Learnt how to say "Yes" (& no) in 23 African languages

By -
I was inspired to do this through a conversation with my Senegalese buddy +Oumoul Khaïry Sow while watching a music video by "yeah you guessed it" by +Viviane Chidid called Fans Yi. :-) Yes, that means "My Fans". Talking about Yes, Viviane also has a music video called Waaw. Which means "Yes" in Wolof, which is (yes) a Senegalese language. Waw! With some help from my African friends, we have a list of 23 to work with. Choose your pick and say Waaw like a Champion wrestler from Senegal!
  1. Akan: Aane & Daabi. 2 many syllables for what should be an easy word. Not the stress on the double vowel. Yes is Yes and No is No :-) Bonus in Fante - Inyɔ & Anha :-)
  2. Ga: ɛɛɛ & Daabi. Akan Twi and Ga are bedfellows when it comes to language. We know how Ga and Twi have similar words. So I should have seen this coming. Thanks to +Seyram Freddy Ahiabor for 'reminding' me. 
  3. Ewe: Yoo & Aawo / Megbe. +Doris Anson-Yevu who is a part of the +kasahorow team and also works on +Nyaseto taught me this one. I'm gonna be in Ho this weekend for +Barcamp Ho so.... :-)
  4. Dagbani: Ayi & Ayi. "I" has the same pronunciation in Dagbani as in English? Ayi. It's like "In" but you won't pronounce it fully. I, +Jemila Abdulai taught me this one. 
  5. Hausa: Tɔ & Aah-ah. NLike Aah-ah with a 'no' nodding sign for emphasis o! Cos it could look like yes. Na gode +Ali Bukari Maiga.
  6. Swahili: Ndio & Hapana. Learnt this quite early, one of the first and easiest things to learn in Kiswahili. Hapana is kinda long though. 
  7. Siswati: Yebo! Here's the kicker, there is no no in Siswati. Am cool with that. If you're not, ask +Phelele Fakudze. 
  8. Zulu: Yebo & Ca. I learnt the 'no' from a fellow Global Shaper +Thulani Fakude. I've known Yebo for a long time. It's one of my favorite ways to say Yes.
  9. Setswana: Ee & Nnyaa. +Manteba S'rurubele aka Ms Tebby added more - Often as a sign of respect when you speak to an elder, this is followed by mma for a lady or rra for a man. I remember these latter ones from No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.
  10. Yoruba: Beeni & Beeko. I learnt this from my friend Mimi as well. 2 many syllables. Can't we say Ni & Ko for short? +Olasupo Johnson +Olayemi Oyebode?
  11. Igbo: Ee & Mba. Sounds like "aye" right? +Chioma Ileagu taught me this. She might be hearing some bride saying that this weekend. She could also say "Eye (aayay)". She better not say 'mba'. 
  12. Luganda: Ye & Neda. Very simple ways for the affirmative and the opposite of it. I kindly like "Neda", I'd use it in English. Or is the Luglish? @ +Terry Karungi ?
  13. Kinyarwanda: Yego & Oya. Okay, Oya is a rather strange word for no, no? Yego! Thanks to +Matilda Mutanguha who taught me this one. 
  14. Amharic: Awo & Ayedelm. I learnt this recently from +beza tesfaye too. It seems the Amhara  
  15. Bambara: Aawo & Aayi. I learnt this from my fellow Global Shaper, Aminata, who's also based in Bamako. Those Global Shapers say yes to more positive things and no to many negative things. 
  16. Bemba: Ee-ee & Awe. As in Ee-ee (ever sounding like) & Awe (ah-wee). You can be even more polite and say ee-mukwayi. Thanks to +Mwana Ba Afrika for teaching me this.
  17. Nyanja : Ee-ee & Awe. Thanks to Mwana, my Stanford buddy who taught me this too.
  18. Xhosa: Ewe & Hayi. Learnt this from my South African buddy who doesn't really do social media. So what do you want her name for? :-)
  19. Ewondo: Owe & Tage. Pronunciations are Oway & Tageu. Learnt this courtesy of my MIT friend +Julie Laure Maison & +Fawah Akwo too. Ewondo is a language & a dialect from Cameroun. Fawah even shared a spreadsheet with me that has other things in Camerounian languages! Sweet!
  20. Etoh: Owe & Ayaha. Still in Mboa aka Cameroun aka Cameroon. +cedric Atangana who I know from being at Google taught me this. He knows Ewondo too.
  21. Ndebele: Yebo & Hayi/ Hachi / Qha. Very similar to Zulu. Next time, I wanna be born in South Africa, or near Zimbabwe. Thanks to +Sipho Ngwenya for teaching me this one.
  22. Sesotho: Ee & Tjhee. Sipho taught me this too. 
  23. Wolof: Waaw & dėt / dédét. Oumoul taught me this but it turns out I could have learnt this in my MIghTy days while this Rambax drummer, Lamine Toure, kept on saying Waw and Waaa waw! 
This follows the "Thank You", "Let's Go, "Money", and "I Love You" posts in this series. Also learn how to say How are You and I'm Fine. Share how to say "Yes & No" in other African languages via the comments. I could have said a few more in other languages, but we had to stop at 23. I don't need to tell you why. And if you think it's because Michael Jordan wore the jersey number 23, you lose your way for the wholewideworld inside. Michael Jordan is money too, right? $$$$.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Official Pick-up lines to try out for fun

