Content
- Intro
- Vocabulary
- Greetings
- Grammar
- Exercises (workbook, lesson 5)
- Answers (answer book, lesson 5)
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5.A. Intro |
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A small story about a trip of two friend who went to watch animals in the brush and on the river. Try to read the story. Words and grammar are used that will be explained in following lessons. To see the translation put the pointer on the title of he story and click the left mouse button. Names of animals are highlighted. For more information on the animals put the pointer on the name and click the left mouse button. |
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Ay nda ay cora koy saajo ra. Iri koy ka almaney ceeci. Iri dira fondo kankamante boŋ. Baru su
musu beeri
go fonda boŋ. A mana di iri zama a
me kwaaray
gaaray. Iri sobay. Iri di
tobay
nda
danfane
gu. Kan iri go no ga salan musu beero se,
tuntungari
bangay. Kan a di iri, a zuru. Iri weeta ka kamba saajo ra, amma iri mana di almaney koyne.
Ay cora ne: iri ma koy isa. Ay beere gonda hi. Nga hiyo ga isa jerga. Iri mana di
ce beeri
da
haw bi
da
ganji-yo
. Hambara iri ga te boŋ-kaanay nodin.
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| Hawray banda iri furo hiyo ra, iri kurba isa bindi mo. Iri te boŋ-kaanay. D'in ga baa ga di
baŋa yaŋ
kala ni ma koy isa.
Bogobogo yaŋ
go baŋey boŋ, i go no ga
gangamizey
ŋwa. Alman kayney kaŋ ga baŋa kuuru boŋ. Beene ga hanan, wayna ga koroŋ mo. Hiire, jaw da haray da farkay g' iri gaa. Iri ye ka kaa fu. Iri ŋwa gumo-gumo, iri hari haŋ gumo-gumo mo. Hawray banda iri koy daari ra. Farga ga boro jirbandi. |
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5.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] |
| baa # |
to like, to love, to desire, to want |
baa |
| ceeci |
to seek, to search, to hunt for, to look for |
cee ci |
| dira |
to walk, to go away, to set out, to leave |
di ra |
| fatta |
to go out, to exit |
fat ta |
| fatta (laabo) ra |
to go out of (the country) |
fat ta (laa bo) ra |
| fun |
to come from, to come of something |
fun |
| furo |
to enter |
fu ro |
| gonda # |
to have (lit. to be with) |
go nda |
| haŋ |
to drink |
haŋ |
| konda # |
to take (lit. to go with) |
kon da |
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Note: |
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| # |
signifies verbs that take the direct object afterwards (see Lesson 2.C.1 & 3.D.5). |
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Nouns
| Zarma |
English |
Pronunciation [1] |
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alboro, albora
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male, man (not woman) |
al bo ro |
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fondo, fonda
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road, way (like French 'chemin') |
fon do |
| fu fondo |
a way home, home road |
fu fon do |
| goroŋo, goroŋa |
chicken |
go roŋ o |
| hari, haro |
thing |
hà ri |
| hay, hayo |
thing |
hay, hay yo |
| hay fo |
something |
hay fo |
| jinde, jindo |
voice, cry |
jin de |
| laabu, laabo |
land, country, soil, area |
laa bu |
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Adverbs, adjectives, etc.
| Zarma |
English |
Pronunciation [1] |
| dunguriyo, dunguriyo, dunguriya * |
short |
dun gu ri yo |
| futu, futu, futo * |
bad, mean, dangerous |
fu tu |
| hay, hayyante, hayyanta * |
open, wide |
hay, hay an ta |
| kankam, kankamante, kankamanta * |
narrow, squeezed |
kan kam, kan kam an te |
| kayna, kayniyo, kayna * |
little, small |
kay na, kay ni yo |
| ku, kuuku, kuuko * |
tall, long |
ku, ku ku |
| mo (conjunction) |
too, also (see grammar) |
mo |
| sohõ (adverb) |
now, at once |
so hõ |
| tafay, tafay, tafo *,$ |
broad, wide |
tà fay |
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Notes: |
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| * |
Three forms are given for the adjectives; the predicate adjective, the indefinite singular attributive adjective, and the definite singular adjective also. The first two forms are frequently identical, see 5.D.2. |
| $ |
Indicaties that accent and/or tone may be different, perhaps related to region and/or dialect. For 'tafay' (adj.) there is no consistency between sources regarding tone :tà fay (1); ta fay (4) |
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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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5.C. Greetings (fooyaŋey) |
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In earlier lessons we have learned to greet an individual and a group, to greet a person at his work and to say goodbye. We also learned to thank someone and to ask pardon. That greetings are time dependent will be clear when you learn the greeting below. This greetings are as a matter of fact a revision what we learned in the introduction in Lesson 4. |
1. |
Towards 10 a.m. |
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| greeting : |
Ni weete baani ? |
| reply : |
Baani samay; ni weete ka baan day ? |
| answer : |
Baani samay. |
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2. |
Towards 6 p.m. to dark |
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| greeting : |
Araŋ wiciri baani? |
| reply : |
Baani samay; wiciri ka baan, day ? |
| answer : |
Baani samay. |
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3. |
After dark until late night |
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| greeting : |
Almaaray baani ?
