Learn how to ask personal questions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Hi everyone, and welcome back to AfrikaansPod101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 21 - Getting Personal in South Africa. Becky here. |
| Chesney: Hallo! I'm Chesney. |
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn about asking personal questions. The conversation takes place at a bar. |
| Chesney: It's between Johan and Nadia. |
| Becky: The speakers are friends. Therefore, they’ll speak informal Afrikaans. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Nadia: Kan ek jou 'n persoonlike vraag vra? |
| Johan: Seker, solank dit nie oor my hond is nie. |
| Nadia: Haha, nee. Het jy 'n meisie? |
| Johan: Ek het nie, het jy ‘n kêrel? As ek mag vra. |
| Nadia: Ek sal jou later sê. Van watter tipe meisies hou jy? |
| Johan: Ek verstaan. Ek hou van slim en vriendelike meisies. |
| Nadia: Ek ken dalk iemand wat jy sal van hou. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Nadia: Kan ek jou 'n persoonlike vraag vra? |
| Johan: Seker, solank dit nie oor my hond is nie. |
| Nadia: Haha, nee. Het jy 'n meisie? |
| Johan: Ek het nie, het jy ‘n kêrel? As ek mag vra. |
| Nadia: Ek sal jou later sê. Van watter tipe meisies hou jy? |
| Johan: Ek verstaan. Ek hou van slim en vriendelike meisies. |
| Nadia: Ek ken dalk iemand wat jy sal van hou. |
| Becky: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Nadia: Can I ask you a personal question? |
| Johan: Sure, as long as it isn't about my dog. |
| Nadia: Haha, no. Do you have a girlfriend? |
| Johan: I do not; do you have a boyfriend? If I may ask? |
| Nadia: I will tell you later. What type of girls do you like? |
| Johan: I understand. I like smart and friendly girls. |
| Nadia: I might know someone that you'll like. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: Wow, we jumped right into personal questions in this conversation. |
| Chesney: At least Nadia was polite enough to ask if it was okay, first. |
| Becky: So is it okay to ask private and personal questions in South Africa? |
| Chesney: It might be considered a bit rude, depending on your relationship with the other person. |
| Becky: So is it better to wait until you get to know the person a little bit better? |
| Chesney: I think so. It’s best to be polite too. |
| Becky: How about if you find someone that you want to date? |
| Chesney: Hm, you might need to ask about their relationship status first. |
| Becky: But, you can’t just come out and ask that, right? |
| Chesney: If you ask randomly, it’d sound strange and a bit rude. Also, if someone asks you out for coffee, you should take extra money in case it turns into dinner. |
| Becky: If someone asks you out for coffee, would that be considered being asked out on a date? |
| Chesney: Maybe! |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Becky: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Chesney: mag [natural native speed] |
| Becky: may |
| Chesney: mag [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chesney: mag [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Chesney: tipe [natural native speed] |
| Becky: type |
| Chesney: tipe [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chesney: tipe [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Chesney: persoonlike [natural native speed] |
| Becky: personal |
| Chesney: persoonlike [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chesney: persoonlike [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Chesney: kêrel [natural native speed] |
| Becky: boyfriend |
| Chesney: kêrel [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chesney: kêrel [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Chesney: verstaan [natural native speed] |
| Becky: to understand |
| Chesney: verstaan [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chesney: verstaan [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Chesney: hond [natural native speed] |
| Becky: dog |
| Chesney: hond [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chesney: hond [natural native speed] |
| Becky: Next we have... |
| Chesney: slim [natural native speed] |
| Becky: smart |
| Chesney: slim [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chesney: slim [natural native speed] |
| Becky: And last... |
| Chesney: vriendelike [natural native speed] |
| Becky: friendly |
| Chesney: vriendelike [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Chesney: vriendelike [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Chesney: as ek mag |
| Becky: meaning "if I may." When can this phrase be used? |
| Chesney: You can use this to politely request something. |
| Becky: You’d use this in formal situations? |
| Chesney: You can use it with people that you don’t know too well, so you might use it informally too. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Chesney: Sure. For example, you can say, Kan ek gou die boek vat, as ek mag? |
| Becky: ...which means "Can I take the book, if I may?" |
| Becky: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Chesney: slim kind |
| Becky: meaning "clever child." Is this only used with children? |
| Chesney: Yes, it would be condescending if you use it with an adult. |
| Becky: Is it an informal or formal expression? |
| Chesney: It’s usually used informally when you want to say a child is clever or cute, but you could use it formally. |
| Becky: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Chesney: Sure. For example, you can say, Al die kinders is slim kinders. |
| Becky: ...which means "All these kids are clever kids." |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you'll learn about asking personal questions. |
| Becky: If we want to do this politely, what can we say? |
| Chesney: You can use kan ek jou dalk vra? after your question. |
| Becky: This means “can I ask you?” |
| Chesney: It’ll make your question more polite. |
| Becky: Okay, let’s hear some examples of asking politely. |
| Chesney: Ek het vertroulike vrae oor die projek, kan ek jou dalk vra? |
| Becky: “I have some confidential questions about the project; can I ask you them?” |
| Chesney: Ek is nie seker wie om te vra oor dit nie, is jy beskikbaar? |
| Becky: “I am not sure who to ask; can I ask you?” |
| Chesney: Kan ek jou dalk ‘n persoonlike vraag vra? |
| Becky: “Can I possibly ask you a personal question?” What if someone asks you a question like this, and you don’t want to answer or can’t answer? |
| Chesney: You can say something like Ek sal jou nie nou kan sê nie. |
| Becky: “I won’t be able to tell you now.” |
| Chesney: Kan ek vra hoekom jy vra? |
| Becky: “Can I ask you why you are asking?” |
| Chesney: Kan jy dalk my baas vra? |
| Becky: “Can you ask my boss?” |
| Chesney: As long as you’re friendly, you should be able to avoid any questions that you don’t want to answer. |
| Becky: What are good responses to these non-answers? |
| Chesney: You can say Dis reg, ek sal later terugkom. |
| Becky: “That is fine, I will come back later.” |
| Chesney: Ek wil graag weet want... |
| Becky: “I would like to know because…” |
| Chesney: Kan ek dalk later terugkom? |
| Becky: “Can I come back a bit later?” |
| Chesney: Ek sal die baas gaan vra. |
| Becky: “I will go and ask the boss.” |
| Chesney: If you definitely need an answer, it’s okay to be adamant and ask again. Just be polite and respectful. |
| Becky: Politeness goes a long way! |
Outro |
| Becky: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Chesney: Baai. |
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