By -
A friend and I were discussing pick up lines the other day and if they do work, etc. They've been a few that I've wanted to use but I haven't mustered enough courage to try them. I'm still collecting my thoughts for that blog entry on women too. Earlier today, I realised my cousin had tagged me in some note full of pick-up lines and that list was hilarious. I have now run out of excuses to try some pick-up lines. After all, what do I have to lose? Don't I want to actually see what will happen? Won't I have some juicy stories to tell? I would, that's why I will be picking out of these pick-up lines next time I am inna di club or some other appropriate or unappropriate location. So here goes - I can't find my puppy, can you help me find him? I think he went into this cheap motel room. Let's do breakfast tomorrow. Should I call you or nudge you? Yo Baby, you be my Dairy Queen, I'll be your Burger King, you treat me right, and I'll do it yo
Read more

Learnt how to say "Thank You" in 23 African languages

By -
Today, I learnt how to say "Thank You" in yet another African language. So let me take a stab at seeing if I can say "Merci" in 23 African languages. And let's share some small attendant info. :-) Akan: Medaase . What you thought I wouldn't add my mother tongue? Some folks can't say what "thank you" is in their lingua francas. Such a fracas. Don't belittle this at all at all. Ga: Oyiwaladonn . I don't remember when I learnt this but I do know I learnt to say "Nnuu Ga" (I can't speak Ga) during the time I came to Accra to represent KNUST JSS in Kiddie Quiz and me and my Kumasi-living mates were testing our Ga knowledge. Ewe: Akpe . I love saying "Akpe kakaa" and I am not sure why. Dagbani: Ti pagi da . Yeap, Jemila Abdulai taught me this one. Thrice. You can also say Mpagya . Hausa: Na gode . I should have known this a long time ago but thanks to Manre Chirtau, I will not forget this one. Ever. Alafia lo! S
Read more

Learnt how to say "What is your name" & "My name is" in 23 African languages

By -
Depending on which country I am in and who I am speaking to, I can have 1 out of about 7 names. You probably know my real one, but you do know my Ugandan , Kenyan , Nigerian , Ethiopian , Tanzanian and South African ones? Or my real other name which I use to call myself when I meet some lucky lady I feel like saying it to? Just in case, you happen to be in certain place or country and you feel you have to pull one of these out, let's learn how to say " What is your name " and " My name is " in 23 African languages. :-) Thanks to my friends who helped me pull this list together recently as I had missed writing blog posts such as these. Akan: Wo din de s ɛ n?   Me din de .. Yeah, name in Twi is "din". It might be more popular to hear people say  Y ɛ fr ɛ  wo s ɛ n? &  Y ɛ fr ɛ me ... which directly translates to "What do we call you? & We call me...  Ga: Te ats ɛ ɔ  kbo t ɛ ŋ ŋ ? Ats ɛ ɔ  mi..  I learnt this once but I don't rem
Read more