To get by in Bariba territory, you really only need to know two words: 'oo' (yes) and 'alafia' (well).
[Quick notes:
Pronunciation: 'oo' is /oh/ and 'alafia' is /uh-LAW-fee-uh)
I replaced all special characters and accents with their closest English equivalents.]
For any greeting that starts with 'ka', you can respond with 'oo':
"Ka sonhon" (Good afternoon)
- Response: "Oo"
"Ka yoka" (Good evening)
- Response: "Oo"
"Ka weru" (Happy arrival - used when a person is coming towards you)
- Response: "Oo"
"Bee ka sonhon" / "Bee ka yoka" / "Bee ka weru" (the above greetings when addressing multiple people)
- Response: "Oo"
'Good morning' is the only main greeting that doesn't use 'ka'. Instead, it is asked as a question and the answer is 'alafia' (well):
"A kpunan do?" (How did you wake up?)
- Response: "Alafia"
"I kpunan do?" (like above but asked to multiple people)
- Response: "Alafia"
After the greeting often comes a series of questions in the form 'How is your...?' The response is always 'alafia':
"Anna wasi?" (How is your health?)
- Response: "Alafia"
"Anna yenu?" (How is your family?)
- Response: "Alafia"
"Anna wunen duro?" (How is your husband?)
- Response: "Alafia"
"Anna bii?" (How is your child?)
- Response: "Alafia"
"Anna soburu?" (How is your work?)
- Response: "Alafia"
I used to systematically respond "alafia" every time I heard a phrase that started with 'anna', but then I figured out that sometimes the phrase actually began with 'a na', meaning 'come'. For instance, I am often invited to "come eat": "A na di." So listen carefully!
There you go! With just two words, 'oo' and 'alafia', you can answer a Bariba's greeting and charm him with your local language skills. Good luck!
[Quick notes:
Pronunciation: 'oo' is /oh/ and 'alafia' is /uh-LAW-fee-uh)
I replaced all special characters and accents with their closest English equivalents.]
For any greeting that starts with 'ka', you can respond with 'oo':
"Ka sonhon" (Good afternoon)
- Response: "Oo"
"Ka yoka" (Good evening)
- Response: "Oo"
"Ka weru" (Happy arrival - used when a person is coming towards you)
- Response: "Oo"
"Bee ka sonhon" / "Bee ka yoka" / "Bee ka weru" (the above greetings when addressing multiple people)
- Response: "Oo"
'Good morning' is the only main greeting that doesn't use 'ka'. Instead, it is asked as a question and the answer is 'alafia' (well):
"A kpunan do?" (How did you wake up?)
- Response: "Alafia"
"I kpunan do?" (like above but asked to multiple people)
- Response: "Alafia"
After the greeting often comes a series of questions in the form 'How is your...?' The response is always 'alafia':
"Anna wasi?" (How is your health?)
- Response: "Alafia"
"Anna yenu?" (How is your family?)
- Response: "Alafia"
"Anna wunen duro?" (How is your husband?)
- Response: "Alafia"
"Anna bii?" (How is your child?)
- Response: "Alafia"
"Anna soburu?" (How is your work?)
- Response: "Alafia"
I used to systematically respond "alafia" every time I heard a phrase that started with 'anna', but then I figured out that sometimes the phrase actually began with 'a na', meaning 'come'. For instance, I am often invited to "come eat": "A na di." So listen carefully!
There you go! With just two words, 'oo' and 'alafia', you can answer a Bariba's greeting and charm him with your local language skills. Good luck!
I can see that knowing only two words it's possible to get in some difficulty.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, they allow for ones lack of facility with the language, although I can see how they could deliberately make you look silly if they chose. If they ask you how your family is, knowing that you were gone because of your father, do you know enough of the language to tell them? 'Alafia' is not appropriate in this case.
Jean Ralley
I asked for how do baribas greet good morning and you gave me it dosen,t use ka chy I pity for you
DeleteNews got around village about why I was gone for so long. Many villagers have asked me how my father is doing. I have learned that "alafia" is apparently the right response. My colleagues explained to me that in Benin, you are always supposed to say that the person is doing better, even if it's not true. Even in French, when someone asks me how my father is doing, I am supposed to say that he is doing better.
ReplyDeleteAlex
Interesting. That was true here, as well, at one time, but I don't think it's as true anymore. Maybe, it was the easy, quick response. Now you might hear more details than you'd like. :)
ReplyDeleteJean Ralley
You are not serious 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔
DeleteWhat surprised me is that even one of my closest friends in village expected me to give the "He's doing better" response. I can see giving a quick answer to a stranger, but I would think that a close friend would actually care enough to want a genuine response. Even a neutral response, such as "He's doing ok", would make more sense to me than a response that just plain isn't true.
ReplyDeleteGreat notes here for a beginner. Quite helpful. I'm a native speaker of Batonou though, the Nigerian version .i was searching for something for friend who's interested in Bariba and your blog post comes handy for a beginner
ReplyDeletethanks greatly