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Oshiwambo

BeginnersFor

Petrus Angula Mbenzi

NTS

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© Petrus Angula MbenziAll rights reserved

No part of this book and audio recording may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechincal, including photocopying, recording or by any information retrieval system, without persmission in writing from the Publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Cover by Kapinga MaketoSet in 11 on 13.2 pt Arial

First published 2011

Published and distributed by Namtranslations Services CC

P.O. Box 22830 WindhoekNAMIBIA

www.namtranslations.iway.na

ISBN: 978-99945-71-80-2

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Acknowledgements 7Introduction 8Map 1: Four Northern Regions and Their Constituencies 8 Map 2: Map of the Dialects of Oshiwambo 10

1. GREETINGS 151.1 Morning Greetings 151.2 Afternoon Greetings 161.3 Evening Greetings. 171.4 Informal Greetings 171.5 Greeting Someone upon Return 191.6 Greeting a visitor 191.7 Other Dialects 201.8 Grammar Corner: Personal Pronouns 211.9 Some Useful Expressions 23

2. INTRODUCTIONS 252.1 Dialogue 25 2.2 Grammar Corner: Noun Classes 272.3 Other Dialects 30

3. SHOPPING 323.1 Dialogue 333.2 Grammar Corner: Demonstratives 353.3 Other Dialects 36

4. COUNTING 394.1. Numerical Counting 394.2 Shapes 404.3 Measurements 41

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4.4 Grammar Corner: Numerals 424.5 Other Dialects 43

5. VEHICLES 455.2 Dialogue 465.3 Grammar Corner: Infinitives, Commands, and Requests 48

6. TELLING TIME 536.1 Days of the Week 536.2 Months of the Year 546.3 Time Words 576. 4 Grammar Corner: A Copulative Sentence 58

7. FOODS AND DRINKS 607.1 Foods 617.2 Grammar Corner: possessives 647.3 Kinship Terms 657.4 Other dialects 66

8. HEALTH ISSUES 708.1 Dialogue 718.2 Some sentences on health condition 728.3 Parts of the body 728.4 Grammar Corner : Stative verbs and defective verbs 748.5 Other dialects 76

9. ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS 789.1 Dialogue 799.2 Grammar Corner: Questions 799.3 Other Dialects 81

10. CLOTHES AND ADORNMENTS 8310.1 Names of clothes 8410.2 Grammar Corner: Adjectives 8510.3 Other Dialects 86

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11. ANIMALS 8911.1 Names of Animals 9011.2 Grammar Corner: Verbal Extensions and Reflexive morpheme 91 1.3 Other Dialects 92

12. HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS 9412.1 Different containers and utensils 9512.2 Grammar Corner: Object Concords 9612.3 Other Dialects 97

13. PLANTS 9813.1 Plant names 9913. 2 Grammar Corner: Locative Particles 99 14. NOTICES AND ADVERTISEMENTS 10214.1 Common Notices in Oshiwambo 10214. 2 Advertisements 102

15. CARD DESIGNING AND INVITATIONS 10315.1 Accepting an invitation 10315.2 Declining an invitation 10415.3 Greeting Cards 104a. Wedding cards wishes b. Congralutory messages for the new born baby 106 c. Condolences 106d. Christmas and New Year Wishes 107e. Thank you cards. 109

16. WRITING INFORMAL AND FORMAL LETTERS 11016.1. Writing an informal letter 11016.2. Writing a formal letter 133

REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDED READING 115Appendix A: Aawambo greetings 117Appendix B: Detailed forms of greetings 121Appendix C: More conversation 123Appendix D: Stories 124

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Appendix E: Oshiwambo clans and their Totems 126Appendix F: Some common sayings in Oshiwambo 128Appendix G: Ritual Language 131Appendix H: Common Good and Bad Omens 138Appendix I: Answers to exercises 142 Appendix J: Worldlist 152

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Acknowledgements

Our ancestors said, “ Waa pandula no yaka’’ (If you never say thank you, you will steal in future.)I would, therefore, like to convey my gratitude to Mee Linda Shilongo for supporting me in the compilation of this book. My wife, Mukwanekamba, deserves a great pat on her shoulder for proofreading the entire manuscript and for providing me with numerous comments and criticisms on various versions of the manuscript. I am also indebted to Rev. Joel Fikeipo who cross-checked the examples of Oshimbaanhu.

I also wish to express my profound gratitude to our daughters Kuku, Meme and Kaneekandje for their patience during the preparation of this book. I am also indebted to my parents Tatekulu Metumo and Meekulu Kandenge Mbenzi for their inspiration and support throughout my academic life. The production of this work is attributable to their serious teaching during the oshinyanga1 sessions.

Finally I wish to thank Prof. W. Haacke and Dr. Jeremy Selvester who have done a meticulous job in editing the entire manuscript as well as providing me with critical comments on earlier version of this book.

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1. A round uncovered enclosure in the traditional homestead used for assembling in the evening. Here children are taught traditional norms and values through stories, riddles and so forth. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Oshiwambo for beginners by Mr. Mbenzi is one the best language books I know. It is simple, brief and clear. And I believe if someone has time to go through the book every single day, he can speak basic Oshiwambo within weeks, actually he will know more than just basics as everything is based on examples of conversations and if one learns that, he can sound very smart and I believe people will be amazed to hear him using the phrases mentioned in the book.

Anna Matulová, UNICEF Proof reader/Translator Volunteer, Czech Republic, Prague

ISBN: 978-99945-71-80-2