Lesson 1. Ni kani baani? Content Intro Vocabulary Greetings Grammar Exercises   1.A. Intro   Foyan   Musa: Fofo. Hama: Ngoyya. Musa: Ni kani baani? Hama: Baani samay. Ni kani ka baan, dey? Musa: Baani samay.   Listen and exercise This option only works with Windows XP 1.B. Vocabulary Verbs Nouns Adjective Learn these words by heart. Extra Move the mouse to one of the underlined words and a sentence in which the word is used will appear. Click the left mouse button and a photo will appear in a popup. When you move the pointer on the screen with your mouse over the photo the translation of the Zarma sentence will show. 1. B.1 Verbs Zarma English Pronunciation neera to sell nee/ ra kani to lie down, to rest, to go to bed ka/ ni kaŋ to fall kaŋ zuru to run, to run away zu/ ru koy to go koy day to buy day Back 1.B.2 Nouns Zarma English Pronunciation bari, bariyo horse bà/ ri, bàri/ yo farkay, farka donkey farkay hansi, hanso dog hân/ si fu, fuwo house, home fu, fu/ wo yo, ywa camel, dromedary yo, ywa musu, muso cat (usually domestic, but sometimes lion) mû/ su haw, hawo cow ("bovine", generic, not gender) hàw wayboro, waybora woman, female way/ bo/ ro wande, wando wife wan/ de kwaara village, town, compound (of several houses) kwaa/ ra zanka child, youngster (size and age, not offspring) zan/ ka Back 1.B.3 Adjectives Zarma English Pronunciation afo, afa one a/ fo Back   1.C. Greeting (foyan) Greetings form an important aspect of west African languages in general and therefore also of the Zarma language. For this reason, extra attention for this aspect of the language is self evident. Like in any language some greetings are time dependent others aren't. In addition the context, i.e. the circumstance of the encounter, are of importance. In the greetings grammar is used beyond the grammar explained in this lesson. Anytime: Person A: Fofo. (Hello; also mean thanks) Person B: Ngoyya. (likewise) In general: reply with ngoyya to any greeting beginning with a Fo. It may mean: likewise, same to you or thank you, but it is used only to reply to a greeting.   Morning (to individuals only): Person A: Ni kani baani? (one must supply the question words) Person B: Baani samay. Ni kani ka baan, dey? Person A: Baani samay. Translation Person A: (Did) you sleep well? Person B: Just fine. Did you sleep well? Person A: Just fine. Afternoon (to individuals only): Person A: Ni foy baani? Person B: Baani samay. Ni foy ka baan, dey? Person A: Baani samay. Translation Person A: You had a good day? Person B: Just fine. Did you have a good day? Person A: Just fine.   1.D. Grammar Introduction It is important to realise that Zarma grammar sometimes differs from English grammar or from grammar of other European languages likes German or French. With one respect Zarma grammar is not so different, the number of exception on rules is at least equal to the number of rules and sometimes it is not possible to discover rules at all. In such cases the only way to learn the language is to learn those thing by heart. Subjects in this lesson Personal pronouns The definite article Definite plural of nouns The indefinite article The verb-completed action (past tense) Simple questions 1.D.1. Personal pronouns The personal pronouns are invariable in all cases; that is: whether used in nominative case or objective case, or as possessives. Singular Zarma English ay I, me, my ni you, you, your (singular) (thou, thee, thy) a (+ nga) he, she, it; his, her, it; his, her, its Plural Zarma English iri we, us, our araŋ you (ye), you, your i (+ ngey, ey) they, them, their You will learn more about the use of the long forms (ngey, ey, nga) later (a/o lesson 3.D.4 and 4.D.1). The initial "n" of these two words is actually pronounced like the 'in' in the word 'linger'. Back 1.D.2. The Definite Article The idea of a definite article (the) is expressed by either the vowel 'a' or 'o' on the end of the noun in the singular. As a general rule: Nouns ending in 'a do not change for the definite, but the 'a' at the end is accentuated when you pronounce it. Nouns ending in 'o' either change to 'a' or add an 'a'. Nouns ending in 'e', 'i', 'u' or a consonant change to 'o' or add an 'o'. Examples indefinite definite UK indefinite UK definite bari bariyo a horse the horse fu fuwo a house the house hansi hanso a dog the dog wande wando a wife the wife wayboro waybora a woman the woman yo ywa a camel the camel zanka zanka a child the child As there does not seem to be any rule for whether to add or change this definite indicator, the indefinite and the definite singular of all nouns are given in the vocabularies. You must learn them, as you learned whether it was feminine of masculine with each French noun. Back 1.D.3. Definite Plural of nouns By replacing the final vowel of the definite singular of a noun with ey the definite plural ending with the 'Definite Plurals' are derived. Examples Zarma English indefinite singular definite singular definite plural indefinite singular definite singular definite plural fu fuwo fuwey a house the house the houses haw hawo hawey a cow the cow the cows zanka zanka zankey a child the child the children hansi hanso hansey a dog the dog the dogs bari bariyo bariyey a horse the horse the horses Back 1.D.4. The indefinite Article Strictly speaking, the indefinite article 'a' or 'an', as we have it in English, does not exist in Zarma. In translating, you will often have to supply it where there is nothing in Zarma. If there is a need to particularise, or to specify number, the numeral adjective fo (one) is placed after the noun. One way to figure whether to use the fo in Zarma is to ask yourself how you can substitute the "a" or 'an' in English. If you can substitute 'a' or 'an' which is in your mind by "any" then don't use the fo in this case. If you can substitute them with 'a certain' or 'a single' or 'one' then use the fo. Examples Zarma English musu fo a (certain) cat, one cat bari fo a (certain) horse, one horse kwaara fo a (certain) village, one village Back 1.D.5. The Verb-Completed Action (Past Tense) It has been pointed out in the introduction, and we repeat it here: don't expect English or French grammatical ideas to fit Zarma at all points. Our ideas of tense in a verb and their ways of looking at time don't really coincide. In the indicative mood, a Zarma verb really can show just one of two things: whether the action is completed or not. An uncompleted action can be something that was happening, that is happening, that happens regularly, that is about to happen, or that will happen. Actual time elements will quite often be gotten from the context rather than from the verb, though if a verb has auxiliaries, they can give some clues. A Zarma verb, without any auxiliaries, is in the past (or completed) tense (or state of being). There are no conjugation endings, the verb itself never changes, either for person or number. Examples Zarma English ay neera I sold ni neera you sold (singular) zanka neera the child sold iri day we bought a kani he (she, it) lay down (went to bed) Back 1.D.6. Simple Questions There a two way to ask a simple question: a) Add wala at the end of the sentence. The English translation in the "past tense" will begin with "Did ....?" This form is roughly equivalent to the French "n'est-ce pas?" Examples Zarma English Araŋ kani, wala? Did you go to bed? (lie down?) I zuru, wala? Did they run away? A kaŋ, wala? Did it fall? b) One may also merely raise the tone of the voice, as we do in English. Examples Zarma English Araŋ kani? You go to bed? (lie down?) I zuru? They run away? A kaŋ? It fall? Back   Last updated: 10 februari 2012 web site metrics website analytics