Please do not plagiarize. If you would like to use this information in a print or electronic publication, please ask me for permission first and cite this page as:
Knapp, Robbin D. 2004. "Swahili English: P". In Robb: Swahili English. Jul. 1, 2004.

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Penda n.

from kupenda "to love" or pendo, upendo "love": Uhura's purported first name on Star Trek.

• "Some fan myths, such as the tradition that Penda is Uhura's first name, gain wide circulation and hold almost the same degree of force within fan speculations as do the commercially produced materials, but more frequently, such additions are treated as mere speculations only accepted if compatible with the fan's own extrapolations." Henry Jenkins, Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture, 1992, p. 102.
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pilipili, pili-pili, piripiri n.

from pilipili "pepper": red pepper, capsicum, bird's-eye chili; red-pepper sauce [< Swahili < Persian]. This entry suggested by Tony Kalume.

• "You can begin your mouth-watering tour with Camarao Piripiri (Spicy Shrimp)." Charlotte Lyons, "The Lure of African Cuisine" Ebony, Aug. 2000.

pole-pole adv.

from polepole "slowly, gently, softly, quietly; be calm, take it quietly, don't excite yourself, never mind": slowly; take it easy [< Swahili]. This entry suggested by Gavin Haines.

• "Our head guide, Godliving, reminded us to go, 'pole, pole' ('slowly, slowly') to assist in acclimatization to the altitude." Barbara Glavish, "Mt. Kilimanjaro, then intriguing Zanzibar" International Travel News, Jan. 2001. This is a misinterpretation that the word was repeated. Pole-pole (Swahili polepole) is actually one word, although pole is another Swahili word with a similar but different meaning which would not have been used in this situation.

pombe, pombi, pombé n.

from pombe "a native beer": native beer, hence any brew obtained in East Africa [< Swahili].

• "'Besides the ram, the chief brought a huge basket of "pombe," the native beer, and another of "usima," or porridge, and a pot of cooked meat.'" John S. Roberts, The life and labors of David Livingstone, LL.D., D.C.L., covering his entire career in southern and central Africa, ca. 1875, p. 465.
• "Sorghum is also important for brewing native beer or pombe." Office of International Affairs, Lost Crops of Africa: Grains, 1996, p. 148.

Pumbaa n.

from pumbaa "to be foolish, silly, weak-minded, negligent": the name of a Walt Disney character [< Swahili].

• Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games, by Majesco Sales, Inc.
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