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
Expressing "since" or "seeing as" with komi or ikomi
The forms ikomi and komi (and their French loanword from which they stem: comme) are very prevalent as a conjunction often appears at the beginning of sentence. In such cases, the best translation is often "since" or "seeing as" in English. For instance:
Ikomi n ma se Ouaga, n tɛ se ka kuma à kan
"Since I haven't been to Ouaga, I can't speak about it"
This usage is almost identical with the way that comme is used in a similar way in French (e.g., "Comme je ne suis jamais allé, je ne peux pas en parler")
Complex derivation (e.g., -bali plus -ya)
Coming later
Expressing "the same" with kelen
In the video, we hear the following lament from a small-time market vendor:
Ɔ, butikibatigi ninnu b'a daminɛ waa fila, waa saba la.
I y'à dɔn, an tɛ kelen ye."Well, these big shop owners start it [their price] at 10,000 or 15,000.
You know, we aren't the same"
Within this quote, there is a basic sentence:
An tɛ kelen ye
"We aren't one" → "We aren't the same"
This is a good example of the common use of kelen ('one') to express the idea of "same".
It can be used in a range of different kind of constructions. For instance:
Kelen don!
"It's the same!" or "They are the same" (depending on the context)
Lit. "It is one!"
Or:
O ko kelen bɛ an fɛ Ameriki
"We have this same problem in the US"
Lit. "That one affair is at our place in America"
Potential grammar notes will be here someday.
Vocab
Coming soon n'Ala sɔnna!
- ka fɛnw la/da ɲɔgɔn kan
- to lay things side by side for comparison [Lit. "to lay things on top of one another")
- faaba
- capital [of a country]
- kubeda
- administrative center; capital (in N'ko circles)
- ka dan
- to be different (lit. "to delimit") [Jula]
- k'à mara
- to control sth
- jama
- public; "people"
- sira
- road
- bolifɛn
- vehicle
- ka danmatɛmɛ/damatɛmɛ
- to push the limits; to be excessive
- tilemana/tilema
- hot/dry season
- farin
- fiery
- gɔngɔn [Bambara]
- dust
- gwangwan [Jula]
- dust
- mɔsi
- Mossi person
- julakan
- Jula language
- mɔsikan
- Mooré language
- ka don ɲɔgɔn na
- to integrate/mix with one another
- k'i ɲɛcɛ ka bɔ X kan
- to look away from X [Lit. "to gather your eyes and remove them from X"]
- ka dɛmɛdɛmɛ
- to get by
- ka nɔgɔya mɔgɔ bolo
- to become/be easy for sb
- k'à woloma
- to classify sth; to sort sth
- ka wolomani kɛ
- to sort; to discriminate
- hinɛ
- pity; compassion
- bɛnbaliya
- lack of unity; discord
- N kan bɛ X ma
- I'm referring to X [Lit. "My voice is to X"]
- i n'à fɔ
- like
- i ko
- like; as if
- komi
- like; as if; since; seeing as
- ikomi
- like; as if; since; seeing as
Vocab list will be here someday!
Flashcards will be here someday!
Exercises
Exercises will be here someday!