• Lessons
  • Introduction
  • Lesson 1-5
    • Lesson 1
    • Lesson 2
    • Lesson 3
    • Lesson 4
    • Lesson 5
  • Lesson 6-10
    • Lesson 6
    • Lesson 7
    • Lesson 8
    • Lesson 9
    • Lesson 10
  • Lesson 11-15
    • Lesson 11
    • Lesson 12
    • Lesson 13
    • Lesson 14 (NA)
    • Lesson 15 (NA)
  • Lesson 16-20 (NA)
    • Lesson 16
    • Lesson 17
• Exercises
  • Introduction
  • Lesson 1-5
    • Lesson 1
    • Lesson 2
    • Lesson 3
    • Lesson 4
    • Lesson 5
  • Lesson 6-10
    • Lesson 6
    • Lesson 7
    • Lesson 8
    • Lesson 9
    • Lesson 10
  • Lesson 11-15
    • Lesson 11
    • Lesson 12
    • Lesson 13
    • Lesson 14 (NA)
    • Lesson 15 (NA)
  • Lesson 16-20 (NA)
    • Lesson 16
    • Lesson 17
• Answers
  • Introduction
  • Lesson 1-5
    • Lesson 1
    • Lesson 2
    • Lesson 3
    • Lesson 4
    • Lesson 5
  • Lesson 6-10
    • Lesson 6
    • Lesson 7
    • Lesson 8
    • Lesson 9
    • Lesson 10
  • Lesson 11-15
    • Lesson 11
    • Lesson 12
    • Lesson 13
    • Lesson 14 (NA)
    • Lesson 15 (NA)
  • Lesson 16-20 (NA)
    • Lesson 16
    • Lesson 17
• I-training
  • Introduction
  • Lesson 1
  • Lesson 2
  • Lesson 3

Content

1. Intro
2. Vocabulary
3. Practical idiomatic winks
4. Grammar
5. Exercises (workbook, lesson 11)
6. Answers (answer book, lesson 11)

11.A. Intro

Ŋwaari ceeciyaŋ

Due to an extended drought period in combination with devastation of crops by locust swarms in 2004 a serious food shortages has occurred in several parts of Niger in 2005 (see for example the UNICEF website). In the summer of 2005 a Dutch camera team of 'Twee vandaag' visited Niger and interviewed also a Zarma speaking woman. The report broadcasted, containing this and other interviews, is available here. I'm most grateful for their permission to use parts of this report.

Listen to the three text fragments and try to write down what is said. Use the dictionary to check for spelling. Some hints are:

• the woman speaks a dialect that uses an 'h' instead of an 'f' in some words;
• the particle 'ma' is indicating often the narrative mood (Lesson 22), and not the subjunctive or imperative mood;
• be aware of merging of words.

Copyrights pictures and recordings Twee Vandaag, the Netherlands.

Full texts of these parts of the interview in Zarma and English are available here . 

11.B. Vocabulary

Learn these words by heart.

11.C. Practical idiomatic winks

This new item discusses idiom used regularly by Zarma and which could help you to make a conversation more natural as well. It also illustrates the use of word introduced in earlier lessons.

Ba (Lesson 5 and 8: even; to like)

Cindi (Lesson 6: remainder; to remain)

Gay (Lesson 8: to stay a long time)

11.D. Grammar

Subjects in this lesson:

1. The verb 'to have' (review)
2. The imperative mood
   • Introduction
   • Positive imperative mood
   • Negative imperative mood
3. Variations in personal pronouns 'ay' and 'ni'
4. Nouns formed with the suffix 'koy', 'kom', and 'kooni'
5. Nouns formed by adding the suffix 'ko' to verbs

11.D.1. The verb 'to have' (review)

The Zarma verb 'to have' has two forms, a positive and a negative form:

• positive: gonda ( 'go' plus 'nda')
• negative: sinda ( 'si' plus 'nda').

There are no auxiliaries for different tenses.

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11.D.2. The imperative mood

Introduction

The imperative mood is the verbal mood that expresses a command or request. It may be used with the second and third person in the singular and with all three persons in the plural. In the beginning you might be greatly inconvenienced or feel irritated because you do not know how to formulate a polite request in Zarma, and especially looking for a way to say 'please', the word that may do miracles in English. And that is certainly the case when you hit it off well and will use on some occasions the phrasing: 'Bring me water' or 'Give me the dish' without adding 'please'.

The use of the imperative of Zarma is simple. It is sufficient to use just the verb.

The problem is that 'please' does not exits in Zarma because it is not necessary, for the Zarma society is much more traditional and structured. That what might seem impolite in English is not the case among the Zarma, because they consider it as the proper form.

It is entire normal behaviour to use the imperative when requesting something of someone one knows well, as well as of someone one meets for the first time. Nevertheless, in certain circumstances, it might be necessarily to use a polite formulation. There exists a sentence structure for such occasions. This is the case when one requests a service of a mayor, a governor or an honourable El-Hajji. When addressing to someone respectable because of rank, social position or age one may used the particle 'ma'.

So, the particle 'ma', we have seen in the previous lesson, is also the sign of the imperative mood. It should be stressed again that in most cases the polite formulation of a request is absent and the Zarma use most frequently the standard formulation without 'ma' amongst each other. 

A positive and negative imperative mood are distinguish and discussed below. Also the additional use of 'ma' will be explained.

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Positive imperative mood

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Negative imperative mood

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11.D.3. Variations in personal pronouns 'ay' and 'ni'

One of the difficulties one stumbles across in learning Zarma arises from the way the native Zarma speakers enjoy joining and contracting words at the level of pronouns and conjunctions, which are already very short. This is similar to what we have seen in earlier lesson regarding joining auxiliaries and pronouns (e.g. Lesson 3.D.2) and nouns and demonstrative adjectives (e.g. Lesson 7.D.3).

Personal pronouns, especially 'ay' and 'ni', may be used either together or either one combined with another pronouns; see below.

     Note: In Zarma, the person speaking always refers to himself first.

There is a variation of 'ay' and 'ni' in the following instances:

• appositives
• compound sentences
• special cases of changes of 'ni' to 'nin'

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Appositives

An appositive is a short noun phrase, usually set off from the rest of the sentence by commas, which describes or explains some noun in the sentence. 

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Compound sentences

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Special cases of changes of 'ni' to 'nin'

1. In direct address

2. When the pronoun is a direct object after a verb

But not when the pronoun is a possessive adjective, then you just use 'ni'.

3. When it ends a sentence

^# note the use of 'ngey'

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11.D.4. Nouns formed with the suffix 'koy', 'kom', and 'kooni'

The suffix 'koy' is added to certain nouns to show ownership, possession or chieftainship. The definite and plural endings go on the 'koy' and not on the noun to which 'koy' is added. Sometimes you will see the noun and the suffix written apart.

The (original) noun may be followed by an adjective before the 'koy'. The noun, adjective and suffix should be written separately to avoid too long words.

The suffixes 'kom' and 'kooni' have more or less a similar significance as 'koy' and may be found rather than 'koy'. Sometimes 'kom' and 'kooni' are interchangeable, sometimes not. One will just have to learn from experience which are actually used.

      ^# term between [ ] is less frequently used

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11.D.5. Nouns formed by adding the suffix 'ko' to verbs

The suffix 'ko' is added to certain verbs to show the person or agent performing the action of the verb. The definite ending is 'kwa'. Not everyone uses this form consistently. The final syllable may be shortened to 'ka', e.g. hantumka in stead of the formal hantumkwa (the writer). The regular plural of this form is 'koy'. You will sometimes see it written as 'key', but hardly ever pronounced so.

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