or: Araŋ 'maaray baani ?
or: Ni 'maaray baani ? |
| reply : |
Baani samay. |
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5.D. Grammar |
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Subjects in this lesson:
- Masculine and feminine
- The qualifying and numerical adjective
- The verb-uncompleted aspect (present tense)
- Compound nouns showing origin
- Uses of 'mo'
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5.D.1. Masculine and feminine |
Strictly speaking, there is no gender in Zarma. However, there are ways of indicating masculine and feminine, depending on the noun. Some of them are as follows:
'aru' or 'alboro' applies to masculine
'way' or 'wayboro' to feminine in general.
Certain animals have specific words for either feminine or masculine. |
| Zarma |
English |
Masculine |
Feminine |
| boro |
man |
alboro (man) |
wayboro (woman) |
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wandiyo (maiden) |
| ize |
child |
ize aru (boy) |
ize way (girl) |
| feeji |
sheep |
feeji garu (ram) |
feeji way / feeji ɲa (ewe) |
| bari |
horse |
bari gu (stallion) |
bari tafa (mare) |
| musu |
cat |
musu aru (tomcat) |
musu way / musu ɲa (pussy) |
| hansi |
dog |
hansi daŋ (he-dog) |
hansi way / hansi ɲa (bitch) |
| goroŋo |
chicken |
goroŋgari (rooster) |
goroŋo way / goroŋo ɲa (hen) |
| yo |
camel |
yo mali (camel bull) |
yo way / yo ɲa (camel cow) |
| haw |
cow |
yeeji (bull)
daasu (ox, bullock) [1] |
haw way (cow) |
| handay |
calf |
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zan (heifer) |
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| [1] a bullock or ox is called a daasi (def.sin.: daaso) |
Note: If a female has given birth, use 'ɲa', otherwise use 'way'.
The word 'zan' can be applied to any animal, even a hen, that is mature but has not given birth of laid an egg. |
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5.D.2. The qualifying and numerical adjective |
Qualifying adjective |
The qualifying adjective (big, mean) is in English placed before the noun. In Zarma the qualifying adjective is uniformly placed after the noun it modifies. |
| Zarma |
English |
| Haw beeri go no. |
There is a big cow. |
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The qualifying adjective has different forms in Zarma. Three forms are given for the adjectives in the vocabulary; the predicate adjective, the indefinite singular attributive adjective, and the definite singular adjective also. The first two forms are frequently identical.
The predicative means that the adjective is a (part of a) nominal predicate. As attributive form the adjective is part of a attributive adjunct, see table below. |
| Form |
Zarma |
English |
| predicative |
Albora ga ku. |
The man is tall. |
| indefinite singular attributive |
Alboro kuuku. |
A tall man. |
| definite singular adjective |
Alboro kuuko. |
The tall man. |
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Numerical adjective |
If there is also a numeral adjective (cardinal numbers such as one, five), this is placed after the qualifying adjective in Zarma. |
| Zarma |
English |
| Yeeji futu hinza go no. |
There are three mean bulls. |
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When the noun has a qualifying adjective, the definite article ending (if needed), either singular or plural, is placed on the adjective but not on the noun, which retains the indefinite form. When there is a numerical adjective, then neither the noun nor the qualifying adjective change from their indefinite form. |
| Zarma |
English |
| bariyo |
the horse |
| bari kayna |
the small horse |
| hanso |
the dog |
| hansi beero |
the big dog |
| hansey |
the dogs |
| hansi beerey |
the big dogs |
| hansi beeri hinka |
two big dogs |
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Note that no substantive may have more than one qualifying and one numeral adjective. For example, you couldn't talk about 'three big mean bulls'. It would have to be 'three big bulls that are mean'. There are one or two exceptions (special); these come later. |
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5.D.3. The verb-uncompleted aspect (present tense) |
As has been noted earlier, our ideas of tense can not exactly be applied to Zarma, and so we see that part of the present tense of the verb uses the same auxiliary
as the 'future tense' does (see section 3.D.2). Also, parts of the verb used to express 'being' are used with the main verb in some aspects of the present. |
| a. |
Immediate present with 'kaa' and 'koy' |
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Use as auxiliaries 'go' or 'go no', before the verb. Or the 'go no' may be separated with the first half before the verb and the rest after it; this is more emphatic. |
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| Zarma |
English |
| Ay go kaa. |
I'm on the way (I'm coming). |
| Ay go no kaa. |
I'm coming. |
| Ay go kaa no. |
I'm coming. |
| Ni go koy, wala? |
Are you going (now)? |
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| b. |
Repeated or habitual action. |
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Use 'ga' as the auxiliary. |
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| Zarma |
English |
| A ga te hay fo, wala? |
Does he do anything? |
| Boro ga goy da jinay. |
A person works with things (tools). |
| I ga furo fuwo ra. |
They enter into the house. |
| Araŋ ga kaa han kulu. |
You come every day. |
| Boro ga dira fonda boŋ. |
A person walks on the road. |
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| c. |
Progressive or continuous present |
| c.1 |
'go no ga' plus verb expresses the idea of being in the act or process of doing the action. This and the following are generally interchangeable for showing action in progress. |
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| Zarma |
English |
| Ay mo go no ga ni ceeci |
I too am looking for you. |
| A go no ga hari haŋ. |
He is drinking water. |
| Iri go no ga goy. |
We are working. |
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| c.2 |
'go ga' also shows the progressive or continuous aspect of the verb. It may also sometimes contains the idea of having just begun the action. |
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| Zarma |
English |
| Ay go ga koy habu. |
I am going to market.
