It is now vogue to use Kiswahili names for new products. Apple calls their new browser Safari. Mozilla’s News Aggregator is called Habari. Both names make sense. Surfing the web is a journey and habari is just a direct translation.
Now Six Flags Great Adventure Park in American has unleashed the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster and they are calling it “Kingda Ka”, which, apparently, is the Swahili for either “lose your lunch” or “omigod, what a ride“. Ati Kingda Ka, ati swahili …!
Pamoja Tuangamize Ukimwi
Kaybees - Thanks for voting!
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May 20, 2005 at 9:39 pm
afromusing
I am about to lose my lunch. WTF?
May 22, 2005 at 11:08 am
M
I’m sure jamaas of coast and TZ have nightmares when reading this stuff. Ati Kanye is swahili sijui for what! Perhaps somene called him Kanye with a T and luckily for him it was lost in translation!
May 22, 2005 at 11:11 am
M
And BTW that aggregator is called Habari Xenu. Clearly someone was trying for ‘Habari Zenu’! Ha ha!
Still, that aside it’s a pretty good idea, like Netscape 8 with its twin rendering cores (IE and Firefox). Still, when it comes to readers — RSS Bandit and FeedDemon — head and shoulders above the rest!
May 24, 2005 at 4:54 am
maitha
recently I came across a swahili translation for e-mail , it was barua-e.
i think the most important point that these dubious translations raise is the need for proper swahili forums to discuss the growth of the language and how it can benefit well from the IT boon .TZ seems to be doing well
however we seem to be drowning their efforts by lacking these structures(since they are only confined to universities) yet we boast about being the second country where the language is mostly spoken.
M - they say Kanye is swahili for” the gifted one” but looking at it closely maybe they were just trying to corrupt the word Kenya.
May 26, 2005 at 2:43 pm
M
Speakin of swahili Microsoft were trying a Swahili localization thing some months ago — whatever became of the initative?