Wacky Words
Want to Learn a Few New Words?
When you go to a new place, you not only hear different sounds, but also new words. Sometimes these can be words that have different meanings than you are used to, new slang terms, or just pronouncing a word differently to mean something else. They also can be words from other languages that have made their way into another language. This is what Wacky Words is all about... learning new words and new meanings. This is going to be fun!
Ever thought that what you call a 'stop light', someone else may call a 'robot'? |
What does someone mean what they say 'jambo'? |
Do you know what the letters in U.N.I.M.O.G stand for? |
Did you know that what many people call a 'matatu' (a minibus) came from the Swahili word meaning '3'? Do you know why? |
When we are on the road in Africa, we will be sure to list all kinds of Wacky Words. Check back!
| Akuwaba | In Twe, one of the languages spoken in Ghana, this is the word for Hello or Welcome. |
| Asuma /Awo | In Gonja, one of the languages spoken in Ghana, this is how you would greet someone...Good morning is Asuma, and the reply is Awo. |
| Gana dolopo! | In Dogon country in Mali, this is how you say 'Thank you very much!' Gana is pronounced like the country, Ghana. |
| Seo | In Dogon country in Mali, you can use this word to ask 'How are you doing?' You also use this word as a reply, 'Fine.' |
| bogolan | handpainted mudcloth or mudpainting, found in places from Bamako to Mopti in Mali |
| campement | a basic hotel or resthouse |
| diggy diggy | In Dogon Country in Mali, this means, 'slowly, slowly.' |
| dourouni | Also called, soutramas, In Mali, these are minibuses you take to get around town. In Bamako, they are always green. |
| etise/eyer | In Twe, one of the languages spoken in Ghana, this is the word for How are you? The response, 'I am fine,' would be eyer. |
| griot | a 'singing historian' or storyteller. Only people born into this caste (level in society) can become a griot. Griots are the keepers of past history, which is in places like Mali and Senegal, is mostly a history that is passed down from one generation to another (oral). Griots normally tell the stories of the past while playing traditional music. Griots are also known as a jalis or gawlos. |
| harmattan | dry winds that blow from the Sahara Desert |
| jellabas | The hooded cloak you see many Moroccans wear |
| kasba | The fort or citadel in a Moroccan city |
| kora | a 21-string instrument made with a calabas, used frequently in places like Senegal |
| legui legui | In Wolof, this means 'See you later'(sounds like leggy leggy). |
| marabout | a teacher of Islam |
| medina | The old town of a Moroccan city |
| muezzin | The person who does the call to prayer from the minaret of a mosque |
| salaam aleikum | 'Hello' in Arabic (but also used in many non Arabic North and West African countries). The reply is 'aleikum as-salaam' |
| souk | The arabic word for market... one of our favourite places to go |
| toubab | A Wolof word meaning 'white man.' Wh en we walk the streets in Senegal you often hear kids saying, 'toubab toubab'. |
