I read with interest the article "Language genius" about nine-year-old Ben Keeling and his remarkable talent for languages (The Argus, October 1).
I was also fascinated to see the "Handy Chichewa phrases" appended to the piece. At the risk of appearing to be a sad nitpicker, I would like to point out what I believe to be some inaccuracies in the translations.
Phrase One: "Ndalama" is the Chewa/Nyanja word for "money". The word for "time" is "ntawi". I believe that the better translation for the question is "Ntawi ili bwanji?"
Phrase Three: I believe the verb form used is incorrect and would better be expressed "lai, sindifuna ciliconse".
The two last translations are spot on.
I learnt Cewa/Nyanja many years ago as a policeman in the former Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia). The language is more sophisticated in many ways than our Anglo-Saxon mother tongue.
-Philip Maer, Burgess Hill
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