Bambara!

So one of the most fun things about my time here in Mali has been learning the local language, Bambara.  In many of my Anthropology classes, I had always been told that "language is a window into culture," and that "language is an essential part of a culture."  I had always sort of believed those things, but still felt that language was somehow also arbitrary, just a set of noises that could be easily exchanged with another set of noises.  However, I've realized just how much knowing Bambara has shaped my experience of Malian culture, how I have learned things that I never could have if I only spoke French.  I also realize how different two unrelated languages can be, and how there is much more to translation than simply replacing each word with its counterpart in another language.

Fun Words:
The words for sun and day are the same (Tile), as are the words for month and moon (Kalo), and year and rain (San).  So, if you say, "two years and three months ago," it is really the same things as saying "two rains and three moons ago."

One interesting thing about Bambara is how much bigger words are made out of smaller words.  For example, the word for bicycle (Nɛgɛso) is made out of the words for Iron (Nɛgɛ) and Horse (So), so it is essentialy Iron-Horse.  Other fun compound words include the words like:
    -Hypocrite (Jijukɔrɔsa) or Snake-Down-in-the-Water
    -A mentally ill person (Dajibɔ) or Mouth-Water-Comes-Out, ie, drooler
    -Bee (Diden) or Honey-Child
    -Fruit (Yiriden) or Tree-Child
    -Condom (Fukulannafama) or Very-Important-Hat

Sometimes what would be a phrase in English is just one world.  So, "store that sells farming implements" becomes "Farming-thing-selling-place" (Senekɛfenfeereyɔrɔ).

Other Fun Facts:
-Bambara is tonal (2 tones - a low tone and normal speaking)
-There are no conjugations or genders
-There are 4 extra letters: ɛ, which is a more open e; ɔ, which is a more open o; ɲ, which is like ny, as in annual; and ŋ, which is like ng, as in angular.
-It also can be written in the Arabic alphabet or in N'Ko, an alphabet inventing just for the Mande languages of West Africa.  Nevertheless, the latin alphabet is by far the most common.

A Window into Culture
One way that languages can be used as a window into a culture is by examining words that care commonly used in one language but do not translate easily into another.

Some words in Bambara that are not in English:
-Jija, roughly "to try one's best"
-Soli, "to wake up early in the morning"
-Sebe, a personality trait, which means serious, hard working and brave.  Perhaps Malians would have a harder time conceiving of someone who could be both lazy and brave, or serious and cowardly.

Some words in English that are not in Bambara:
-Favorite.  Malians are not used to choosing their favorite of something.
-Impress.  Maybe they dont talk about showing off as much as we do.
-Late.  Could explain why Malians are never, never on time.
-Colors.  Traditionally there is just "dark," "light," and "colored" in Bambara.  If you want to say something more specific, like Green, you could say "Healthy Grass-y," but this is uncommon.
-Normal.
-"I wish."  You could not easily say "I wish it wasn't hot here."  If you wanted to, you would have to say something roundabout like "If it was not hot here right now, that would be pleasing to me." Malians are not as wistful as we are.

Reconstructing the Past
Because two major cultures/languages have influenced Malian culture/language, it is possible to "date" the time period that a word, and thus a concept was introduced to Malians.  So, for example, because the words for god, religion, law and date palm are all similar in Arabic and Bambara, we can infer that there was no concept of a monotheistic god, of different religions, or  law before the Arabs showed up and brought Islam to Mali, around 1300 AD.  This is also probably when date palms were introduced to Mali.  Other concepts and technologies, like car, potato, and Christianity are similar to the French word, suggesting that these things were not introduced to Mali until around 1800 AD, when the French started colonizing Mali.

You have to be careful, though: some words that have their origin in other languages are just replacing native Bambara words.  For example, because the days of the week in Bambara resemble the days of the week in Arabic, I always assumed there were no weeks or days in traditional Malian culture.  That was, however, until I learned that there is a traditional six-day week, with many implications: some days are unlucky or lucky, some days require a baby to have a specific name if he is born on that day.  This traditional six-day week is rarely spoken about or used anymore.

So that's Bambara!

Learning a new, exotic language has definitely been one of the most rewarding and challenging parts of my experience here.

Tulonke

Malians love to laugh with each other.  However, the way that they joke and tease each other is very different from how we do in America.  They have a much more structured and formulaic way of teasing, and it is called “Tulonke.”  When Malians are “Tulonke-ing” (which can mean playing, joking, or teasing), they rely on a very specific system for who they joke with and what they joke about.  Although some of their jokes seem simple and predictable to Americans, Malians find them absolutely hilarious, every time.  I often find myself laughing like crazy along with them, catching it contagiously!

Joking Cousins - Sinunkun

            The most prominent form of Tulonke in Mali is called joking cousins.  This system relies on all of the many diverse ethnic groups and family names here in Mali.  In this system, people of a certain last name are “joking cousins” with people of other specific last names.  For example, cowherders tease blacksmiths, the fishermen tease people of the Dogon ethnicity.  In my case, my last name is Kone, and the joking cousins of the Kones are Dembeles and Traores.  So, whenever I meet people whose last name is Traore, I immediately tell them that their last name is bad and we will begin insulting each other.  I’ll tell them they eat beans (an insult here), and then they’ll tell me I’m lazy because I’m a Kone.  Then everyone will laugh and shake hands.  Other common insults are to tell someone they sleep in the latrine, and that eat donkeys or dogs.

Family Relationships

            There are also family relationships that have a joking relationship.  Grandparents and grandchildren joke with each other, as well as your older brother’s wife, or, conversely, your husband’s younger brothers.  The grandparent-grandchild relationship is surprising: grandparents with say that they are afraid of their grandchildren, and that the grandchild is trying to kill them.  The grandchild, on the other hand, will say that their grandparents are too old and need to hurry up and die and stop taking all the food!  This is something I would never, ever say to one of my grandparents, but Malians love it, and find it hilarious.  Nevertheless, grandchildren still respect their grandparents very much, and would only say something seemingly disrespectful or rude if it is within the formula of “Tulonke.”

Ugly Name – Togo Jugu

            This is not found all over Mali, but in my village people especially love the form of Tulonke called togo jugu or ugly name.  In this system, everyone has an ugly name, for example, mine is monkey-nose.  Some ugly names include rat-testicle, old woman’s mouth, red cucumber mouth, dog-thigh, demon-butt, or pig-stomach.  When you call people their ugly name, or make insinuations about it, everyone laughs.  But, if someone calls you by your ugly name, you must act indignant, and say “don’t ever call me that” and threaten to make them buy you tea or kola nuts.  And its always hilarious.