"Tungecheza muziki tungefurahi"
Translation:If we were to dance to music, we would be happy
29 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
1805
Looks like they have now corrected this one. All the reporting pays off eventually.
1805
That makes sense for actively making music. The lesson tips on piga say:
While the verb “kupiga” in Swahili literally means to beat or to hit, it is often used as an idiom.
Examples:
Kupiga kengele = to ring a bell
Kupiga kelele = to make noise / shout
Kupiga mluzi = to whistle
Kupiga makofi = to clap
From the other comments here I see that "kucheza muziki" unambiguously means dancing.
So how do you say "play music", as in switching on some music and listening to it?
1805
I think that is why they feel a need to write "dance music" in English. But we would never say that because "dance" is unambiguous in English.
1805
I think by this point in the course we can presume everyone spends half of the time reporting errors, unfortunately.
I have not found that to be the case at all. In general, the English translations are either correct or nearly so. Of the three classes I've done in Duolingo, the Spanish is head and shoulders above the others, but the Swahili seems direct and understandable. The Vietnamese is just plain muddled. I do wish the Swahili moderators would take some tips from the Spanish course, as far as having a lot more recorded sound, and accepting multiple answers. But I really like the way you can pretty much guess on the multiple choice questions the way they have it set up (in Swahili)--it gives you the sense that you've learned SOMETHING, even if it's really more that you understand the system, lol. In Spanish (because I know it pretty well) and in Swahili I can do multiple courses in a day, easily, whereas in VN I have difficulty wading through even one.
120
I have a native Swahili speaker right next to me (from Kenya, not Tanzania), who says it is very common to translate "kucheza muziki" as "to play music (on the radio)." I do realize, however, that Kenyan and Tanzanian Swahili have some differences.
113
If "kucheza" means both 'to play' and 'to dance' then why is the translation: "If we were to play music we would be happy" not accepted?
1805
See all the helpful comments above. In summary:
(vitoreiji) - Because "kucheza" means both 'to play' and 'to dance' (depending on the context), "kucheza musiki" is the way to specify that you mean 'to dance'. (His native Swahili teacher said that "kucheza muziki" always means 'to dance to music' and never 'to play music'.)
(vtopphol) - Specifying a different direct object would shift the focus to playing; for example, "kucheza mpira" = 'to play football'.
(SimonandNe) - People also say "kucheza densi/dansi" in Tanzania and Kenya, which would stop us arguing about it here.
(Tyler171) - "kupiga musiki" is the way to specify 'to play a musical instrument'. (See also the lesson tips on "piga".)
I think no one has translated "to play music (as in switching on some music and listening to it)" because I asked the wrong question. From a quick Google search, that would be, for example, "kusikiliza musiki kwenye redio" = 'to listen to music on the radio'.
Hopefully, a native speaker will correct me if I am wrong.