South Africa runs away with words made in Kenya

Geza Ulole

JF-Expert Member
Oct 31, 2009
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South Africa runs away with words made in Kenya
Published on

By Joe Kiarie
Kenya has for the last four decades enjoyed a unique global status as the homeland of celebrated words and phrases, some of which have become the face of tourism in the world.
The words, most of which have Swahili origin, have been embraced in all corners of the world. Mention words like hakuna matata, jambo, safari, nyama choma and harambee across the world and immediately Kenya comes to mind.
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Nyama choma is among the attraction South Africa is touting ahead of the World Cup. [PHOTO:FILE/STANDARD]


However, the deep attachment the country has to this rich cultural heritage is staring at apparent dilution as the continent hosts the Fifa World Cup next year.
Catchy Phrases
While Kenya has extremely trimmed the use of these catchy phrases and words in favour of the Magical Kenya tag in marketing its tourism, South Africa, hosts of the world’s prime soccer tournament, is riding high on their eminence in the run-up to the event.
From accommodation amenities to television shows, local delicacies, tours and even the construction of railway systems, these words are now at the heart of World Cup preparations. South African pay television Supersport has since last month been airing a daily soccer magazine programme dubbed The Harambee Show.
Supersport enjoys millions of viewers across Africa.
South Africa also has two key hotels under the name hakuna matata brand. The hotels will provide accommodation during the World Cup.
Hakuna Matata Lodge is located in the hills of Muldersdrift, north of Johannesburg. " Hakuna matata means "no problem" and our intention is that your stay with us will be exactly that," the lodge notes on its website.
Hakuna Matata Homestay, a three-star hotel located in Cape Town, is described as a "true home away from home."
Private Lodges
There is also the Hakuna Matata Private Game Farm-Great Brak River, a game farm between George and Mossel Bay on the Garden Route of South Africa. In Durban, a fleet of modern, motor driven catamarans (multihulled boats) dubbed ‘ hakuna matata’ will be waiting to ferry tourists around the city’s coastline. "Hakuna Matata is also available for charters," a travel guide website says.
The famous phrase has further been adopted in railway construction. Two of the 400-tonne cranes used to dig up tunnels and build bridges along Gautrain, an 80km mass rapid transit railway system under construction in Gauteng Province, are nicknamed Hakuna and Matata. The Lesedi African Lodge and Cultural Village in Johannesburg has used nyama choma.
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A play station dubbed Hakuna Matata, which is set to be launched.[PHOTO: COURTESY/STANDARD]


It is one of South Africa’s most exciting symbols of African culture and a tour of the facility concludes with lunch or dinner at its Nyama Choma restaurant. The 200-seater restaurant is decorated in African style and travel agencies tout it as one of the leading attractions for tourists during the World Cup, with nyama choma among the delicacies on offer.
Jambo Guest House in Cape Town, a five-star amenity located near the Green Point Stadium, will be among the venues for the World Cup.
Another word with Kenyan roots that will boldly stand out is safari. Hundreds of South African tour agencies are capitalising on it to promise unforgettable World Cup 2010 and soccer safaris. Prof Mauri Yambo, a Tourism and Sociology lecturer at the University of Nairobi, says Kenya has lacked creativity in marketing tourism and brand development. "Kenya is a big brand and we should be challenged when other countries take up our traditional slogans as we go for new ones. We should be consistent with slogans and make people, for instance, remember that in Kenya hakuna matata," Yambo notes. The lecturer expresses concern that much as people associate these phrases with Kenya, the World Cup has a predominantly youthful audience that might not know their origin and may end up mistaking them as South African’s.
"These are Kiswahili words and since we cannot copyright them, we can patent them to ensure the world continues to associate them with Kenya," Yambo told The Standard on Saturday.
But Kenya Tourism Board Chairman Jake Grooves-Cook defends the idea of taking up fresh slogans, saying there is need for diversification.
Magical Kenya
"Magical Kenya is a very strong word and we cannot use all the slogans at the same time. We will use them in a limited way as much as many people try to imitate us," the chairman states. He says hakuna matata was popularised by the Disney World film Lion King, making it hard to prevent other nations from taking it up. "It is hard to stop other people using Kiswahili words in this global village. But I agree we should promote our slogans. During the World Cup, we will make sure Kenya is given a high-pro-file promotion via a good image, and we are already launching the Jambo Campaign in preparation for this," he says.
Mr Mwangi Gakunga, the public relations officer at the Ministry of Tourism, says Kenya will be at a disadvantage when its traditional slogans are widely used elsewhere.
"KTB should no doubt do something about that. Now that the World Cup is coming to Africa, we should have one eye on it," he says.


 
Never knew our neighbors also whine! actually those are swahili words and not Kenyan! they made them names while still remains to be vocabularies! I find no brain in this accusation here!
 
Karma is a female dog.

They say Karma is a b.itch, except just like Geza said, those are not Kenyan words, just like Kilimanjaro, Makonde and tingatinga, but they are associated with Kenya, its a sad world aint it Abdulhalim?
 
Kilimanjaro, Tingatinga and Makonde are names that's what you fail to understand you ****!

Names, words, the difference is the same. Who died and made you Jfs grammar police, knowing well how you kill the queens language.
 
