Foli nafa ye mun ye?

Trial

Intro

In the following video, people in Bamako, Mali respond to my questions about the nafa ('benefit; utility') of greetings.

The video itself is a single "question segment" from Episode 1 of Na baro kè.

Watch

Watch the video without the subtitles. If they are on, click on the little "CC" symbol and turn them off.

Watch & Read

Now 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.

List of Selected Grammar Points

  • Coming later

Grammar Points Explained

  • Coming later
nafa
benefit; utility
foli
greetings
ka foli kɛ
to greet [Lit. "to do greeting"]
laada
custom; culture
adamadenya
humanity; human-ness
jɔsen
pillar [Lit. "stand-foot"]
seli
prayer
ka seli
to pray
silamɛya
Islam
k'à bonya
to respect sb
bonya
respect
k'à jate
to count sth; to take sth into account
karisa
so-and-so
ɲɛnama
"good" [Lit. "alive"]
taamaseere
symbol; sign
sɛbɛ
serious
mɔgɔ-sɛbɛ
upstanding person [Lit. "person serious"]
mɔgɔsɛbɛya
upstanding person-ness [Lit. "serious-person-hood"]
k'à matarafa
to reinforce sth; to make sth whole
kunko
problem; worry [Lit. "head-affair"]
bolofa
trust; confidence; satisfaction [Lit. "hand-fill"]

Vocab will be here at some point!