November 7, 2012 (Sam)
Swahili is the local language spoken here. And by here, I mean East Africa, not Nairobi. I’m not quite sure what exactly the locals speak here. It’s some kind of indiscernible concoction of Swahili, English, Kikuyu, Luhya, Kamba, and Luo, all mixed into one pseudo-language commonly referred to as Sheng. The problem with Sheng is that you can’t learn it anywhere; you can only pick it up in conversation with the locals, particularly the youth. While it lasted, our Swahili tutoring was more confusing than helpful. We would learn one thing, like the fact that “ishirini” means “twenty,” but then when boarding a matatu where we thought the price was 20 Kenyan Shillings, the driver would yell out, “mbao!” Apparently "mbao" also means 20; it’s just a newer, hipper way of saying it. And so the confusion ensues. Sheng isn’t a fixed dialect either; in order to keep their parents and teachers confused, the kids are constantly changing their vernacular. This way they can continue to insult old people and foreigners without them ever knowing any better.
Anyway, back to beating the toothbrush. Proper Swahili can sometimes be just as confusing as Sheng. Case and point is the verb “kupiga.” Kupiga is easily the most commonly found verb in the Swahili language. Its literal translation is “to hit, to beat, or to strike,” but its most prevalent use in the language is rarely used for that translation. Kupiga seems to also have become the “catch-all” verb that is used when no other verb fits appropriately. Case and point: “kupiga mswaki” is used to mean “to brush the teeth,” but when translated literally it actually means “to beat the toothbrush.”
The shortage of proper verbs in this language seems to be made up for with this one verb, even though its usages usually have nothing to do with hitting, striking, or beating anything. Let me give you a few more examples:
English Saying: Swahili Translation: Literal Translation:
“to pitch the tent” “kupiga hema” “to beat the tent”
“to take a picture” “kupiga picha” “to beat the picture”
“to kneel” “kupiga magoti” “to beat the knees”
“to take counsel or advice” “kupiga shauri” “to beat the counsel”
“to call on the phone” “kupiga simu” “to beat the phone”
“to take courage” “kupiga moyo” “to beat the heart”
“to paint” “kupiga rangi” “to beat the colors”
“to sneeze” “kupiga chafya” “to beat the sneeze”
“to get a shot” “kupiga sindano” “to beat the injection”
“to clap or gesticulate” “kupiga mikono” “to beat the hands”
“to vote” “kupiga debe” “to beat the box”
and finally, one of the most confusing usages yet,
“to get really drunk” “kupiga maji” “to beat the water”
And these are only a few of the hundreds of the different, bizarre usages of this verb. Anyway, I heard that America has a new president. Thanks to everyone who went out there and beat the boxes yesterday. I don’t know how happy Americans are, but everyone here in Kenya is kupiga-ing their mikonos.
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| Some goats hiding out to avoid getting kupiga-d by the pelting rain |
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| Freshly kupiga-d fish (the carrots are what sold me) |
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| My freshly kupiga-d thumb |
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