Swahili

(January 20, 2010.) This morning, after leaving M's car to be worked on, I conversed with an INTP long-time slight acquaintance, who typically wears Moslem robes, while returning home by bus. He seated himself beside me, seemingly unawares.

After surprised greetings, observing him reading Latin and Arabic alphabetical writing, I asked politely, "What are you reading?"

He informed me, "Swahili", (the lingua franca of central East Africa).

I prompted him, "For long, I have wanted to learn Swahili. I just know one word: Uhuru."

Pleased, as I predicted, he said, "That means, 'Freedom!'"

I explained, "I have read the grammar is very interesting." He proceeded to teach, and from him, I learned:

Ni - I.
Ni na kula. - I am eating.
Ni na soma. - I am reading.
Ni da kula. - I will eat.
Ni li kula. - I ate.
Ni si na kula. - I am not eating.
Ni na kula chakula. - I am eating food.
Ni na kula chakula moto. - I am eating hot food.
Ni na kula chakula moto haraka. - I quickly am eating hot food.

Thus far, it follows Greenbergian word-order correlations, in that adverbs are placed on the same side of verbs, as adjectives are of nouns. (Here, both 'hot' and 'quickly' come afterward.)

More about Swahili and Word order.

I find it interesting, BTW, that we can communicate more easily with a fellow INTP, of limited English from Africa who is Moslem, than with a person from here, of some other Myers-Briggs type!

Copyright (c) 2010 Mark D. Blackwell.