozen or more things it could mean. Now, if I actually understood what I was listening to it would make sense and I could easily and effortlessly decide what it meant. Taking the phrase out of context though makes it much more difficult to know for sure. I’m assuming it meant something along the lines of “previously mentioned matter” (or in English-speak… “what I was just talking about”) but I really don’t know. Edited by Crissy on 25 August 2007 at 5:56am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Crissy Groupie United States Joined 6305 days ago 48 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swahili | Message 34 of 54 25 August 2007 at 6:48pm | IP Logged | ||
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Jumamosi Agosti 25, 2007
Today's Active Study Read “Rais Kibaki awakaripia mawaziri wake” on BBC Swahili (5 min.) Read “Sudan yakaidi vikwazo vya silaha” on BBC Swahili (5 min.) Mnemosyne (25 min.) Pimsleur Unit 7 (30 min.) FSI Swahili (15 min.) Read “Alizeti” by Gill Bond (5 min.) Today's Passive Study Thru The Bible Swahili (30 min.) Amefufuka (60 min.) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Crissy Groupie United States Joined 6305 days ago 48 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swahili | Message 35 of 54 25 August 2007 at 6:52pm | IP Logged | ||
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Weekly Totals
Sun. - 255min. (4hrs. 15min.) Mon. - 245min (4hrs. 5 min.) Tues. - 220min. (3hrs. 40min.) Wed. - 55min. Thurs. - 240min. (4hrs.) Fri. - 130min. (2hrs. 10min) Sat. - 175min. (2hrs. 55min.) Total this week: 1320min. (22hrs) Total To Date: 2081min. (34hrs. 41min.) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Crissy Groupie United States Joined 6305 days ago 48 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swahili | Message 36 of 54 26 August 2007 at 5:45pm | IP Logged | ||
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Jumapili Agosti 26, 2007
Today's Active Study Mnemosyne (15 min.) Pimsleur Unit 7 (30min.) Read "Makabila ya Darfur kuchangia amani" from BBC Swahili (5 min.) Read "Rais Nkurunziza ajivunia miaka miwili" from BBC Swahili (5 min.) Notes: Well, I've identified two major chinks in my weekly studying -- Thursday's and Sunday's. Thursday's I volunteer at DS's school from 7am-5pm teaching reading groups, tutoring and just generally helping out where I'm needed. I'm on the go for pretty much that whole time with just a few exceptions. Sunday's DH is home all day after church and it's just generally an all-around chaotic day. Nevertheless, I need to figure out a concrete plan for how to plug up these cracks. I'm thinking Thursday's I will do Mnemosyne before leaving and again at night, take a text to school to read during the short downtimes and perhaps even a CD player with headphones to listen to music or language lessons (this will be easier when I get my iPod). Practicing aloud will be difficult though unless I'm outside in the gardens. I could listen to FSI in the pod with headphones but only if there's no firewall blocking the site. Sunday's will be a bit more of a challenge. I may just have to settle for some quick Mnemosyne practice in the morning and evening with some intermittent listening (music mostly) through the day. It will be easier to get in FSI, Pimsleur or TY practice on Sunday's than Thursday's though. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Crissy Groupie United States Joined 6305 days ago 48 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swahili | Message 37 of 54 27 August 2007 at 7:44pm | IP Logged | ||
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Jumatatu Agosti 27, 2007
Today's Active Study Mnemosyne (10 min.) Pimsleur Unit 7 (30 min.) Read “Alizeti” by Gill Bond (5 min.) Read “Wanajeshi wa Uganda waangamia ajalini” from BBC Swahili (5 min.) Read through ch. 1 of “Swahili Learners’ Reference Grammar” (10 min.) Today's Passive Study Thru the Bible Swahili (30 min.) Listened to Pimsleur Unit 8 (30 min.) Vitimbi (30 min.) Amefufuka Live! (30 min.) Listened to “Cinderella” in Swahili (10 min.) Butiama Pod cast: “Mahojiano na Mkuu wa…” (20 min.) Notes: Got "Swahili Learners' Reference Grammar" in the mail today and it looks great. Can't wait to dig into it a little more. Edited by Crissy on 27 August 2007 at 8:49pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Crissy Groupie United States Joined 6305 days ago 48 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swahili | Message 38 of 54 28 August 2007 at 7:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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Jumanne Agosti 28, 2007
