Intro
In this segment from Na baro kè (Episode 13), I ask residents of Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, about the languages they speak, where they use them, and how they learned them.
For many Westerners, the number of languages spoken by locals is striking. This clip highlights the role of Jula as a common lingua franca, as well as how people acquire and use French in different contexts. Watch to hear firsthand about the rich multilingualism of daily life in one part of Manding-speaking West Africa.
Instructions
- Watch — Watch the video without the subtitles. If they are on, click on the little "CC" symbol and turn them off.
- Watch and Read — Turn on the subtitles in Bambara/Jula (click on the little "CC" button) and read along. If you are lost, you can also switch it into English and then re-watch in Bambara/Jula. And remember, you can also slow down the video to make it easier to follow along. I recommend 75%. Click on the little gear symbol.
- Listen — For extra practice and exposure, listen passively to the excerpt like a podcast while commuting, cooking, walking, etc.
A video will be here later!
Grammar
Relatives with min
In the video, we hear the following sentence:
Ne bɛ kan min mɛn, à bɛ duuru bɔ
"The languages that I understand, they are equal to five"
(as in, "There are five languages that I understand")
This sentence is an example of a relative construction using the word min.
Let's take a step back and get clear on what I mean by relative.
A relative sentence incorporates what could be two independent sentences into one single sentence.
Here are some simple English examples:
- The market [that Sita likes] is closed.
- The woman [who is learning Bambara] said hello.
- Madu knows a vendor [who cooks well]
- The store [where Isa bought his shirt] is nice.
Our example from the video could be broken down into the following parts or clauses:
- N bɛ kan mɛn "I understand (a) language"
- À bɛ duuru bɔ "It equals five"
They are combined into one single sentence using the relative marker min, which functions a little bit "which" or "that" in English:
N bɛ kan mɛn. À bɛ duuru bɔ.
→
N bɛ kan min mɛn, à bɛ duuru bɔ.
"The language(s) that I understand are equal to five"
Lit. "I understand language which, it equals five"
Notice that one of the clauses of the sentence appears to be "in charge". It cannot be left out.
N bɛ kan min mɛn, à bɛ duuru bɔ.
"It [the languages that I understand] equals five"
This is the matrix clause of the relative sentence.
The other clause plays a secondary role. It is the extra information that is attached to the matrix clause. In theory, you could drop it and you would still have a complete sentence that made sense.
[...] à bɛ duuru bɔ
"It [...] equals five"
(as in, "They [the languages that I speak] equal five")
This is the subordinate clause.
The glue that links the two clauses is the relative marker min.
For a full lesson regarding relatives, please complete this Grammar chapter.
For extra practice, please complete this Workbook chapter.
Potential grammar notes will be here someday.
Vocab
Coming soon n'Ala sɔnna!
- kan
- language; throat; sound
- ka kan fɔ
- to speak ("say") a language
- ka kan mɛn
- to understand ("hear") a language
- ɲɛnama
- living; "well"
- tubabukan
- French
- siya
- ethnicity
- siyakan
- ethnic language
- kɛnɛ ma
- outside
- lu kɔnɔ
- in the courtyard; at home
- lɔgɔ ra
- at the market
- so
- home; house
- sirada
- street-side
- kalankɛyɔrɔ
- study-place; school
- teri
- friend
- bamuso
- mom
- mamamuso
- grandma
Vocab list will be here someday!
Flashcards will be here someday!
Exercises
Exercises will be here someday!