Content
- Intro
- Vocabulary
- Greetings
- Grammar
- Exercises (workbook, lesson 3)
- Answers (answer book, lesson 3)
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3.A. Intro |
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Iri ga jinay kabu (We will count things) |
Practise counting things from one to ten using the examples given below. Move the pointer with your mouse over the picture and the translation appears. If the colour of the picture changes, click the left mouse button and the large version of the picture will appear. |
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Musu beeri fo |
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Wayboro iddu |
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Yeeji hinka |
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Han iyye |
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Curo hinza |
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Hansi ahakku |
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Fu taaci |
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Boro yegga |
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Zanka gu |
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Tuuri way |
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3.B. Vocabulary |
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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. |
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Verbs
| Zarma |
English |
Pronunciation [1] |
| bu |
to die |
bu |
| di # |
to see |
di |
| donton |
to send (a person) |
don ton |
| goro
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to sit, to dwell, to reside, to remain |
gô ro |
| guna |
to look, to look at, to watch |
gu na |
| hẽ |
to cry, to weep (aloud);
by extension: to roar (lion), to bray (donkey), to moo (cow), to bellow (bull) |
hẽ |
| maa # |
to hear;
by extension: to understand |
maa |
| ne |
say (never 'to tell') |
ne |
| samba |
to send (an object) |
sam ba$ |
| te |
to make, to do, to happen |
te |
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| Notes : |
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| # |
signifies verbs that take the direct object afterwards, see Lesson 2.C.1 & 3.D.5.
The verb 'maa' takes an 'r' for euphony attached to the direct object when it is 'a' or 'ey' (see Grammar in part 3.D.4 for this form of 'ngey'):
examples: ay maa r'a I heard it (him); iri maa r'ey we heard them. |
| $ |
indicaties that accent and/or tone may be different, perhaps related to region and/or dialect. For 'samba' there is no consistency between sources regarding tone :
sam ba (1), sam ba (4), sam ba (13) |
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Nouns
| Zarma |
English |
Pronunciation [1] |
| musu beeri, musu beero
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lion (lit. big cat) |
muu su bee ri |
yeeji, yeejo |
bull |
yee ji |
| curo, cura |
bird |
cu ro |
| han, hano |
day (limited use) |
han, hâ no |
| alfa |
religious teacher; by extension a priest (marabou) |
al fa |
| alfaga |
religious teacher; by extension a priest (marabou) |
àl fa ga |
| malam (H) |
religious teacher; by extension a priest (marabou) |
ma lam |
| gomni, gomno |
grace, free gift (no return expected) |
gom ni |
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Adverbs, adjectives, etc.
| Zarma |
English |
Pronunciation [1] |
| bi |
yesterday |
bi |
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| bi fo |
before yesterday
(usually two days ago, but may be some recent day) |
bi fo |
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| beeri (adj.) |
big |
bee ri |
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| hunkuna |
today |
hun ku na |
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| [1] |
Legend for pronunciation (see Pronunciation guide for details) |
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italic |
tone is high |
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under score |
tone is low |
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vowel with ^ |
long vowel, e.g., ê |
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vowel with ` |
short vowel, e.g. è |
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bold |
syllable on which the principle emphasis falls
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3.C. Greetings (fooyaŋey) |
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As was explained in Lesson 1, greetings are time and context dependent. In Lesson 1 we have learned to greet an individual. In this lesson we will learn to greet a group and to say goodbye.
