Dialogue - Afrikaans

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Vocabulary

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dis it’s
wat what
gaaf nice
om … te to
ontmoet meet
ook too
jou you
naam name
hallo hello (informal, answering the phone)
jy you (informal)

Lesson Notes

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Lesson Focus

The Focus of This Basic Bootcamp Lesson Is How to Ask Somebody Their Name
My naam is Pieter. Wat is jou naam?

"My name is Pieter. What's your name?"


To ask someone their name, just ask, Wat is jou naam? Literally, this means "What's your name?"

The first word, wat means "what." It is followed by the word for "to be" in Afrikaans this is is, then jou meaning "your." And last is naam, which means "name."

Cultural Insights

Greet South African People Like a Pro


In South Africa, when meeting someone we usually kiss the person on the cheek, either once or twice. In general, women kiss both men and women. Men usually kiss women, but hug other men or greet them with an African handshake.

 

Lesson Transcript

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Intro

Eric: Hi everyone, Eric here, and welcome to AfrikaansPod101.com. This is Basic Bootcamp Lesson 1 - Basic Greetings in Afrikaans. This is the first in a five-part series that will help you ease your way into Afrikaans.
Pieter: Hallo, my naam is Pieter. I’m Pieter! Now, the idea of a boot camp calls to mind sweating and toil. But our boot camp is different!
Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to introduce yourself and ask someone their name!
Pieter: The conversation takes a place on a street between strangers.
Eric: They use polite Afrikaans. Let’s listen to the conversation.

Lesson conversation

Pieter: Hallo. My naam is Pieter. Wat is jou naam?
Zani: Hallo Pieter. My naam is Zani.
Pieter: Dis gaaf om jou te ontmoet!
Zani: Jou ook.
Eric: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Pieter: Hallo. My naam is Pieter. Wat is jou naam?
Zani: Hallo Pieter. My naam is Zani.
Pieter: Dis gaaf om jou te ontmoet!
Zani: Jou ook.
Eric: And now with the translation.
Pieter: Hallo. My naam is Pieter. Wat is jou naam?
Eric: Hello. My name is Pieter. What's your name?
Zani: Hallo Pieter. My naam is Zani.
Eric: Hello Pieter. My name is Zani.
Pieter: Dis gaaf om jou te ontmoet!
Eric: Nice to meet you!
Female: Jou ook.
Eric: You too.
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Eric: So Pieter, what do people in South Africa do when they first meet? Like, is there any sort of custom?
Pieter: For the first time, it’s customary for both men and women to shake hands.
Eric: I’d say that shaking hands is a must in South Africa.
Pieter: Yeah, but once you become friendlier with South Africans, we hug or sometimes kiss each other on the cheeks.
Eric: How many times are we supposed to kiss?
Pieter: We kiss each other once or twice - right, and left.
Eric: How about in a business situation?
Pieter: No kissing, a handshake is your best bet.
Eric: Sounds easy enough! Now onto the vocab.
Vocabulary and Phrases
Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. First we have:
Pieter: hallo [natural native speed]
Eric: hello (informal, answering the phone)
Pieter: hallo [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Pieter: hallo [natural native speed]
: Next:
Pieter: jy [natural native speed]
Eric: you (informal)
Pieter: jy [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Pieter: jy [natural native speed]
: Next:
Pieter: dis [natural native speed]
Eric: it’s
Pieter: dis [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Pieter: dis [natural native speed]
: Next:
Pieter: gaaf [natural native speed]
Eric: nice
Pieter: gaaf [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Pieter: gaaf [natural native speed]
: Next:
Pieter: om … te [natural native speed]
Eric: to
Pieter: om … te [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Pieter: om … te [natural native speed]
: Next:
Pieter: jou [natural native speed]
Eric: you
Pieter: jou [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Pieter: jou [natural native speed]
: Next:
Pieter: ontmoet [natural native speed]
Eric: meet
Pieter: ontmoet [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Pieter: ontmoet [natural native speed]
: Next:
Pieter: ook [natural native speed]
Eric: too
Pieter: ook [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Pieter: ook [natural native speed]
: Next:
Pieter: wat [natural native speed]
Eric: what
Pieter: wat [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Pieter: wat [natural native speed]
: Next:
Pieter: jou [natural native speed]
Eric: your
Pieter: jou [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Pieter: jou [natural native speed]
: And last:
Pieter: naam [natural native speed]
Eric: name
Pieter: naam [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Pieter: naam [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Eric: Let's take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. Our first word here is "hello".
Pieter: In Afrikaans, that’s Hallo.
Eric: Wait a minute. That sounds very similar to English to me.
Pieter: Yes, you’re right. Hallo is only slightly different from the English hello. Just replace the “e” with an “a” sound.
Eric: Listeners, listen and repeat this word.
Pieter: Hallo (3 second pause). Hallo
Eric: Great. In the conversation, we also heard “It’s nice to meet you”.
Pieter: Right. In Afrikaans, that is Dis gaaf om jou te ontmoet.
Eric:. Let’s break down this phrase a bit.
Pieter: Dis means "it’s."
Eric: And the second word...
Pieter: gaaf
Eric: Which means “nice”, and the last bit.
Pieter: om jou te ontmoet
Eric: It means, “to meet you”. Listeners, listen and repeat-
Pieter: Dis gaaf om jou te ontmoet (10 seconds) Dis gaaf om jou te ontmoet
Eric: Now that you’ve said that naturally, I can’t help but want to respond with "You too”. What’s that in Afrikaans? Listeners, don’t forget to repeat after Pieter!
Pieter: It’s Jou ook (3 seconds) jou ook
Eric: Now that wasn't so difficult, was it? Hope everyone isn’t getting too overheated in the boot camp. Maybe it’s time for some push-ups.
Pieter: I think I could use some; I’m getting a little out of shape.
Eric: (laughs) Okay, let’s move on to the grammar section.

Lesson focus

Eric: The focus of this lesson is asking someone his or her name. Pieter, what if your companion is, for some reason, hesitant to introduce themselves?
Pieter: Well, it’s okay to be a little aggressive in your desire to get to know them.
Eric: Yeah, just go ahead and ask their name yourself!
Pieter: Using the question Wat is jou naam?
Pieter:The first word is Wat
Eric: Which means "What". Let’s hear it one time again slowly.
Pieter: Wat
Eric: And one time again fast. Listeners, repeat after Pieter
Pieter: Wat
Eric: Next
Pieter: is
Eric: Which means "is." Listeners, listen to it slowly.
Pieter: is
Eric: And fast again. Listeners, repeat after Pieter
Pieter: is
Eric: Next is...
Pieter: jou
Eric: Which means “your.” We’ve heard this one before, but let’s hear it slowly one more time.
Pieter: jou
Eric: And one more time fast.
Pieter: jou
Eric: And finally..
Pieter: naam
Eric: “name” So all together the question is:
Pieter: Wat is jou naam?
Eric: Listeners, listen to the phrase, and repeat it out loud.
Pieter: Wat is jou naam? {pause} Wat is jou naam?
Eric: Not too hard for our first boot camp lesson, right?
Pieter: No, it isn’t. And if you just use this little bit of Afrikaans, you’ll already have gone a long way towards impressing anyone you might meet in South Africa.
Eric: That’s right. There’s no better way to signal your interest and respect for the culture than to try speak a little bit of the language, even if you only know the basics.

Outro

Eric: Well, that’s all for this lesson.
Pieter: Thanks for listening. Goeie Dag!
Eric: See you!