Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Intro

Becky: Hello, and welcome to AfrikaansPod101.com, where we study Afrikaans in a fun, educational format! I’m Becky, and this is Absolute Beginner, Season 1, Lesson 1, Catching Up with an Old South African Friend
Chesney: Hallo, I’m Chesney.
Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to make small talk in Afrikaans and about Afrikaans pronunciation.
Chesney: This conversation takes place on a street in Pretoria.
Becky: The conversation is between Anet and Mikka, two friends who haven't seen each other in a long time.
Chesney: The speakers are friends, so they’ll be using informal Afrikaans.
Becky: Let’s listen to the conversation.

Lesson conversation

Mikka: Hallo, Anet? Hoe gaan dit?
Anet: Hallo, Mikka!! Goed dankie, hoe gaan dit met jou?
Mikka: Goed, dankie.
Anet: Hoe gaan dit met Jan?
Mikka: Heel goed en met Bert en die kinders?
Anet: Ook goed!
Mikka: Wat 'n verrassing!
Anet: Ja!
Becky: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Mikka: Hallo, Anet? Hoe gaan dit?
Anet: Hallo, Mikka!! Goed dankie, hoe gaan dit met jou?
Mikka: Goed, dankie.
Anet: Hoe gaan dit met Jan?
Mikka: Heel goed en met Bert en die kinders?
Anet: Ook goed!
Mikka: Wat 'n verrassing!
Anet: Ja!
Becky: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Mikka: Hello, Anet? How's it going?
Anet: Hi, Mikka!! Good thanks, how’s it going with you?
Mikka: Good, thank you.
Anet: How’s it going with Jan?
Mikka: Very good, and with Bert and the children?
Anet: Also good!
Mikka: What a surprise!
Anet: Yes!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Becky: Ok, we should probably talk about greetings in this first lesson. South African people use different greetings depending on the time of day.
Chesney: For example, in the morning, before noon, people say, goeie more.
Becky: It means “Good morning.” And in the afternoon?
Chesney: In the afternoon, even if it's just one minute past noon, people say, goeie middag.
Becky: “Good afternoon.” Is there a greeting for "Good evening" as well?
Chesney: Yes, we say goeie naand.
Becky: Around what time do people start saying the expression?
Chesney: Maybe around 5 pm. There is also goeie nag, meaning "good night," but it’s not really a greeting per se. Goeie nag is only used to wish someone to ‘sleep tight,’ when they're about to go to bed.
Becky: So, how do we say “goodbye?”
Chesney: If you want to say goodbye when leaving late at night, just say totsiens.
Becky: Okay, thank you! Now, onto the vocab.
VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Becky: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
Becky: The first word we shall see is...
Chesney: hallo [natural native speed]
Becky: hello (informal, answering the phone)
Chesney: hallo [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chesney: hallo [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have...
Chesney: goed [natural native speed]
Becky: great
Chesney: goed [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chesney: goed [natural native speed]
Becky: Next is...
Chesney: dankie [natural native speed]
Becky: Thank you
Chesney: dankie [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chesney: dankie [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have...
Chesney: met jou [natural native speed]
Becky: with you
Chesney: met jou [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chesney: met jou [natural native speed]
Becky: Next...
Chesney: heel [natural native speed]
Becky: very
Chesney: heel [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chesney: heel [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have...
Chesney: en [natural native speed]
Becky: and
Chesney: en [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chesney: en [natural native speed]
Becky: And next...
Chesney: kinders [natural native speed]
Becky: children
Chesney: kinders [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chesney: kinders [natural native speed]
Becky: The next word is,
Chesney: ook [natural native speed]
Becky: too
Chesney: ook [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chesney: ook [natural native speed]
Becky: Next we have,
Chesney: wat [natural native speed]
Becky: what
Chesney: wat [slowly - broken down by syllable]
wat [natural native speed]
Becky: And last...
Chesney: verrassing [natural native speed]
Becky: surprise
Chesney: verrassing [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Chesney: verrassing [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Becky: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Becky: The first word we’ll look at is…
Chesney: Hallo.
Becky: What can you tell us about this word?
Chesney: It’s a standard Afrikaans greeting.
Becky: When can you use this word?
Chesney: You can use this with anyone at any time.
Becky: Are there any special words you can use when greeting friends?
Chesney: You can also say hi, just like in English. This is more informal.
Becky: Can you give us an example using this word?
Chesney: Sure. Hallo Jan hoe gaan dit?
Becky: “Hello Jan, how are you?”
Becky: Okay, what’s the next word?
Chesney: Hoe gaan dit?
Becky: meaning “How goes it?”
Becky: After you greet someone in Afrikaans, you’d most likely ask how they’re doing right after.
Chesney: The most common way to ask this is Hoe gaan dit? Literally, "How goes it?"
Becky: Can you use this phrase to ask about other people too?
Chesney: Yes, just add met plus a name to the end of this question. For example, Hoe gaan dit met Michael, or Hoe gaan dit met Sandra?
Becky: “How goes it with Michael?” or “How goes it with Sandra?”
Chesney: That’s it!
Becky: Okay, what’s the next word?
Chesney: Goed dankie
Becky: meaning “Good, thank you.”
Chesney: This is an answer for the last phrase we heard, Hoe gaan dit?
Becky: Remember, that phrase means “How goes it?” How else can we answer?
Chesney: You could also say baie goed.
Becky: This means “very good.” Okay, onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn about Afrikaans pronunciation.
Chesney: Afrikaans is quite easy in that the language is pronounced exactly as it’s written.
Becky: That sounds easy enough! Is it really that simple?
Chesney: Yes, but there are still a few sounds that you should pay attention to.
Becky: Okay, can you introduce those sounds for us?
Chesney: Of course. First, let’s talk about the throaty “g” sound.
Becky: Can you give us an example of words that have this sound?
Chesney: goed, gaan, goeie.
Becky: Can you hear that sound, listeners?
Chesney: This sound might take some practice, but I think that once you master it, it’s a lot of fun to say!
Becky: I think so too. What’s the next sound that we should be careful with?
Chesney: It is the Afrikaans “r.” This is quite different to the “r” used in American English.
Becky: How is it different?
Chesney: Like “g,” it comes from the throat.
Becky: Okay, let’s hear some examples.
Chesney: There are the names Bert and Gert, and the verb verassing.
Becky: So far, we’ve looked at two consonants. Are there any vowels that we should be careful with?
Chesney: Yes, there are. Vowels are usually the easiest way to tell who is a native Afrikaans speaker and who isn’t.
Becky: The pronunciation can be that different?
Chesney: Yes, it can.
Becky: What are the vowels in Afrikaans?
Chesney: The base vowels in Afrikaans are a as in gaan, e as in heel, i as in bied, o as in ook, u as in duur, and oe as in hoe.
Becky: If those are the base vowels, does that mean there are more vowels?
Chesney: Yes, each of these vowels can be long or short, and there are several diphthongs or vowel combinations.
Becky: Do you have any advice for new speakers of Afrikaans that want to get their pronunciation perfect?
Chesney: Listen to native speakers carefully and pay particular attention to the vowels; then, try to imitate them.
Becky: Sounds like good advice!
Chesney: Yes, I think that this will help you acquire a good accent in Afrikaans.
Becky: Try it out, listeners!

Outro

Becky: That just about does it for this lesson. See you next time!
Chesney: Totsiens.

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