In the greetings grammar is used beyond the grammar explained in this lesson. |
1. |
Morning to a group |
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| greeting : |
Araŋ kani baani? |
| reply : |
Baani samay. Ni kani ka baan, day? (see Lesson 1) |
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2. |
Afternoon to a group |
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| greeting : |
Araŋ foy baani? |
| reply : |
Baani samay. Ni foy ka baan, day? (see Lesson 1) |
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3. |
Goodbye late in the forenoon until late afternoon |
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| greeting : |
Iri ma foy baani! (May we have a good day!) |
| reply : |
Iri ma foy da gomni! (May we have a gracious day!) |
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(Literally: May we spend the day in health; may we spend the day with grace!) |
4. |
Goodbye late in the evening |
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| greeting : |
Greeting: Iri ma kani baani! (May we have a good night!) |
| reply : |
Reply: Iri ma kani da gomni! (May we have a gracious night!) |
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(Literally: May we rest with health; may we rest with grace!) |
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3.D. Grammar |
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Grammar subjects in this lesson are:
- The cardinal numbers 1-10
- The verb-uncompleted aspect (future tense)
- The indefinite pronoun
- The word 'ey' as a direct object
- Sentence order (continued)
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3.D.1. The cardinal numbers 1-10 |
All the cardinal numbers in Zarma are based on these first ten, except for the specific words of the tens, 'hundred' and 'thousand', so learn them thoroughly. |
| Zarma |
number |
pronunciation |
Zarma |
number |
pronunciation |
| afo |
1
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à fô |
iddu |
6
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id du |
| ihinka |
2
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î hin ka |
iyye |
7
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iy ye |
| ihinza |
3
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î hin za |
ahakku |
8
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â hak ku |
| itaaci |
4
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î taa ci |
iyegga |
9
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î yeg ga |
| iggu |
5
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ig gu |
iway |
10
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î way |
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Qualifying adjective |
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All of the cardinal numbers, except 6, 7, and 8, drop the prefix vowel ('i' or 'a') when they are qualifying adjectives directly following a noun or a noun with an adjective modifier. The noun does not take either a definite (see 1.D.2) or a plural ending (see 1.D.3), these being carried by the number if needed. |
| Zarma |
English |
| bari fo |
one horse, a horse |
| curo hinka |
two birds |
| farkay gu |
five donkeys |
| wayboro iyye |
seven women |
| yo ahaku |
eight camels |
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back |
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3.D.2. The verb-uncompleted aspect (future tense) |
The future tense denotes action to be completed in the future - something that will happen - and the particle (or auxiliary)
'ga' (very short vowel) is used before the verb. If there is a direct object preceding the verb, it comes between the 'ga' and the verb. |
| Zarma |
English |
| Ay ga koy. |
I will go. I'm going to go. |
| Ni ga kaa. |
You will come. You 're going to come |
| I ga maa. |
They will hear. They are going to hear.
Also means: "I 'll see to it they hear", in taking message. |
| A ga zuru. |
He will run. He 's going to run. |
| Zanka ga cura guna. |
The child will look at the bird. |
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Notes:
- The tone for 'ga' is flexible, being the opposite of the tone of the next syllable in the sentence.
- This particle 'ga' is used with all the simple tenses in the incomplete aspect of the verb, not just with the future.
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When a noun or pronoun beginning with a vowel is used as a direct object, it can (and does) contract the 'a' of the 'ga', in the future tense. |
| Zarma |
English |
| A g' i neera |
He will sell them. |
| Iri g' Abdu donton. |
We will send Abdu. |
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3.D.3. The indefinite pronoun |
| The indefinite pronoun (non-specific pronoun) 'they' is expressed by the third person plural 'i' in Zarma, much as we do in English. |
| Zarma |
English |
| I ne a koy fu. |
They said he went home. |
| I ne hari ga kaa. |
They said it is going to rain. |
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3.D.4. The word 'ey' as a direct object |
The Zarma word for third person plural pronoun 'them' is 'i' (see Lesson 1.D.1). There are two other forms that are used in specific situations. One of those forms is 'ey'.
When a verb requiring the direct object after it needs the third person plural pronoun "them", use 'ey' rather then 'i'. This has something to do with ease of pronunciation. |
| Zarma |
English |
| Ni bariyey kaa. Oho, ay di ey. |
Your horses came. Yes, I saw them. |
| Araŋ di ey, wala? |
Did you see them? |
| Zankey hẽ. Iri maa r' ey. |
The children cried. We heard them. |
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3.D.5. Sentence Order (continued) |
When a transitive verb is one of subjective perception or emotion, the sentence order is:
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| subject-article |
auxiliary
(unless past tense) |
verb |
object article |
| Wando
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di
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ywa
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| The wife
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saw
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the camels
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| Iri
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ga
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maa
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farkay hinza
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| We
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shall
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hear
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three donkeys
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