Word for the Travel Wise (11/13/06)

Every time I hear Amel Larrieux sing how she’s got to get to Congo I somehow fix myself to thinking I need to get there too and the Congo is really a place I’m in no rush to see. Still, I don’t mind picking up a few words should I manage to find myself there one day. As mentioned before I’m limited to good language sources for this particular tongue, so I’m reaching back into the English to Tshiluba quiz found at the Internet TESL Journal. Try this one and then sample Amel Larrieux’s music for yourself.

Today’s word is a Tshiluba word used in the Democratic Republic of the Congo:

kulela – colors


Tshiluba is a Narrow Bantu also known as Luba-Kasai and Luba-Lulua. It is an official lang of the DRC in addition to French. Approximately 6,300,000 people speak the lingo and additional web resources are scarce. Feel free to leave a comment with any extra resources that could help others learn a bit more than what I’ve noted. You can continue learning the words for your own favorite colors by taking this English-Tshiluba quiz online. Chances are you’ll get all of them wrong, unless you’re an extremely talented guesser. After enough trial and error you’ll eventually be able to ramble off all the colors of the rainbow and have no one to tell them to, except in the Congo.

Past Tshiluba words: manimani, kalabi

Word for the Travel Wise (05/20/06)

For animal lovers, especially those who love watching monkey’s and aren’t intimidated by feces being flung their way, a trip to the area of Bossou in Guinea is a must. This is said to be one of the best places in West Africa to spot chimpanzees. According to Lonely Planet’s guide book information online, the guides in the Bossou area see the chimps on a day-to-day basis which almost guarantees a first hand encounter of your very own. But even if you never saw a chimpanzee, the hike alone is supposed to be quite scenic and simply amazing.

Today’s phrase is a Pular Fuuta phrase spoken in Guinea:

Enee, Porto! A majju! – Hey, white boy, you lost?

When I came across this online manual for learning the language of Fuuta Jallon which we know most of which as Guinea, the first phrase in the travel section was the one listed above. That being said, something tells me it may just come in handy when wandering around with your map all up in the air on your chimpanzee hunt.

French is the official language of Guinea so anyone with even a little French under their belt should be able to make it around fine, but there are several ethnic dialects still used in the country, with the Pular Fuuta being one of the more popular. This Mido Waawi Pular guide was developed to help Peace Corp volunteers learning with an instructor, but can be a great tool for anyone seriously wanting to learn. In Adobe format and 128 pages, it is probably one of the best resources you’ll be able to use from the web. Scope out the Wiki on Fula in addition to the guide above, however the family breakdown of the language may be slightly difficult to follow.

Word for the Travel Wise (04/04/06)

Every time I discover a means to
learning a language many of us probably never heard of and may never use I still feel as if we’ve gotten one step
closer to being better communicators with the planet as a whole. Instead of just conversing with the town folk in lil’
Podunk, Alabama imagine being swept away to lands further east with a knowledge of this Niger-Congo lang years before
arriving. I find dreams like getting out of Podunk to go to Africa lands quite enchanting. For one I’ve never been to
either of the two, but making it a reality would be far cooler.

Today’s phrase is a Mende phrase used in Sierra Leone:

Nya sinjii
ve
– Give me my change

So what if Sierra Leone
isn’t hot on the tourist maps?
By the time things finally simmer down for good in all parts of the land you’ll be one of the few rambling off in
Mende. With this phrase you’ll even be one of the smarter few making sure you’re getting your change instead of getting
ripped off. I am sure you can say this one a number of ways to be either demanding or polite. In most cases always
request your change in a polite tone. The knowledge you hold will be perplexing enough.

Mende is going to
be yet another toughie to learn online. For now I suggest going through this Mende Phrasebook published by the Bumumbu Press during
colonial times to help Mende speakers learn English. In turn it can help you learn Mende in modern times.