Africa

[bodiddley]

I remember coming around a small bend in Uganda and being surprised to run into a Chinese work crew in undershirts and peaked coolie straw hats.  That was back in 1988.
The scale now of course is much greater.
Also, all the bicycles and padlocks and kerosene lanterns were form China.
China back then used to lay down conditions on aid: we'll build the Tan-Zam railway and you'll buy these products from us.

Apparently there is a backlash against Chinese workers and bosses in Africa these days.
The Chinese tend to keep to themselves (the whites did/do too)
Lots of Chinese are old-fashioned racists (as were the white colonialists).
And the supervisors treat the Chinese workers like crap, so it's not lie they're going to treat the Africans anywhere near decent.  African leaders like Chinese aid, because it doesn't come with conditions regulating leadership behavior.  But the conditions do include allowing lots of Chinese workers to arrive.

[weezo]

In addition to Zambia, what other African countries are receiving workers from China? Can they not contract to provide jobs to Africans?

It's been an interesting few days as I've introduced my bright young friend from Kenya to my facebook friends .... but somehow I have a nag in the back of my mind that this reminds of a Maude TV show - an episode in which Maude throws a lavish dinner party, and ponders how to do it properly (we would say PC these days) by inviting a "token" black couple who, as the plot continues, vocally notes that he and his wife are the "mandatory token" .... Oh, well you had to see that episode when it was timely!!!

Shem has his education in economics and statistics, and he easily shot down Cain's 9-9-9 plan ... He entered the room with a fanfare!! One of my friends has a wicked notion of going to a Tea Party rally and singing the National Anthem in Swahili ... and Shem is happy to share Swahili .....

And my umbrella foundation (provides web space) has just submitted proposals for two grants, usaid and buckminster fuller. If we get either, the solar panels will happen at Springs Alive !!!!

Feel free to join my friends on facebook!!

[bambu]

I have a wicked notion of going to a Tea Party rally and singing Advance Australia Fair [National Anthem] and Waltzing Matilda [unofficial national song].

[bodiddley]

What is the distinction between Kiswahili and Swahili?

Swahili really refers to the culture in general, including the language.
Kiswahili refers to the language only, and is the Swahili way of saying Swahili language.
So basically the same, but if you use Kiswahili to refer to the language, your Kenyan friend will be mildly impressed. 

KiSwahili as written in the Roman alphabet is phonetic and easy to pronounce.
There are 7 noun classifications, for different types of nouns (think of how we divide nouns into 3 groups: persons, places, things)
Each noun category has a singular and plural prefix which designates a word belonging to that category.  For instance, m- prefix refers to living objects, mostly people.  wa- is the plural.
So the word child is mtoto; children is watoto.
That is called the m/wa noun class.

Most objects belong to the ki-/ vi- noun class (category).
Language falls into the object/thing class.
So Swahili language is Kiswahili.
Other languages all start with the Ki- prefix.
So there is Kiluhya, Kiluo, Kimaasai, etc. all meaning the language of those ethnic groups.

So for nouns in Kiswahili, the beginning/prefix tells you the general type of thing it is.
Based on the noun, the same prefix has to be applied to verbs and articles and numbers in a sentence.
So Kiswahili sentences are highly alliterative.

[weezo]

What is the distinction between Kiswahili and Swahili?

Swahili really refers to the culture in general, including the language.
Kiswahili refers to the language only, and is the Swahili way of saying Swahili language.
So basically the same, but if you use Kiswahili to refer to the language, your Kenyan friend will be mildly impressed. 

KiSwahili as written in the Roman alphabet is phonetic and easy to pronounce.
There are 7 noun classifications, for different types of nouns (think of how we divide nouns into 3 groups: persons, places, things)
Each noun category has a singular and plural prefix which designates a word belonging to that category.  For instance, m- prefix refers to living objects, mostly people.  wa- is the plural.
So the word child is mtoto; children is watoto.
That is called the m/wa noun class.

Most objects belong to the ki-/ vi- noun class (category).
Language falls into the object/thing class.
So Swahili language is Kiswahili.
Other languages all start with the Ki- prefix.
So there is Kiluhya, Kiluo, Kimaasai, etc. all meaning the language of those ethnic groups.

So for nouns in Kiswahili, the beginning/prefix tells you the general type of thing it is.
Based on the noun, the same prefix has to be applied to verbs and articles and numbers in a sentence.
So Kiswahili sentences are highly alliterative.

So the restless child sitting in the chair would be:

  mresyless mtoto sitting in kichair ....


Interesting pattern ... I love to do alliteration ...

When the children tell me the words for animals in their language, all words will begin with "m"

[bodiddley]

The m-/wa- class is mostly for people (ie  mzungu = foreigner/whitey; wazungu = foreigners)
The m-/mi- class for natural objects    (ie  mountain = milima; mountains = milima

The "n class" is for animals, but also is a general catchall category, as it includes foreign loan words without a specific prefix.  And many animal words begin with other letters and don't follow the prefix pattern in other classes.  
So while some animal names begin with n- such as bird = ndege; cattle = ngombe -- plenty begin with other sounds/letters:  lion = simba; elephant = tembo; fish = samaki; chicken = kuku

This has some of the usual wikipedia writing sclerosis, but might be helpful:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swahili_language#Noun_classes

One thing I liked is that in Swahili Time the day begins when the sun rises.
So our 6:AM = Swahili 0:00 in the morning;  7:AM  = 1:00 morning Swahili time.
The new day begins when the sun rises and you wake up.
It seems to make a lot more sense than to say that the day changes in the middle of the night.

Our system divides the day around noon, the sun's high point, the middle of the daylight.
Which leaves one day ending and the next beginning late at night.  Midnight.
(it seems odd to believe that 1:AM is part of a new day if you are still awake.
I always say that a new day doesn't begin until wither I go to sleep or the sun rises)
I suppose that right near the equator when the sun rises roughly the same time all year, measuring the time of day from sunrise is a more natural system; in the northern hemisphere where the length of days changes significantly, the point where the sun is most directly overhead is the only reliable fixed point.
Interesting.

[weezo]

One thing I liked is that in Swahili Time the day begins when the sun rises.
So our 6:AM = Swahili 0:00 in the morning;  7:AM  = 1:00 morning Swahili time.
The new day begins when the sun rises and you wake up.
It seems to make a lot more sense than to say that the day changes in the middle of the night.

Our system divides the day around noon, the sun's high point, the middle of the daylight.
Which leaves one day ending and the next beginning late at night.  Midnight.
(it seems odd to believe that 1:AM is part of a new day if you are still awake.
I always say that a new day doesn't begin until wither I go to sleep or the sun rises)
I suppose that right near the equator when the sun rises roughly the same time all year, measuring the time of day from sunrise is a more natural system; in the northern hemisphere where the length of days changes significantly, the point where the sun is most directly overhead is the only reliable fixed point.
Interesting.

Have read some interesting stuff on how mankind came to recognize the concept of time ... can give some book titles if your to-read pile is small ... Best information now is than humans emerged with a large brain in the equitorial region ... If they move between east and west, time remained consistent, but when man moved north and south, daylight changed and seasons emerged ... creating an accurate calendar was a challenge for many civilizatiions ...

The Mayans were one of the more successful calendar makers ... which we came close to losing to the gold-smitten Spaniards!

[bambu]

Has the genociding of Whites in Africa stopped yet?

[kevo]

As an African i would love to be optimistic about this but its a topic everyone knows about! it has become a ritual for violence whenever there is a vote. Truly sad!