‘I beg you…’

I walk up to a store.

“I beg you for rice, beans, and eggs.” (Naomba wari, marage na mayai)

Don’t freak out, I’m not that low on cash yet.

In Tanzanian Swahili, whenever you ask to buy something at a store, you use the verb “naomba” which means “I beg.” As people keep telling me, Swahili in Tanzania is very polite, so polite that you actually don’t use “please” very often. I mean, I guess if you’re begging already, please is a bit over the top.

In Kenya, when you want to buy something, you would say “nataka” which means “I need/want.” And, I am told, Tanzanians consider this very rude. In general, people here tell me that Kenyans are aggressive and impolite.

A neighbour that’s aggressive and impolite? Sound familiar?

Whenever someone asks me aren’t Canada and the USA the same/very similar? I would compare Canada and the USA as Tanzania and Kenya. Neighbours, same language, similar culture, but very different. :P

P.S. In the other languages I know, in the same situation, you would say…

English: I want to buy rice, beans, and eggs.

Cantonese: I want to buy rice, beans, and eggs.

Mandarin: I want rice, beans, and eggs (-? I guess depends on where you are in China?).

Japanese: Rice, beans, and eggs, please (onegaishimasu – untranslatable. Used in different contexts for asking other people to do things for your favour. But you can also say you want to buy rice, beans, and eggs, I think)

So I guess, most of the languages I’m familiar with are quite blunt :P except Japanese.