They say Karma is a b.itch, except just like Geza said, those are not Kenyan words, just like Kilimanjaro, Makonde and tingatinga, but they are associated with Kenya, its a sad world aint it Abdulhalim?

and what is your point?? Sikuelewielewi.
 
is it kenyan or swahili? wakenya kwa kimbelembele arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!
 
is it kenyan or swahili? wakenya kwa kimbelembele arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Jamani ukweli ni ukweli tu ... na hutabakia kuwa ukweli. Bila Kenyata (RIP) concept na neno harambee lisingekiwepo. Vile vile kusingekuwa na ile bendi ya kenya (mushroom?) iliyotunga wimbo wa kuipromote kenya (...kenya yetu haina matata ..) hii phrase 'hakuna matata' isinge vuma ...., nk. Tusibakie kulalama lalama
 
They say Karma is a b.itch, except just like Geza said, those are not Kenyan words, just like Kilimanjaro, Makonde and tingatinga, but they are associated with Kenya, its a sad world aint it Abdulhalim?

There is a difference between names and words.

Kilimanjaro - The name of a region and mountain in Tanzania
Makonde - The name of a tribe found in Tanzania and Mozambique
Tinga tinga - The name of a famous Tanzanian artist

These are not merely words they are names of actual people and places. Not the same thing.
 
its a dog eat dog world. eat or be eaten. in this instance Kenya got eaten. next up? kenya's time to eat someone. and life goes on.
 
its a dog eat dog world. eat or be eaten. in this instance Kenya got eaten. next up? kenya's time to eat someone. and life goes on.


Nomasana, you are actually nice...it is a dog eat 2 dog society! We adapt as we move on. onyewe. its called survival.
 
its a dog eat dog world. eat or be eaten. in this instance Kenya got eaten. next up? kenya's time to eat someone. and life goes on.
Siyo ni hot-dog-world?

Basi usilie.
Wengine wangesema: Sisi washindi, Afrika Kusini wanaanza kupokea lugha yetu!!

(Labda baadaye watatafuta walimu wa Kiswahili kumbe nafasi za ajira? - Ila tu natumaini ya kwamba watachukua Watanzania watakaowafundisha lugha sanifu NYAMA YA KUCHOMA pamoja na HUJAMBO - SIJAMBO - HAMJAMBO - HATUJAMBO na kwa wale wanaoendelea zaidi hata SHIKAMOO - MARA SABA!!)
 
Jamani ukweli ni ukweli tu ... na hutabakia kuwa ukweli. Bila Kenyata (RIP) concept na neno harambee lisingekiwepo. Vile vile kusingekuwa na ile bendi ya kenya (mushroom?) iliyotunga wimbo wa kuipromote kenya (...kenya yetu haina matata ..) hii phrase 'hakuna matata' isinge vuma ...., nk. Tusibakie kulalama lalama
we harambee imetokana na maneno ya kihindi yaani Hindu language na sio Kenyatta concept jaribu ku-google utajua
 
kama hayo maneno hayakulindwa kama "trademark" ndio imetoka hiyo.
hakuna mtu anayekatazwa kutumia neno kutoka lugha nyingine.
 
Wenzetu wanahangaika kutafuta Grand Unified Theory, cure for AIDS and cancer, extrasolar planets etc etc.

Sie tunahangaika kupigania na kushabikia maneno.
 
Damn kenyans should stop complaining and do something about it, ever since movie makers left kenya for south africa, all weve done is kuteta, no one put a gun on their heads and forced them down south, we need to work harder, the difference between the number of tourists arrivals in kenya and SA is shocking to say the least!!!
 
Si maneno haya?

Hayo ni zaidi ya maneno, na umuhimu wa vitu hivi hauishii kwenye biashara tu, hata kama unaongelea patenting (ambayo hata kwenye sayansi ipo), uki patent formulaes za kutafuta extrasolar planet au cure for cancer naweza kuona kwamba kuna kitu una contribute.

Haya mambo ya literature na advertising hakuna kipya, hakuna contribution to society, and it's not like watu wanagombea some new though or anything, hakuna kipya cha ku patent au kugombania hapo. Ni kupoteza muda ambao ungeweza kutumika kutafuta njia mpya na rahisi zaidi za kuchimba madini yetu kwa mfano, au cure for AIDS etc.Kitu ambacho kitakuwa na actual value badala ya huu utapeli wa ads.
 
we harambee imetokana na maneno ya kihindi yaani Hindu language na sio Kenyatta concept jaribu ku-google utajua

Some conservative Christians in Kenya have opposed the use of the word "Harambee," alleging that it is derived from an expression of praise to a Hindu deity: Ambee Mata (a reincarnation of Durga riding a Tiger). The railway linesmen carrying huge loads of iron rails and sleeper blocks would chant "har, har ambee!" (praise praise to Ambee mother) when working. The first president, Jomo Kenyatta has been said to have witnessed a railway line team as it worked in cohesion and harmony. It represented the metaphor he wanted to reflect: a nation working together and communicating and sharing its load. Others dismiss such objections, arguing that this explanation of the word's origin, even if true, is irrelevant to its modern usage and meaning

[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harambee[/ame]

Etymologysts hapo tunaweza kuunganisha Indo-European languages na ku relate Har Ambee na Hail Ambee.

I hear Jacob Zuma spitting some Guru lyrics to the Kenyans

Rap is an art you can't own no loops
It's how you hook em up and the rhyme style troop
So don't even think you could say someone bit
off your weak beat come on you need to quit
I flip lines and kick rhymes that never sound like yours
There oughtta be laws against you yapping your jaws
Originality overflows from in me
and the truth is, that you wish you could live the
life I live and kick the lyrics I kick
But bear in mind that you can't think as quick
So Premier drops a beat, for me to say verses to
And if I sound doper then take it personal

Guru - Take it Personal
 
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