Mr. FanMan

Some of the most pleasant snacks on a hot day in Benin come from the FanMilk product line, which is composed of ice cream and frozen treats. FanMilk carts are pushed or pedaled around town, accompanied by the blow of a handheld horn so that passerbys know what's coming. Peace Corps Volunteers have a nickname for the man who pushes the cart: the FanMan.

The name FanMan reminded me of the '50s song "Mr. Sandman" performed by the Chordettes, so I retooled the lyrics from the song to make it a plea to the FanMan instead. So without further ado...


Mr. FanMan
To the tune of "Mr. Sandman" by the Chordettes

Mr. FanMan, bring me ice cream.
Make it the sweetest that I've ever seen.
Give me choco, just like Russell Stover.
Please tell me that my hungry days are over.

FanMan, I want Coldstone.
What I would give for a waffle cone!
Out here there is no Dairy Queen.
Mr. FanMan, bring me ice cream.

Mr. FanMan, bring me ice cream.
Make it the sweetest that I've ever seen.
Please come to me whenever you rover.
Just tell me that my hungry days are over.

FanMan, I want Coldstone.
What I would give for a waffle cone!
Out here there is no Dairy Queen.
Mr. FanMan, bring me ice cream.

Mr. FanMan, bring us ice cream.
Give me some Fan Yogo, to make true my dream.
And you can warm my heart with some Fan Vanille.
Blend that with mangoes and let's drink a smoothie.

Mr. FanMan, something real cold
Would be so peachy when it's so chaud.
So please turn on your magic beam.
Mr. FanMan, bring us, please, please, please,
Mr. FanMan, bring us ice cream.

Notes:
Fan Choco, Fan Yogo, and Fan Vanille are names of flavors.
The last syllable of 'Vanille' is more or less pronounced like -ee.
'Chaud' rhymes with 'so' and means hot. Peace Corps Volunteers tend to use the French word even when speaking English to each other.


For those of you who don't remember/know the original song, here it is on YouTube:

And finally, some photos of the FanMan and his products:

A volunteer buying a product from the FanMan

Some FanMilk products - rip off a corner with your teeth and enjoy!

How to Speak Beninese French - Part III

Now that we have mastered the grammar of Beninese French and seen some of its vocabulary nuances, it is time to add the twists and turns of language that make Beninese French so distinctly Beninese.

Here are some tricks for transforming standard French into something that is truly Beninese:

Greetings are essential and can be elaborate.
In France: Bonjour. (Hello.)
In Benin: Bonjour. Comment ca va? Et la fatigue d'hier? Et ton mari? Et ton enfant? (Hello. How are you? How is your fatigue from yesterday? How is your husband? How is your child?)
*Note: Some greetings are specific to Benin, such as bonne arrivee (happy arrival). Also, the Beninese switch from bonjour (good morning) to bonsoir (good evening) at noon, whereas the French switch at sunset.

Add extra precision to any statement.
In France: Ta jupe est jolie. (Your skirt is pretty.)
In Benin: La jupe que tu portes la, c'est bien jolie. (The skirt that you're wearing there, it's very pretty.)


Constantly check for comprehension.
In France: Hier je suis allee voir mon pere. (Yesterday I went to see my father.)
In Benin:  Tu vois mon papa, non? Hein? Tu vois qui c'est, non? Ou bien? Hein? Hier la, d'accord, ce que j'ai fait hier la, c'est que je suis allee voir mon papa. Hein? Tu as compris, non? Ou bien? Hier la, je suis allee voir mon papa. C'est ca, hein. (You know who my dad is, don't you? Right? You know who he is, don't you? Or do you? Ok? So yesterday then, ok, what I did yesterday then, it's that I went to see my dad. Ok? You understand, right? Or do you? Yesterday then, I went to see my dad. That's what I did, ok.


Add "la" ("there") wherever necessary to help your listener follow.
In France: J'aime ta chemise. (I like your shirt.)
In Benin: Ta chemise la, ce que tu portes la, j'aime ca trop. (Your shirt there, the one you're wearing there, I love that too much.)

The Beninese are direct. French notions of politeness are unnecessary, meaning there is no need to use the conditional tense, to phrase a request as a question, to use the polite form of you (vous), or to say please.
In France: Pourriez-vous me preter ton stylo, s'il vous plait. (Could you please lend me your pen?)
In Benin: Donne-moi ton bic. (Give me your pen.)


However, to soften the abruptness of a demand, you can add "ou bien".
In Benin: Tu vas me chercher de l'eau. Ou bien? (You're going to go get me water. Or will you)

Another tip: as you speak, roll your r's instead of doing the throaty 'r' you hear in France.

Now, to put it all together, here's an example of how to tell a student to share a lesson we learned in class with his parents.

Tu vas faire quelque chose, d'accord? Ce que tu vas faire, la, tu vas faire ca a la maison. D'accord? Tu as compris? Quand tu vas quitter ici, tu vas a la maison, non? Ou bien? Quand tu vas a la maison, c'est la que tu vas aller faire la chose. D'accord? Ce que tu vas faire, la, tu vas chercher ton papa. D'accord? Et tu vas chercher maman aussi. D'accord? Donc tu vas chercher les deux parents. Tu es bien d'accord? Tu as compris, non? Ou bien? Ah hun. Donc quand tu as papa devant toi et tu as maman devant toi, tu vas leur dire quelque chose. D'accord? Et c'est quoi tu vas leur dire? Ce que tu vas leur dire, la, c'est que a partir de ce soir, ils vont dormir sous moustiquaire. Tu es bien d'accord? Tu as compris? Ou bien tu n'as pas compris? Ce que tu vas leur dire, la, c'est que ce soir la, et demain soir la, et tous les soirs, tes parents la, eux, tes parents la, eux ils vont toujours dormir sous moustiquaire. C'est ca, non? Ils vont toujours dormir sous moustiquaire. C'est bon, non? Tu es d'accord, non? Tu vas le faire, non? Ah hun. C'est bon. C'est bon comme ca.

