Bariba in Sonsoro

Since the upcoming end to the school year means I will have significantly more free time, I finally hired a Bariba tutor to teach me the local language. I discovered that one reason I have struggled to pick up Bariba on my own is that almost everything here is different from the Bariba I learned in Dangbo, where I was taught the “standard” Bariba spoken in Parakou and Nikki. There are so many differences between the two that it is as if I am being expected to speak Portuguese after having taken a semester of elementary Spanish.

Here are some examples:

Good morning: 'a kunando' in Sonsoro instead of 'a punando' elsewhere

Good afternoon: 'ka sonhon' instead of 'ka sonson'

How are you?: 'anna wahi?' instead of 'anna wasi?'

What's your name?: 'anna wen yisiru?' instead of 'amona wunen yisiru?'

My name is...: 'nen yiha...' instead of 'nen yisiru'

Morning: 'bude' instead of 'bururu'

How much?: 'yea?' instead of 'n'yewa?'

Market: 'yowo' instead of 'yoburu'

Work: 'soru' instead of 'soburu'

Father: 'tuno' instead of 'baa'

Teacher: 'metu' instead of 'metiri'

Foot: 'kona' instead of 'nasu'

5: 'no' instead of 'nobu'

10*: 'wogu' instead of 'wokuru'

16: 'woganogatia' instead of 'wokuranobatia'

18 (age): 'yendu yiru seri' instead of 'wokuranobaita'

(*Nearly every single number after 10 is different in Sonsoro from standard Bariba.)

As you can see, many of the differences are small, but since so many words are different, especially key words, the effect is that nearly everything I try to say is just a little bit wrong.

Ultimately, Bariba is an intensely localized language. Each village puts its own twist on the language, and even nearby villages do not quite speak the same Bariba we speak in Sonsoro. The “true” Bariba, or standard Bariba, is the Bariba spoken in Parakou (the largest Bariba city) or Nikki (considered the heart of the Bariba region). There have been some efforts to codify Bariba in books and dictionaries and to spread standard Bariba to villages like Sonsoro. During the dry season, a Swiss NGO sponsors language classes in Sonsoro to teach the villagers how to speak and read/write French and how to read and write standard Bariba.

In closing, I would like to impress upon you the challenge that lies ahead of me by showing you how to say 999 in Bariba:

wonoosunobainegawenegawoguganogaine.

Now say that three times real fast!