I am certainly no authority on teaching anyone how to speak Wolof, but I have picked up a couple of phrases that you may find useful if you ever come to Senegal or run across a Senegalese person. Plus, learning a language is always fun.
Rule #1: Senegal is a majority muslim country so many of the phrases are in fact arabic. Mach'Allah, for instance, means May God Maintain it, in Arabic.
Inch'Allah means God-willing, and you will use this phrase after many many phrases. If you don't, there's a possibility people will look at you funny.
Alhumdoullilah means all praises to God. It's also what I say when someone greets me and I have no idea what they are saying. But I would only do that if you know the person, then they think it's kind've funny.
Rule #2: There are like a thousand ways to greet someone in Wolof. When you speak to someone I would say you use at least 3 in a row before moving on to the next thing.
Let the learning begin! Keep in mind I'm spelling these words phonetically as I hear them.
Nanga def-how are you
Mange fee- I'm good.
Yange se diam?- Do you have peace.
Mange se diam- I have peace.
Yange noce (I don't know what this means exactly but it is a greeting and the response is below)
Mange noce
waw- yes
dedet- no
Da ma (I am) Da ma...
heef- hungry
sone- tired
mer- angry
yacumte- in a hurry
Lekka!- Eat
Lek gue be soo?- Did you eat enough?
Lek nabesoo- I ate enough.
Tau no nekhna- It was delicious
Jeddejef- thank you
nuk a buk- we are one (you're welcome)
Mange niew- I am coming.
Kay- come
Kay talk fee- Come sit here.
to tee to tee- a little
Da fa tanga!!!!- It is hot!!!!
Jogo- stand up
Togo- sit down
Mange dem-I am leaving
Foy dem?- Where are you going?
Mange dem nelow- I am going to sleep.
Nopee- Be quiet
Maima- give me. Maima...
ndokh- water
hallis- money
lo bug a- What do you want?
ya suma hol- you are my heart
Basouba, inch'allah- Good night God willing.
Babenin yo inch'allah- until next time, God willing.
That's it for now, try it out!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Charlotte Young Est Charlotte Ndaw
J'aime my host family!!!!
I have finally moved into my homestay with Pape Ndaw who works at the school and his family and I love them. It's very different from the Kanes.
Pape Ndaw lives in Mamel which is about a 10 minute drive from Almadies where the Kanes live. The house is large; 2 stories about 5 bedrooms, 3 common spaces, a dining room, kitchen...it's large. Plus there's space up on the roof which will be absolutely BEAUTFIUL once they fix it up. They recently moved there so there is still work to do on the house.
The family dynamic is COMPLETELY different. First there's Pape Ndaw, his wife and 4 children, 4 men who are the brothers of either Pape Ndaw or his wife and 2 women who are nieces. That's 12 people, 13 if you include me, all in one house...beaucoup de famille. And they all speak Wolof excluding Pape Ndaw, one of the brothers and the English that the children know.
As much as I would love to say that language barriers don't matter and that together we cobbled together a language filled with laughter that was understood by all, that didn't exactly happen. I proudly spurted out three of the five wolof phrases I knew, and looked confused upon the next question. It occured to me then that I only know introductory phrases. There's been a lot of me just standing around silently and looking confused or in a daydream.
The first night I walked around Mamel with the 2 nieces and one of the brothers. I enjoy walking around Mamel and seeing people. I mostly spoke to the brother as he is the one that speaks English, but he won't always be around.
He wasn't around at all last night, and I spent most of the time with the women, watching Madame Ndaw sew (she's a seamstress) with her fellow seamstress people and walking around with one of the women. I really need to remember everyone's name.
Then the power shut off and I realized how different it is when the power is off and there is no generator. Candles provided a soft glow of light throughout the various rooms, and I watched the children mischievously play in the tips of the flames while they completed the homework by candle light.
The lights did not come back on before dinner so we ate in the dark. "Mange! Mange!" (Eat, Eat.) They encouraged even though I was full. I have a hard time telling people in English that I do not want anymore so you can imagine how it was in Wolof/French--there was nothing else I could do but eat even though I was full.
Eventually the lights came back on and the children scrambled in a race to blow out the candles. Then we sat around the living room talking and laughing. I learned several new words.
Kay tok fee-- Come sit down.
Lek gue be soure--Did you eat enough?
Lek nabesoure. Tog bi nekhna. I ate enough. It was delicious.
And finally, Mague dem nelow. Basouba. I am going to sleep. Good night.
After getting ready for bed in the bathroom, I noticed a plate of apples and pears by my bed. It was the sweetest thing everrrrr I love my new family! :)
I have finally moved into my homestay with Pape Ndaw who works at the school and his family and I love them. It's very different from the Kanes.
Pape Ndaw lives in Mamel which is about a 10 minute drive from Almadies where the Kanes live. The house is large; 2 stories about 5 bedrooms, 3 common spaces, a dining room, kitchen...it's large. Plus there's space up on the roof which will be absolutely BEAUTFIUL once they fix it up. They recently moved there so there is still work to do on the house.
The family dynamic is COMPLETELY different. First there's Pape Ndaw, his wife and 4 children, 4 men who are the brothers of either Pape Ndaw or his wife and 2 women who are nieces. That's 12 people, 13 if you include me, all in one house...beaucoup de famille. And they all speak Wolof excluding Pape Ndaw, one of the brothers and the English that the children know.
As much as I would love to say that language barriers don't matter and that together we cobbled together a language filled with laughter that was understood by all, that didn't exactly happen. I proudly spurted out three of the five wolof phrases I knew, and looked confused upon the next question. It occured to me then that I only know introductory phrases. There's been a lot of me just standing around silently and looking confused or in a daydream.
The first night I walked around Mamel with the 2 nieces and one of the brothers. I enjoy walking around Mamel and seeing people. I mostly spoke to the brother as he is the one that speaks English, but he won't always be around.
He wasn't around at all last night, and I spent most of the time with the women, watching Madame Ndaw sew (she's a seamstress) with her fellow seamstress people and walking around with one of the women. I really need to remember everyone's name.
Then the power shut off and I realized how different it is when the power is off and there is no generator. Candles provided a soft glow of light throughout the various rooms, and I watched the children mischievously play in the tips of the flames while they completed the homework by candle light.
The lights did not come back on before dinner so we ate in the dark. "Mange! Mange!" (Eat, Eat.) They encouraged even though I was full. I have a hard time telling people in English that I do not want anymore so you can imagine how it was in Wolof/French--there was nothing else I could do but eat even though I was full.
Eventually the lights came back on and the children scrambled in a race to blow out the candles. Then we sat around the living room talking and laughing. I learned several new words.
Kay tok fee-- Come sit down.
Lek gue be soure--Did you eat enough?
Lek nabesoure. Tog bi nekhna. I ate enough. It was delicious.
And finally, Mague dem nelow. Basouba. I am going to sleep. Good night.
After getting ready for bed in the bathroom, I noticed a plate of apples and pears by my bed. It was the sweetest thing everrrrr I love my new family! :)
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