Tafsiri ya Kiswahili ya Soundscape — maswali machache

Tuma majibu yako kwa barua pepe kwenda soundscapeAndroid@scottishtecharmy.support, na utaje lugha kwenye kichwa cha barua.

Swahili translation — questions for native-speaker reviewers. This sheet is bilingual on purpose: the Swahili below was machine-written, so the English lines are there in case it’s unclear.

Habari, na asante kwa kukubali kuangalia hili. Hello, and thank you for agreeing to look at this.

Tafsiri ya Kiswahili ilifanywa bila msaada wa mzungumzaji asilia, kwa hiyo maoni yako ni ya thamani sana. Huhitaji kuijua programu wala kuisakinisha: kila swali linaeleza maandishi yanasikika lini, yanasema nini kwa Kiingereza, na yanasikikaje sasa kwa Kiswahili. The Swahili was made without a native speaker. You don’t need to know or install the app: each question says when you hear the text, the English, and how it sounds in Swahili now.

Soundscape ni nini?

What is Soundscape?

Soundscape ni programu ya simu ya bure kwa watu wasioona na wenye uoni hafifu. Inatumika wakati wa kutembea, na vipokea sauti masikioni, simu mara nyingi ikiwa mfukoni. Haitoi maelekezo hatua kwa hatua kama ramani ya kuongoza (“pinda kushoto”); inakueleza kwa sauti kilicho karibu, ili mtu ajielekeze mwenyewe. A free phone app for blind and partially sighted people, used while walking with headphones. It doesn’t give turn-by-turn directions; it says aloud what’s nearby.

Maneno machache yanayojitokeza kwenye maswali: Some terms used in the questions:

Tangazo la sauti (callout): ujumbe mfupi wa sauti kuhusu kitu unachopita, kwa mfano “Mkahawa”, “Njia ya miguu karibu na Barabara ya Moi” au “Unatembea kuelekea kaskazini kwenye Barabara ya Moi”. Unasikika kutoka upande kilipo. A short spoken message about something you pass, heard from its direction.
Beacon ya Sauti (audio beacon): ukichagua unakoenda, sauti inayojirudia inasikika masikioni kutoka upande huo. Ukigeuka, sauti nayo “inasogea”, kwa hiyo unaweza kufika kwa kusikiliza. A repeating sound from the direction of your destination; it moves as you turn.
Alama na njia (marker, route): mahali palipohifadhiwa, na mfululizo wa mahali hapo ambao beacon inakuongoza moja baada ya jingine. Saved places, and a sequence of them the beacon leads you through.

Watu wasioona hutumia simu kwa kisoma skrini (TalkBack kwenye Android, VoiceOver kwenye iPhone): sauti ya kompyuta husoma kila kitufe na kila maandishi. Kwa hiyo maandishi ya programu karibu kila mara husikilizwa, hayasomwi, mara nyingi katikati ya kelele za barabarani. Muhimu zaidi ni yawe mafupi, wazi na ya kawaida yanaposikika. Blind users hear everything through a screen reader, often in street noise.

Maelezo zaidi (kwa Kiingereza) yako kwenye ukurasa huu.

Jinsi ya kujibu

How to reply

Jibu kwa barua pepe ukitaja namba ya swali (“Q1: …”). Si lazima kujibu yote. Reply by email quoting the question number.

Q1 — “Beacon” (Beacon: English word)

Linasikika lini: kwenye vitufe, mipangilio na ziara ya utangulizi: “Sasa unaweza kusikia beacon ya sauti. Inachezwa kutoka mwelekeo wa mahali unapoelekea.” On buttons, in settings and in the tutorial.

Kwa Kiingereza: “Audio Beacon”.

Linavyosikika sasa: “Beacon ya Sauti” (neno la Kiingereza).

Swali: Je, ni sawa, au kuna neno la Kiswahili bora zaidi? Keep the English «beacon», or use a Swahili word?

Q2 — Kwa jumla (Overall)

Swali: Je, Kiswahili cha programu kinaeleweka, au kinasikika kama tafsiri ya mashine? Mifano iliyo juu yote inatoka kwenye programu. Does the app’s Swahili read like machine translation? The examples above are real app text.

Q3 — “Tangazo la sauti” (Callout)

Linasikika lini: ni jina la jumbe fupi za sauti zilizoelezwa juu, hasa kwenye mipangilio: “Matangazo ya Sauti Kiotomatiki”. The name of the short spoken messages, mostly in settings.

