Some things I will never be able to say...
on Tara's Ethiopian Adventure (Ethiopia), 21/Oct/2009 08:57, 34 days ago
Everyday my colleagues (led by Ato Solomon) try and teach me new words and laugh hysterically at my pronunciation. I am definitely learning more and more each day all be it quite slowly. I have adopted an Amharic saying for pretty much everything I do in Ethiopia but particularly language learning. The saying goes,‘’little by little the egg learns to walk’’! However... I am learning that there are some things I just will never be able to say. This is because they seem to be able to do special things which they pronounce certain letters (similarly difficult to the rolling r’s of the Scottish and Irish but totally different). One sound is something between a K and a Q. They find it so funny hearing me try and say it. The problem is I can’t even HEAR the difference when they say it next to an ordinary K so I don’t think I have any hope of being able to pronounce the difference. The other letter I am stuck on at the moment is a form of T. I think it is supposed to have a ‘cha’ sound hidden somewhere behind it.Still... I guess I have some of the important things covered. I can ask for items at a shop and understand numbers enough to know how much money they want for it. I am learning lot of‘food’ related words which serve me well when I go to the market or eat in the staff canteen. I am also learning simple classroom language. For example ‘betam t’ru’ means ‘very good’ and I understand ‘Gobez’ means something between ‘intelligent, very good and excellent’ ... I think I will use it instead of ‘well done’ and hope for the best! As well as words for praise my colleagues are enjoying teaching me phrases such as ‘please come in’ and ‘it is time to start’ and letting me practice on the candidates at the end of every tea break. My candidates and colleagues seem to find this hilarious. I am definitely enjoying trying to learn Amharic and, although I find it difficult to say most things, it is satisfying when I hear a sentence and recognise some of the words. It helps when they throw the odd English word into their sentences, which they often do, but I am finding I am increasingly able to get the gist of SOME conversations which feels great. I am still a long way off understanding most of what is said around me but as the saying goes... ‘’little by little the egg learns to walk’’.