Although it may be Friday the 13th one can’t help to click their heels, sing their favorite show tune and count down the last remaining hours of a grueling work day. Yes! Even with a little superstition in the mix that feel good feeling is impossible to shake and thousands of American’s will probably thank God for this final day of the work week. Some will give praise while sipping their morning coffee, others once they know they survived another Friday and specifically that of the 13th. At this point you’re probably thinking the word of the day has something to do with superstitions, black magic, or voodoo dolls. That would be far too obvious and probably words you wouldn’t want to roll off your tongue in most countries. So I settled on the least obvious.
Today’s word is a Togolese word from Togo:
Koffi – Friday
The official language of Togo is actually French and to say this is a Togolese word might be slightly off the mark. Togo has a couple major native languages and I’m sorry to report I don’t know of which one this one falls under. Ewe and Mina are used in the south and Kabye and Dagomba are used in the north. Perhaps someone will inform me, maybe it will be my pal Koffi, who was born on a Friday. So, I cheated a little by using my friend’s name for the word of the day. Did you know ‘Koffi’ was a word for Friday somewhere in Togo?
There aren’t many resources for learning the native lingos online, but anyone with French speaking capabilities should maneuver their way around the country with ease. Global Crossroad has a 2 week language and culture program for volunteers preparing to start work in the area wishing to learn basic Ewe.