(I'm on my way to market) |
| Iri go g' a te. |
We are doing it. |
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| d. |
Action about to take place |
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The idea of 'to be about to' do something is shown be using 'ga ba ga' as auxiliaries before the verb. |
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| Zarma |
English |
| Bariyo ga ba ga bu. |
The horse is about to die. |
| Hari ga ba ga kaa. |
It is about to rain. |
| Ŋwaro ga ba ga ban. |
The food is about all gone (finished). |
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5.D.4. Compound nouns showing origin |
| Compound nouns showing the origin of someone or a group are formed in several ways. |
a. |
By adding 'nce' to the simplest form of the proper noun of the tribe or land, one gets an individual or individuals of that tribe |
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| Zarma |
English |
| Hausa |
the land where they live, or the whole tribe |
| Hausance |
Hausa person |
| Gurma |
the land where they live, or the tribe |
| Gurmance |
Gurma person |
| Yoruba |
the land or tribe |
| Yorubance |
Yoruba person |
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Note:
There are several exceptions, where the names mean both the country or tribe and the individual member of it. These are: Zarma, Fulan, Surgu, Larabu, Belle, Inglisi, etc. But an 'nce' ending on a name, even one you never heard before, tells that it is a member of a certain tribe. |
b. |
If one adds 'boro' to the name of a town or village, you get 'resident' or 'native' of that town. |
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| Zarma |
English |
| Yantala boro |
a person from Yantala |
| Gao boro |
a person from Gao |
| Ɲamay boro |
a person from Niamey |
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c. |
If one adds 'laabu boro', you get a person from the area of a town, one of its out-villages, but not from the town itself. |
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| Zarma |
English |
| Dosso laabu boro |
a person from the Dosso area |
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d. |
In the same way 'ize' may be used to indicate a resident of a town. |
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| Zarma |
English |
| Ɲamay ize |
a resident of Niamey, a person from Niamey |
| Gaya ize |
a resident of Gaya, a person from Gaya |
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Note: Gaya is frequently called Ganyo by Zarmas. |
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5.D.5. Uses of 'mo' |
The word 'mo' is used as adverb and as conjunction. |
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Adverb
The Zarma word 'mo' is commonly used as an adverb, meaning 'also', 'too', 'as well'. Used thus it follows the word or phrase to which attention is being called. |
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| Zarma |
English |
| Nga mo ga di Monsieur. |
He also will see Monsieur.
(that is, he as well as someone already mentioned) |
| A ga di ay mo. |
He will see me, too,
(that is, he will see me as well as seeing someone else) |
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Conjunction
The word 'mo' is also used as conjunction to connect clauses, in the way we use 'and' in English. However, it is what is called a postpositive conjunction - that is, it never stands first in the clause, between the clauses, but must follow some part of the second one. This may be the subject, it may be the verb, or it may come at the end of the whole clause. It is seen when a noun has a qualifying adjective and one wishes to describe it further. |
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| Zarma |
English |
| Ay maa musu beeri jinde, ay mo zuru. |
I heard a lion's voice (roar) and I ran. |
| A na ni kar, ni hẽ mo. |
He struck you and you wept. |
| A kaa kwaara, a furo iri fuwa ra mo. |
He came to (the) town and he entered into our house. |
| Iri fuwo ga beeri, a ga boori mo. |
Our house is big and it's pretty. |
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