Lesson 13
Exercise 1  

Exercise 2  

Exercise 3  

Exercise 4  

Exercise 5  

Exercise 6  

Exercise 7  

Exercise 8  

Exercise 9  

Exercise 10

 


Exercise 1  Translate into English: adjectives
Zarma English
Tuuri wo ibambata no. This tree, it is huge.
Sandurkodin, izeno no; a si te koyne. That crate, it is old; it is not good anymore.
Da boro sinda baani, hari yeno si bori; idungu no a ga ba. If a person is not healthy, cold water isn't good; it is hot water he wants.
Da boro cora gonda ize hanno, ni ga maa a kaani, amma may ga ba imeri? If a persons friend has a beautiful child, you will hear he is happy, but who wants an ugly one?

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Exercise 2  Translate into English: reciprocal pronouns
Zarma English
Iri ma wa day cere banda. Let us buy milk together.
I go ga goy cere banda. They are working together.
I go ga goy cere se. They are working for each other.
Araŋ ma fu cina cere se. Build a house for each other.
Iri kubanda cere. We have met each other.
I go tarey, i go ga goro cere banda; i ga fakare nda cere. They are outside, they are sitting together and conversing with one another.
Kwaara alborey koy foyan cere banda. The men from the village went hunting together.

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Exercise 3  Translate into English
Zarma English
Bi fo ay day litre hinza wa Bubon wayboro fo do, amma watokan ay n' a dooru tasa ra, ay gar a hasara. Before yesterday, I bought two litre milk at the house of a Bubon woman, but when I poured it into the dish, I wasted it.

[literally: ...; I came across to waste it]

Ay n' a mun zama a si bori. I spilled it, because it wasn't good looking.
Amma wokan ay day hunkuna, igani no. But the one that I bought today, it is fresh.
Ni m' a dooru kusu fo ra.

Pour it out into a cooking pot.

Haggoy! Wa kay! Be careful ! Stop !
Ni si go ga di a go no ga mun, wala? Don't you see he is spilling it?
Ni ga ba wa moro, wala? Do you want the sour milk?
Han'a, a si kaan ay se ba kayna, amma a ga kaan bori bi se.

No, it doesn't please me not even a little bit, but it pleases Africans.

I g' a haŋ. They drink it.

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Exercise 4  Translate to English
Zarma English
Sohon zaari kulu wayna ga koroŋ. Now every noon the sun is burning.
Boro ga maa fufule ba fuwo ra. One [a person] feels the*1 heat even inside the house.
Amma cino ra a ga te dama. But in the evening it becomes better.
Man ni go bi?

Where were you, yesterday?

Bi ay sinda baani, wodin sabbese ay mana kaa goy. Yesterday, I was ill*2, because of that I didn't come to work.
A sinda tali, amma hunkuna ni ma ni goyo te a kulu.

It doesn't matter*3, but you should do all your work today.

*1 when a noun is used in a general sense, in Zarma the indefinite form is used.
*2 literally: I had no health
*3 literally: it has no wrong

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Exercise 5  Translate to English
Zarma English
Susub'o Monsieur da Adam koy foyan. This morning, Monsieur and Adam went hunting.
I na curo-bi taci hay. They shoot four guinea fowls.
Cimi no?

Is it really?

Ifo no i n' i hay da?

With what did they shoot them?

I n' i kar da malfa. They hit them with a gun.
I ne, curo-bi bobo go ganjo ra.

They said, there are many guinea fowls in the*1 bush.

Wodin cimi no, zama ba bi fo ay bere di ibobo Dosso fondo ga.

That is true, because, even yesterday, my big (brother/sister) saw many of them on the road to Dosso.

*1 when a noun is used in a general sense, in Zarma the indefinite form is used.
 

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Exercise 6  Translate to English
English Zarma
Zanka bobo kaa ay do bi. Many children came to my place yesterday.
Ay na Irikoy tira caw i se; iri na beytu fo te; wodin banda i dira. I read the Bible to them and we sang a hymn, thereafter they went.
Amma hunkuna wokanyan kaa, manti ibobo no. But today, those who came, it were not many of them.

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Exercise 7  Translate to Zarma: warm weather
English Zarma
Bring me a little cool water
(a little water that is cool) because I am thirsty.
Kande hari kayna kan go yeni ay se, zama ay ga jaw.
It is very hot today, but it was cool last night. A ga koroŋ gumo hunkuna, amma a ga yeni bi cin.
The sun is very hot now, but when the rain comes, it will be better. Sohon wayna ga koroŋ gumo, amma watikan hari ga kaa, a ga te dama.

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Exercise 8  Translate to Zarma: the tailor
English Zarma
We went to the tailor in order for him to sew me a dress, but we did not find him at his place. Iri koy takwa hal' a ma kway ta, amma iri man' a gar nga do.     
The clothes he made for my friend please him very much.

Bankaarey kan a te ay cora se, i kaan a se gumo.

The sewing on these pants (this pants sewing) is not good.

Mudun' o taayan si bori.

I will not buy it.

Ay s' a day.

 

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Exercise 9  Translate to Zarma: the hunt
English Zarma
We went hunting this afternoon.

Iri koy foyan wicir' o.  

We killed a deer in the bush; its meat is good (tasting). Iri na jeri wi sajo ra; a gahamo ga kaan.
If you work well, tomorrow we can go hunting together. Nda ni goy bori, suba iri ga hin ka koy foyan cere banda.

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Exercise 10  Translate to Zarma: be careful
English Zarma
Be careful ! Haggoy fa !
Don't sit on that box, because it is not strong (has no strength). Ma si goro sandurkodin boŋ, zama a sinda gabi.
Bring me a drink of water. Kande hari haŋyan ay se.
Stop ! Don't you see that the water is spilling? Kay ! Ni si di haro ga mun, walla?
If it falls on my book, it will be spoiled.

Nd 'a kaŋ ay tira boη, a ga te hasara.

I don't want it to be necessary to throw it away.

Ay si ba a ga tilas ay m' a cetu.

 

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Last updated: 11 maart 2012