Language is always an amusing source for a story or two, and though I’ve already alluded to it in a previous blog, I thought I’d test your patience with a bit of an update that none of you have asked for. It seems pertinent to do this today as I’ve just found out the language I’ve been being taught, by someone who doesn’t speak it herself is, in fact, not the one used in Okahao at all. Brace yourselves, this may get a bit confusing.
The catch-all language is called Oshiwambo which is a Bantu language (i.e. Southern African tribal language). Within this are I think about 7 to 10 dialects all subtly different enough to cause major confusion at, say, a multi-tribal tea party. I’ve been learning Oshindonga from my Rehab Worker who actually speaks Oshikwanjarme. But I found out today that I actually should be speaking Oshikandjera.
To try and explain this on terms you may understand, a simple analogy may be that of living in Liverpool, being taught Cockney by a Geordie. Got it?
Fortunately I’m an Oshilumbu (stupid white person – oddly the same word in whatever dialect you say) which means that people are awfully nice and smile and nod and pretend to understand what it is I’m trying to say. Either that or people speak Afrikaans presuming I’m a White Namibian. Think being an Oshilumbu is probably the better option.
Other than that slight technical hiccup it seems to be going moderately well on the old language front. I can count to a hundred, say the days of the week, quite a few body parts and, above all, apologise profusely.
The most confusing aspect is the number of languages I’ve found myself speaking in the past six weeks. There is a VSO schoolteacher here called Caroline who is French (teaching English – though not in Oshiwambo fortunately which would totally mess with your head) and, hence, has become excited at the prospect of being able to converse with someone in her mother tongue. So far she has found out “the monkey is in the tree” (“la sange est dans l’arbre”) and to “turn into the third street on the left just in front of the tourist office” (“prenez le troisieme rue a gauche juste au fond de l’office du tourisme”). They were both whilst stood in her kitchen, so took her quite by surprise. Actually, I’m doing a bit better than that and quite enjoying it. She’s lent me a couple of films in French to practice one of which, you’ll love the irony, is called Lost in Translation.
Then there are the Cuban Doctors at work whose English is pretty limited. So from time to time I loosen the lips and throw in the odd Spanish phrase or two.
So there you have it. Language in a nutshell. Easy.
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2 comments:
Uhala po
Found this story from your adopted homeland. Succintly put I think you'll agree....
mwanyekange@yahoo.com - 08:55am Sep 21, 2006 GMT
Currently Namibia is facing a difficult in marriages; automatically the sorts of beliefs by women generating these occurrences (viduity). Woman are currently ambushed their beloved husband to die in order to inherit and have a new lover. 1. To prevent this deadly trend the GRN should introduce stiff law in the law of inheriting in marriage. 2. Preventing the escalation in divorce: For every deceased man/women if divorced the inherit age should go to the first or divorced person, that the current should receive the limited portion and more likely if there are kids born. 3. Marriage that lasting no longer then 6 years no inherits age, the whole benefit should go to the mother/father of the deceased and it’s grand children. 4. Marriage in the customary law should be recognized as such there’s proof. 5. Women should be re- educated about their role in the society, and to avoid disappointment women should start to think reasonable and respect families. 6. All evil are brought by women as from the beginning as the bible says about Eve, but this time women should start to re-think and have responsibility towards every human being.
Currently the study shows 90% of women are widows and in every 90% of these widows there's 1% widower. Most men die nowadays because of mal-treatment by their beloved wife’s who are just aiming for inheriting. Men should learn a lesson and re-think twice to enjoy the wealthier rather to be deceased. In anyway, out of 90 women 50% are just aiming for one purpose (to make money, to be rich and have second lover concubine) Windhoek and Oshakati alone in every five (5) of the ten (10) women driving expensive cars their husbands are either deceased or divorced.
"le sange c’est dans l’arbre" - izzard quote?
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