4 more helpful phrases in Fulfulde
on Notes from Quite Far (Cameroon), 15/May/2010 09:02, 34 days ago
Ðum chaððum (It’s difficult)Naañge wuli jamun (The sun is burning a lot)Waddan-am bu’e ma seðða haa ðerewol ðo (Bring me some of your poo on this piece of paper)Yeesu mayi dow gaafañgal (Jesus died on a cross)I was sorting through a few things the last tenant left behind when I stumbled across a book on Fulfulde (the most widely-spoken traditional language). I’ve been wanting to learn Fulfulde since I arrived in Cameroon, but it’s been difficult to say the least, since my only regular teachers have been children, and they just speak constantly and incomprehensibly, with no notion that I might not understand. So naturally, I seized upon this book andhave been making detailed notes on everything in it. It’s called “La langue des Foulbe” or “Language of the Fulbe” (Fulbe is the name of a very large Fulfulde-speaking, traditionally Muslim tribe). The book has 47 pages and was written in 2001 to help Evangelist missionaries to integrate into the community - and, one would expect, convert Muslims. It’s interesting on two fronts. First, as a language enthusiast (aka “geek”) I like to learn languages and analyse how they work. Second, it’s interesting to see what key themes and phrases have been identified as a priority for Evangelist missionaries.The book is divided into five parts– “greetings”, “small-talk”, “in church”, “at the hospital” and “Fables”. The greetings I’m already used to. They include phrases such as “How are you/your family/your children”, “How are you finding the cold/heat/sun” “did you sleep well” and “I’m going” (Not to be confused with “I’m a fish”). The section on small-talk includes such phrases as “Yes”, “No”, “That’s true” and “Did you wash your hands?”As a sceptic who is (thankfully) rarely ill, I don’t have much call for church or hospital phrases. I would, on the other hand, like to be able to speak to market vendors and moto drivers in Fulfulde. So while it is of course interesting to be able to say “Rachel was converted last Sunday, she believes in the Lord Jesus” and “Put these suppositories in the fridge for half an hour, then stick them up your bum”, it would in my case be more useful to know the Fulfulde for “Do you really know where Judando is or are you just going to drive around aimlessly?” and “If you insist, every time I come here, on charging me double for tomatoes, please stop giving me mushy ones”. With the right substitution of the right words, I could maybe tell the guy to stick his tomatoes up his bum, and while I would find that a very pleasing sentence in some ways, I don’t think it would help with my ultimate goal of getting a good deal on tomatoes. (If anything it would probably just make them more mushy…)So yes, no real practical advances in Fulfulde just yet. Perhaps it will all become clear when I reach the fable of the hyena and the monkey. (Perhaps the monkey was not from there, so the hyena was overcharging him for fruit and veg?)I’ll keep you posted.