Mwajiri amempa cheo kipya.

A useful breakdown is:

• Mwajiri = employer
• ame- = has
• -m- = him/her
• -pa = give
• cheo = title, rank, position
• kipya = new

So the full sentence means something like:

The employer has given him/her a new title/position.

Depending on context, it may also suggest a promotion.

Amempa can be broken into parts:

• a- = he/she
• -me- = perfect aspect, often like has
• -m- = him/her
• -pa = give

So amempa literally means:

he/she has given him/her

This is very common in Swahili: several pieces of meaning are packed into one verb.

Because Swahili often puts object pronouns inside the verb.

In English, you say:

has given him/her a new title

In Swahili, the him/her part is the -m- inside amempa.

So instead of a separate word after the verb, the recipient is already built into the verb itself.

It can mean either him or her.

Swahili does not usually mark gender in this kind of pronoun. So:

• a- = he/she
• -m- = him/her

You need context to know whether the people are male or female.

In Swahili, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe.

So:

• cheo kipya = new title
• literally: title new

That is normal Swahili word order.

Because adjectives in Swahili must agree with the noun class of the noun.

Cheo belongs to noun class KI/VI in the singular/plural pattern. Because of that, -pya takes the class prefix ki-, giving:

• cheo kipya = new title

Compare:

• mtu mpya = new person
• kitabu kipya = new book
• cheo kipya = new title

So kipya is used because it matches the noun class of cheo.

Cheo is singular in noun class 7, which often uses ki-/ch- type agreement. Its plural is vyeo in class 8.

So:

• cheo kipya = new title
• vyeo vipya = new titles

Notice how both the noun and adjective change in the plural:

• cheo → vyeo
• kipya → vipya

Cheo can mean:

• title
• rank
• position
• sometimes something close to promotion, depending on context

In a work context, cheo kipya often means a new job title or higher position.

So this sentence could mean:

• The employer has given him/her a new title
• The employer has given him/her a new position
• The employer has promoted him/her
  if the situation clearly suggests promotion

Yes, the word order is normal.

The basic order here is:

• Mwajiri = subject
• amempa = verb
• cheo kipya = thing given

So the structure is roughly:

Subject + Verb + Direct Object

The recipient, however, is not a separate word, because it is already shown inside the verb as -m-.

So the sentence is perfectly natural Swahili.

The verb root -pa means give to someone. It is especially common when the recipient is important and is marked in the verb.

So:

• amempa = has given him/her

Swahili also has -toa, which often means take out, produce, issue, or give out, depending on context. But in this sentence, -pa is the natural verb for giving someone something.

The -me- in amempa is usually called the perfect.

It often corresponds to English:

• has given
• sometimes gave, depending on context

So amempa suggests a completed action with present relevance. In many situations, translating it as has given is best.

If you wanted a more simple past sense, you would often use -li- instead:

• alimpa cheo kipya = he/she gave him/her a new title

Yes.

If you want to name the person, you can still use the object marker and then mention the person:

• Mwajiri amempa Asha cheo kipya.
• The employer has given Asha a new title.

In many cases, keeping the object marker is natural, especially for animate objects such as people.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• Mwajiri = mwa-JI-ri
• amempa = a-MEM-pa
• cheo = CHE-o
• kipya = KI-pya

A few helpful notes:

• Swahili stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable
• mw in Mwajiri is pronounced together
• ch is like the ch in church
• pya is pronounced as one cluster, roughly pya

So the full sentence sounds approximately like:

mwa-JI-ri a-MEM-pa CHE-o KI-pya