"Sasa ni saa tatu asubuhi."
Translation:Now it is 9 AM.
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I've read the entire thread and honestly, I think we all need to respect other people's ways of doing things even if it doesn't agree with ours. You want to learn somebody's language, you have to play by their rules. If you don't, you are short changing yourself. If they say Saa tatu is means the 3rd hour I.e 9 o'clock, Then so be it! In the end you want to communicate with them and you can't go to Tanzania and set up a meeting for 9am saying "Saa tisa Asubuhi"... At best they'll show up at 3pm (which is actually Saa tisa Usiku if I'm right)... In the end, it's your loss.
2686
This system of hours is what was used in medieval Europe (you can still see it in the daily services in monastic rules) and the Roman world. I assume Swahili got it through early Islam.
2686
That would be interesting, and likely if non-Muslim Bantu speakers use this system. I know of no other people who use this system before contact with the peoples of the Mediterranean Basin, so I think it would be unique as an independent development. Of course, it would be a pretty normal thing to come through Islam, like much of Swahili vocabulary.
652
The bottom line is Duolingo is a poor platform for teaching the cultural background of how time is told. Were it not for others students, I too would just keep plugging away not understanding why my answers were wrong.