A.J. Jacobs’ book The Puzzler: One Man’s Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life (Amazon|Bookshop) includes this brain teaser translated from Swahili: I am a house without a door. This is part...
In the Kiswahili language, the dead go into two categories: sasha for the recently departed, and zamani for spirits not known by anyone living. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Categories of Deceased in Kiswahili Language” I’ve...
English is full of unusual terms, both old (eleemosynary, favonian) and new (flyaway, catio). Also, the Swahili term that means “sleep like a log,” the multiple meanings of the word joint, cowpies and horse biscuits, what it means to play...
The Swahili phrase nililala fofofo means “to sleep really well.” Literally, though, it translates as “to sleep like a log.” Are the English and Swahili idioms related? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Sleep Like a Log” Hello, you...
unbwogable adj.— «If you were in Kenya during the elections you would certainly have discovered that Kenyan Swahili got a new word into the vocabulary: “unbwogable.” The rap song “Can you bwogo me?” by the Luo rappers Gidigidi-MajiMaji was widely...
tajaki n.— «Graziano has been praised for working to bring together the school and community with local partnerships and areawide events. Three years ago, he introduced a concept called Tajaki, which is a Swahili word that means “education...