Today's Active Study Pimsleur Swahili Unit 8 (30 min.) Read “Alizeti” by Gill Bond (5 min.) Ch. 2 “Swahili Learners’ Reference Grammar (5 min.) Listened and followed along with the words to “Baba Yetu” to nail down the words (even if they may not be accurately translated as some people say) (20 min.) Listened and followed along with Matthew ch. 17-20 (20 min.) Mnemosyne (15 min.) Read “Daniel Arap Moi aunga mkono Mwai Kibaki” on BBC Swahili (5 min.) Read “Uturuki hatimaye yamkubali Gul kuwa rais” on BBC Swahili (5 min.) Today's Passive Study Listened to Cinderella in Swahili (10 min.) Listened to Sungura na Mama mwenye shamba (10 min.) The Jesus Film DVD (120 min.) Notes: Everything I’ve read about language learning and grammar books made me take quite a pause before buying the “Swahili Learners’ Reference Grammar.” I’m finding though that I’m REALLY glad that I bought this one. Not only does it assume no prior understanding of English grammar (language yes but not grammar) but Swahili as well. In reading ch. 2 today I read something that SHOULD have become obvious to me already but somehow hasn’t. In Swahili… there are NO ARTICLES. No WONDER I was having so much trouble with translating. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Crissy Groupie United States Joined 6305 days ago 48 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Swahili | Message 39 of 54 29 August 2007 at 9:01pm | IP Logged | ||
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Jumatano Agosti 29, 2007
Today's Active Study Mnemosyne (40 min.) Pimsleur Swahili Unit 8 (60 min.) Read “Alizeti” by Gill Bond (5 min.) Read “Sanamu ya Nelson Mandela yazinduliwa” on BBC Swahili (10 min.) Read “Mshindi wa Faidika na BBC kuzuru Uingereza” on BBC Swahili (15 min.) Today's Passive Study Thru the Bible Swahili (30 min.) Listened to “Urafiki Tumbili na Mamba” (5 min.) Listened to “Chui mla Maharage” (10 min.) Listened to Matthew ch. 21-25 (35 min.) Listened to/watched gospel music videos on You Tube (60 min.) Notes: Got another book in the mail today. It’s a children’s book called “Kisiwa cha Almasi” and it looks wonderful. This one isn’t a parallel text like “Alizeti” but it’s a bit longer so I’m hoping to be able to spend lots of time with it. Tomorrow is my one major day away from home and I’ve decided to be proactive and pack a selection of portable study materials. We’ll see how much I get in while at school. This afternoon I was listening to Matthew ch. 21 - 25 and reading along on the pages that I had printed out of the Swahili Bible online when all of a sudden the words being spoken were different from the ones I was reading. At first it was just a few words here and there that were added or left out but then it was whole sentences that were different or just rearranged. I started getting frustrated so I went and got the actual Bible that I bought from American Bible Society to see if it could help any. I had bought this Bible but was frustrated at how completely different it was from the printout and CD that I had so I put it away hoping that the differences would make sense when I had learned a bit more Swahili. So this afternoon out of sheer confusion I open up that Bible again only to realize that the reason it was so different from the printout and CD I had was because I WAS READING THE WRONG PART. When I bought the Bible I was led to believe that it was only a New Testament rather than the Old AND New Testaments therefore I simply opened the book to the first page and tried reading along with the CD only to find that… they didn’t match. Well, lo and behold the Bible is actually COMPLETE so I was listening to Matthew while trying to follow along in… Genesis! The Bible still doesn’t match word for word to the CD but at least they‘re MUCH closer than before. Of course, they were purchased from different companies and thus translated by different people so I’m not surprised that they’re a bit different even if I DO wish they weren‘t. To be honest, I feel like a pretty big idiot right now to have NOT noticed that I was reading and listening to two COMPLETELY different things. I had actually contemplated sending the Bible back and trying to find a “correct” one but now I’m glad that I didn’t. The differences aren’t so huge that I can’t use it. Just call me… DUNCE! :0) 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| luke Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 7197 days ago 3133 posts - 4351 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Esperanto, French | Message 40 of 54 29 August 2007 at 9:09pm | IP Logged | ||
You go girl. It sounds like you have a real good program.
Thanks for sharing that little anecdote. You are not alone. Edited by luke on 29 August 2007 at 9:11pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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