(You're going to do something, ok? What you're going to do, there, you are going to do that at home. Ok? You understood? When you are going to leave here, you are going home, aren't you? Aren't you? When you go home, that's where you're going to go do the thing. Ok? What you're going to do, there, you are going to find your dad. Ok? And you are going to find your mom, too. Ok? So you are going to find both parents. Do you agree with that? You understood, didn't you? Don't you? Good. So when you have dad in front of you and you have mom in front of you, you are going to tell them something. Ok? And it's what that you are going to tell them? What you are going to tell them, there, it's that as of tonight, they are going to sleep under mosquito net. You agree with that? You understood? Or you didn't understand? What you're going to tell them, there, is that tonight, there, and tomorrow night, there, and every night, your parents, there, them, your parents, there, them, they're always going to sleep under mosquito net. That's it, isn't it? They're always going to sleep under mosquito net. That's good, isn't it? You agree, don't you? You'll do it, won't you? Good. That's good. It's good like that.

Et voila! There you have it, the three part course to speaking Beninese French. Du courage!

How to Speak Beninese French - Part II

In the last post, I explained how grammar rules differ between Beninese French and the French of France. In this post, I'd like to share how (local) Beninese French uses specific phrasing and vocabulary that is a direct translation of Bariba, hence why it does not align with the French you would hear in France.

Here are some examples:

In France: Il a plu hier. (It rained yesterday.)
In Benin: La pluie est venue hier. (The rain came yesterday. [From Bariba's "Gura ka na", literally, "rain it came".])

In France: Je suis tombe en panne. (I had a breakdown.)
In Benin: J'ai connu une panne sur la voie. OR J'ai trouve une panne sur la voie. (I encountered a [my own] breakdown on the way.)

In France: Je ne veux pas beaucoup. (I don't want very much.)
In Benin: Je veux un peu un peu seulement. (I want a little a little only.)

In France: Je sens l'odeur. (I smell the smell.)
In Benin: J'entends l'odeur. (I hear the smell.)

In France: Je suis a Kandi maintenant. (I am in Kandi now.)
In Benin: Je suis a Kandi d'abord. (I am in Kandi first [meaning now].)

How to Speak Beninese French - Part I (Grammar)

I came to Benin last year as a fluent French speaker, and over the past year, I have become fluent in a new language: Beninese French. Admittedly, linguists would surely classify it as a different dialect, not language, but this dialect of French comes with its own vocabulary, grammatical structures, and rules. More specifically, I should say that I speak the French of northern Benin, which is highly influenced by our local language, Bariba.

Here is a basic primer on Beninese French grammar:

Gender is flexible.
In France: Sara a dit qu'elle va bien. (Sara said she is doing well.)
In Benin: Sara a dit qu'il va bien. (Sara said that he [Sara] is doing well.)

Articles are optional.
In France: Je vais porter une chemise et une jupe. (I'm going to wear a shirt and a skirt.)
In Benin: Je vais porter chemise avec jupe. (I'm going to wear shirt with skirt.)


When ordering something, the quantity is indicated at the end.
In France: Je voudrais 2 bananes et 4 goyaves. (I would like 2 bananas and 4 guavas.
In Benin: Je vais prendre bananes 2 et goyaves 4. (I'll take bananas 2 and guavas 4.)

Some subjects can be replaced with objects.
In France: Il va venir demain. (He is going to come tomorrow.)
In Benin: Lui va venir demain. (Him is going to come tomorrow.)

Subjunctive is rarely (or never?) used.
In France: Il est important qu'il vienne a midi. (It's important that he come at noon.)
In Benin: Il est important qu'il va venir a midi. (It's important that he is going to come at noon.)

Mistakes don't matter! Benin is infinitely easier than France for the non-native French speaker because everyone makes mistakes and no one cares.

Photos: Snot Sauce

Last week, I wrote about okra sauce, whose non-tomato version is known as "snot sauce" amongst volunteers. This week, I took some photos of a friend's okra sauce so that you could see what the basic okra sauce looks like and in doing so, understand how it got its nickname.

The traditional, basic okra sauce

Here, my friend made her okra sauce more sophisticated by adding pureed basil leaves, hence the extra green color.

Recipe: Okra Sauce

 Okra abounds this time of year, including in my own backyard, so I invited a friend over a few weeks ago to teach me how to make okra sauce. Standard okra sauce has a distinctly mucous-like texture and color, which is why it is known amongst Peace Corps Volunteers as "snot sauce", but my friend and I made the more delicious and non-snotty version that calls for tomato paste.

So how do you make non-snotty okra sauce? First, wash your okra and slice them into thin slices.

Next, heat up some palm oil and mix in a can of tomato paste.

Next, add the "sauce ingredients" and salt. Anything that doesn't come in powdered form needs to be pureed in advance.

Top left: hot pepper powder. Top right: garlic. Bottom left: pepper. Bottom right: a mysterious ingredient specific to this region. Not pictured: salt.

Also stir in this ingredient, which the Beninese call "mustard". It in no way resembles the mustard of the Western world, but it adds a unique flavor to the sauce.

Next, toss in your okra and some water. To speed up cooking time, add some potasse, which will make the okra cook faster.

Potasse to reduce cooking time and save on charcoal.

The sauce is almost ready.

When the okra is cooked, it is time to eat. Here in Sonsoro, we eat okra sauce with akassa or pate.

Time to eat! We enjoyed our sauce with some akassa made by my friend's wife.

Bon appetit!