Kwa Kiingereza: “Callout”, “Automatic Callouts”.

Wasiwasi wetu: “tangazo” linaweza kumaanisha pia matangazo ya biashara. «tangazo» can also mean an advert.

Swali: Ni la kawaida? Kama sivyo, ungesema nini? Is it natural? If not, what would you say?

Q4 — “Vivutio” (Landmarks)

Linasikika lini: kwenye mipangilio (“Sehemu na Vivutio”) na kwenye matangazo. Maana yake ni bustani, makanisa, misikiti na mahali pengine panaposaidia kujielekeza. In settings («Sehemu na Vivutio») and callouts: parks, churches, mosques and other places that help orientation.

Kwa Kiingereza: “Landmarks”, “Places and Landmarks”.

Wasiwasi wetu: “vivutio” ni vivutio vya utalii. «vivutio» means tourist attractions.

Swali: Je, neno hili linafaa, au ni la kitalii mno? Does it fit, or is it too touristy?

Q5 — Viwango vinne vya maelezo (Four detail levels, renamed 2026-09-30)

Linasikika lini: kwenye mipangilio, ambapo mtumiaji huchagua kwa kusikiliza kiasi programu inachosema wakati wa kutembea. In the settings, where you choose by ear how much the app says as you walk.

Kwa Kiingereza: “Detailed / Simplified / Essential / Silent”

Linavyosikika sasa: Kwa Kina / Rahisi / Muhimu / Kimya. “Rahisi” huacha njia ndogo na hurudia mara chache; “Muhimu” hutaja barabara, makutano na alama maarufu tu. Simplified skips minor paths and repeats less; Essential only calls out streets, junctions and landmarks.

Kinachotutia shaka: tumebadilisha majina ya viwango viwili vya kati hivi punde. Awali vilikuwa “Wastani” na “Chache”, lakini wazungumzaji asilia wa lugha nyingine waliona majina ya zamani ya Kiingereza hayako wazi. Majina mapya tumeyachagua sisi, si mzungumzaji asilia wa Kiswahili. We have just renamed the middle two, which were «Wastani» and «Chache»: speakers of other languages found the old English names unclear. We chose the new names, not a Swahili speaker.

Swali: Je, viwango hivi vinne vinatofautiana na kueleweka kwa urahisi vinaposikika? Ungevipa viwili vya kati majina mengine? Are the four easy to tell apart by ear? Would you name the middle two differently?

Q6 — “katika saa 3” (Clock-face directions)

Linasikika lini: ukichagua “Uso wa Saa” katika mipangilio, programu husema kitu kiko wapi kama kwenye uso wa saa: saa 12 ni mbele, saa 3 ni kulia, saa 6 ni nyuma, saa 9 ni kushoto. Kwa mfano: “Kafe, 20 mita, katika saa 3”. With the “Clock face” setting, the app says where something is as on a clock face: 12 ahead, 3 right, 6 behind, 9 left. For example: “Cafe, 20 meters, at 3 o’clock”.

Kwa Kiingereza: “Cafe, 20 meters, at 3 o’clock”

Linavyosikika sasa: “katika saa 3”, “katika saa 9” (tarakimu husomwa na kisomaji sauti). “katika saa 3”, “katika saa 9” (the speech engine reads the digit).

Kinachotutia shaka: kwa Kiswahili saa huhesabiwa kuanzia asubuhi, hivyo “saa tatu” ni saa 9 kwa Kiingereza. Msikilizaji anaweza kuelewa “saa 3” kama upande wa kushoto (saa 9), si kulia. Pia “katika saa 3” huenda likasikika kama “baada ya saa tatu”. In Swahili time, «saa tatu» is 9 o’clock, so “3” may be heard as the left (9), not the right. «katika saa 3» may also sound like “within three hours”.

Swali: Je, Mswahili angeelewa “saa 3” hapa kama upande wa kulia? Kama sivyo, tuseme vipi? Au ni bora mtumiaji wa Kiswahili atumie “Kushoto/Kulia” badala ya saa? Would a Swahili speaker hear “3” here as the right-hand side? If not, how should it be said? Or should Swahili users just use “Left/Right” instead?

Q7 — Kitu kingine? (Anything else)

Kama sentensi yoyote inasikika kama tafsiri kutoka Kiingereza, ni ndefu mno au haieleweki, tuambie. Anything that sounds translated, too long or unclear, please tell us.

Asante sana!