Synopses & Reviews
About the Swahili Language- Swahili, also known as Kiswahili, is a Bantu language spoken by approximately 50 million people, of which approximately 2 million (some estimates are as high as 5 million) are native-speakers living mainly along the East African coast from Somalia to the North Africa coastline of Madagascar.
- This course teaches Standard Swahili as spoken in and around Kenya.
- Swahili is an official language in Kenya and Tanzania and is the considered the linga franca in much of East Africa. It is also spoken in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa), Mayotte, Mozambique, Oman, Rwanda, Somalia, Uganda South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and the USA.
- Written Swahili uses 24 letters from the Roman alphabet, excepting Q and X. The letter C is only used as a combination, making a “Ch” sound.
Pimsleur's Conversational Swahili Program- Sixteen 30-minute lessons of spoken Swahili language learning (the first sixteen Units of Pimsleur's 30-Unit Swahili Comprehensive Program). .
- This course replaces our original Compact Swahili with new and expanded vocabulary, scenarios, grammar and structures.
- Essential grammar and vocabulary that teach you greetings, numbers, how to order food and drink, deal with currency, scheduling a meal or meeting and to give and ask for directions. Learn to speak with near-native pronunciation skills.
- No mindless repetition! Converse with native speakers in natural (and useful!) conversations.
- Easy, fast, fun and effective language acquisition.
- No computer necessary! Unlike expensive software programs which tie learners to a computer, Pimsleur courses are available in CD or mp3 format to meet your needs.
Synopsis
Pimsleur(R) equals success. Just one 30-minute lesson a day gets you speaking and understanding like no other program.
This course includes Lessons 1-16 from the Swahili Level 1 Program - 8 hours of audio-only effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions. Each lesson provides 30 minutes of spoken language practice, with an introductory conversation, and new vocabulary and structures. Detailed instructions enable you to understand and participate in the conversation. Practice for vocabulary introduced in previous lessons is included in each lesson. Topics include: greetings, numbers, meals, shopping, telling time, scheduling activities, and asking and giving directions. The emphasis is on pronunciation and comprehension, and on learning to speak Swahili.
Reading instruction begins in Lesson 11 to provide you with an introduction to reading Swahili. A Reading Booklet PDF must be downloaded.
The Swahili Language
Swahili, or Kiswahili, the most widely-spoken African language, is a Bantu language spoken by approximately 5 million native-speakers living mainly along the East African coast from Somalia to the North Africa coastline of Madagascar. Up to an additional 150 million people speak Swahili as a second language. It is recognized as an official national language in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Pimsleur's Swahili teaches Standard Swahili as spoken in and around Nairobi, Kenya. Written Swahili uses 24 letters from the Roman alphabet, excepting C, Q, and X, and including an additional letter "CH."
Tech Talk
- CDs are formatted for playing in all CD players, including car players, and users can copy files for use in iTunes or Windows Media Player.
About the Author
Dr. Paul Pimsleur devoted his life to language teaching and testing and was one of the world’s leading experts in applied linguistics. After years of experience and research, Dr. Pimsleur developed The Pimsleur Method based on two key principles: the Principle of Anticipation and a scientific principle of memory training that he called “Graduated Interval Recall.” This Method has been applied to the many levels and languages of the Pimsleur Programs.