Elementary stage
This book is of immense value to students who want to study Swahili language as beginners. We organize teaching materials to fit your level beginning with low level to advanced stage.
The level for beginners is intended to benefit students who start learning the language for the first time and would like to use it as a language of communication at a work place, at home, in a hotel, in a market, at bus or railway stations, etc.
Background
Swahili is a Bantu language whose morphology is very similar to other Bantu languages with structures such as:
a) Consonants
b) Vowels
c) Combination of consonants and vowels forming syllables
d) Syllables forming words
e) Words forming phrases
f) Phrases forming sentences.
Consonants:
Swahili has 24 alphabets in Standard Swahili. Alphabets which are not used are Q and X. The alphabets are A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, W, Y, Z.
Five vowels are E, I, O, U.
Syllables are formed by combining a consonant and a vowel eg ma, be, ku, lu, etc.
Two consonants can be combined such as:
Ch = Chai (tea)
Gh = ghali (expensive
Mb = mboga (vegetables)
Nd = Ndugu (relative)
Th= thamani (value)
Dh = Dhambi (sin)
Mw = Mwalimu (teacher), etc.
There are also words which can be formed by combinig three consonants such as;
mbw =mbwa (a dog)
Nyw =nywele (hair)
Ngw= ngwada (a small boat for fishing)
Utangulizi/Introduction
Stadi za lugha/Study skills
Wakati wa kujifunza lugha, ziko stadi za kuzingatiwa ili kuwe na ufanisi, nazo ni:
When learning a language there are skills which have to be adhered to in order to be proficient and these are:
Stadi za lugha /Languge skills
a) Kusikiliza (Listening)
b) Kuzungumza (Speaking)
c) Kusoma (Reading)
d) Kuandika (Writing)
Stadi hizi zinatakiwa kuzingatiwa na mwalimu na zinaandamana na vitendo pamoja na vifaa vya aina mbalimbali vya kufundishia.
These skills will be used by a teacher accompanied by activities and equipment for teaching.